Chicago City Wire

Illinois Policy is warning about a teachers union group that is seeking to defund the Invest in Kids Act which allows some of the state’s students to utilize public funding for private schools. 

Illinois Policy has noted that there are 26,000 students on the waiting list for the program who will be affected if the Illinois Families for Public School would succeed in sunsetting the Invest in Kids Act.

“NEW: Teachers union front group @il_fps launches propaganda attack on The Invest in Kids Act, a scholarship program that rescues low-income students from under-performing schools,” Illinois Policy posted on Twitter. 

The group, Illinois Families for Public Schools, is vowing to send representatives to Springfield to demand the program be defunded. 

“In 2017, the IL General Assembly passed the Invest in Kids Act and created what was supposed to be a temporary school voucher program that could divert up to $75 million per year in public dollars to fund private schools in Illinois. Voucher programs siphon funds from public schools, they don't promote education equity and they don't improve outcomes for the students who receive them,” Illinois Families for Public Schools said in a press release. 

The press release urged the public to read the organization's FAQ about problems with the Illinois' voucher program. Noting that proponents want to make the program permanent and expand it, the group claimed that the move would "be extremely damaging for Illinois' public education system, and that's why Illinois Families for Public Schools is working with many other state and local orgs, including the League of Women Voters of IL, IL's teachers unions, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and many others, to call for ending this program for good.” The press release ends with a logo reading “Game Over for Voucher in Il.”

When passed in 2017, the Invest in Kids Act was aimed at providing funding between 6,100 and 10,000 students per year who receive a stipend worth as much as 75 percent of their school’s tuition, according to The Associated Press.

Parents across Illinois began to raise questions about public school education during the pandemic after opponents claimed that Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion standards involving race-related messaging was introduced in the school curriculum.