Illinois education advocates and lawmakers are asking for more state funding to support migrant students enrolled in public schools.

Supporters say a proposed change to the city’s real estate transfer tax would raise up to $100 million annually for a variety of efforts tackling homelessness. Critics worry it would create a political ‘slush fund.’

Illinois is planning to have 11th graders take the ACT next spring, after almost a decade of using the SAT.

The public meetings are part of the district’s new Black Student Success Working Group, which CPS created to provide recommendations for improving Black children’s outcomes.

Two bills filed in Springfield would let local school councils decide whether to keep school resource officers and would halt major changes to selective-enrollment schools.

Illinois lawmakers have debated over Chicago’s elected school board districts for months. On Thursday, the House passed a bill that would allow voters to choose 10 out of 21 members in November.

After years of thorny relationships with district officials and mayors, the Chicago Teachers Union will bargain a new contract this year with a district that now answers to former CTU organizer Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Senate Bill 15 would have Chicagoans vote for 10 school board members and let Mayor Brandon Johnson appoint 11 members in November.

School officials, educators, and advocates are seeing a rise in demand for career and technical education programs. Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed adding more state funding to support, but some say it might not be enough.

Aún quedan muchas preguntas por responder sobre las elecciones que darán paso a los nuevos miembros del consejo y sobre cómo funcionará.

A new report commissioned by Illinois State Board of Education found that while Illinois public school students scored higher on state tests than tax credit scholarship recipients, students enjoyed private schools they attended.

Students were assessed based on test scores, grades, school rankings, and their neighborhood’s socioeconomics in the CPS high school enrollment process.

Principals are the leaders of their schools and staff. But in Chicago, multiple entities have power over principals — and soon, an elected school board and a principals union could impact how school leaders work.

Theater program run by TimeLine Theatre aims to connect Chicago Public Schools’ students to history and current events.

The board’s decision addresses a yearslong grassroots movement that has pushed the district to remove SROs from school campuses but didn’t come without pushback.

Illinois lawmakers are back at the capitol filing bills on early childhood education and K-12 schools. Here are five education issues Chalkbeat Chicago will watch during the session.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his plan to increase early education spending would put the state on track to have universal pre-K by 2027.

Contract negotiations between SEIU Local 73 and Chicago Public Schools have been going on since May 2023. Union leaders say talks have stalled.

Chicago’s Board of Education to vote on removing police officers from schools

According to a new report from researchers at Harvard and Stanford, Illinois and Chicago are leaders nationally when it comes to reading growth in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

Counselor Jorge Alaves started “Lindblom Colegio” six years ago after noticing some Latino boys were less likely to apply to college and would sometimes struggle academically and socially.

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This Chicago counselor is a former teacher who wanted to help students outside the classroom

The school district has outsourced the management of school janitors and cleaning services since 2014.

District officials said they’re working to get more teachers certified to teach English language learners.

Literacy advocates have pushed to get the state to address reading gaps for students. Now, with a state plan finalized, they are looking forward to seeing what’s next

Your questions will help guide Chalkbeat’s coverage leading into school board elections.

Chicago teachers are trying out different strategies to get young students between kindergarten to second grade interested in math, build their foundational skills, and improve their test scores.

Comfort Agboola, a middle school teacher at Poe Classical Elementary School, is the only Illinois teacher and first CPS teacher since 2010 to be given the Milken Educator Award.

Students at Aldridge Elementary in Altgeld Gardens have ideas for community improvements, as Red Line extension looms.

The first day of school for the 2024-25 academic year would be on Aug. 26, about a week later than recent years.

As federal COVID funds run out, the district is grappling with how to pay for universal preschool going forward.

The vote represented the first round of charter renewals under the current board.

Illinois superintendent’s budget proposal falls short of what advocates want.

Chicago Public Schools has had early conversations with HopSkipDrive, a transportation network company designed specifically for students. Here’s how it operates in other cities – and what it would take to work here.

Illinois plans to provide 5,800 additional preschool seats for the state’s youngest learners

The district is providing CTA passes to migrant families who are homeless.

They’re responding to signals that Johnson and the school board want to shift resources to neighborhood public schools.

Last week, CPS Inspector General Will Fletcher released his annual report which, in part, found that the district had marked more than 77,000 devices lost or stolen in the 2021-22 school year.