Education Desk Podcast | NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS
Summary: The NPR Illinois Education Desk is a community funded initiative to report on stories that impact you. Stories on the state of education from K-12 to higher education.
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Illinois lawmakers last week approved a sweeping overhaul of the way the state funds public schools. Mainly Democrats supported the plan, but the top Republican co-sponsor chose not to vote at all.
As budget negotiations continue, one big piece of the puzzle is school funding. We check in with our Education Desk reporter to see which bills are on the table, what they would do, why some “news” outlets say districts would lose money, and whether there’s any chance a bill will pass.
Lawmakers of both parties, and even Gov . Bruce Rauner , agree that Illinois doesn't fund schools in an equitable manner. But with the legislative session scheduled to end on May 31, they still can't agree on exactly how to fix it. One plan earned bipartisan approval in a House committee today, clearing a procedural hurdle that positions it for possible speedy passage.
It can be tough to find a bipartisan effort on any substantive issue at the capitol. But State Representatives Will Davis (a Democrat) and Bob Pritchard (a Republican) are still co-sponsoring House Bill 2808 , designed to make school funding more equitable. These two lawmakers were both members of Governor Bruce Rauner's School Funding Reform Commission. That was a bipartisan, bicameral group that spent six months studying Illinois school funding issues and creating a framework for how to fix it
Two school funding plans progressed in the Illinois legislature Wednesday. A plan sponsored by Sen. Andy Manar was approved in the Senate, while in the House, a very similar plan sponsored by Rep. Will Davis made it through committee. Does that mean lawmakers may have finally found a way to cure the state's infamously unfair school funding structure?
Higher education has been among the areas feeling the state budget impasse as funding has been cut. It has forced some schools to reduce classes, lay off employees and, in some cases, close for several days. But a review of enrollment indicates small and mid-sized public universities are taking a double hit.
Commencement ceremonies took place on many college campuses this past weekend, including the University of Illinois. Our Education Desk reporter takes us inside one that's different from all the others — the Black Congratulatory ceremony at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.
Too often, when I report on the school funding debate that has been going on in our state capitol for the past several years, I get bogged down in numbers — school district numbers, dollar amounts, bill and amendment numbers assigned to various reform plans, vote numbers tallying up support for each one. This story, however, is about school funding without numbers.
The faculty will be back in class today for the start of finals week. The agreement was reached after long negotiations over the weekend including 16 hours Sunday. Details won’t be released until a ratification vote later.
The question of how to fund Illinois schools has become one of the most urgent — yet complicated —issues facing lawmakers.
It's cold and rainy today, but that hasn't deterred the University of Illinois Springfield faculty from the picket line. Tenured and tenure-track professors seeking a contract are in the third day of a strike. But there may be signs of progress.
The faculty union on the University of Illinois Springfield campus took another membership vote this week. And according to the union, the results were in favor of continuing the work stoppage.
Students are being told to continue reporting to class at the University of Illinois Springfield, despite the fact that the faculty is on strike. More than 160 tenured and tenure-track professors represented by University Professionals of Illinois have been negotiating almost two years in an effort to get personnel policies included in a contract.
Tenured and tenure-track professors at the University of Illinois Springfield are on strike starting today. Nearly 170 professors belong to the union that will take to the picket line this morning.
I recently spent an evening at Springfield’s Dubois Elementary , with a group of tutors focused on helping the school’s youngest students — kindergarten through second grade. But in this particular tutoring arrangement, everyone is learning. The older kids are in a program called Our American Voice , designed to bring civics lessons back to the younger grades. Students get an instructional course in citizenship, and then create their own community service project.