Adequate and equitable funding is an especially high-stakes policy priority for K1C and our parent advocates. Our work to fight for fair funding for CPS students will require a diverse coalition of voices to come together and demand more for students with the greatest needs.
In 2017, Illinois lawmakers passed into law an evidence-based funding model that will funnel more resources to under-resourced districts, which has laid the pathway to adequately funding all Illinois districts. However, at the current state funding levels, it will take another 25+ years for CPS to reach adequacy, and two generations of K-12 students will not have access to the resources that they need.
CPS is only funded at about 75% of what the state calculates its students require. Moreover, the 2017 law set a 10-year horizon to reach 90% of adequacy, which Illinois is unlikely to realize.
K1C is part of the statewide Funding Illinois Future Coalition, working to ensure that Illinois lawmakers fulfill their commitment to fully funding K-12 education by or before 2027. We also advise partners such as Chicago Public Schools on ways to deepen funding at the school levels, based on unique student needs.