Peoria Standard

The Illinois General Assembly is entering its second and final week of the fall 2023 veto session. The Illinois House of Representatives will reconvene in Springfield to discuss and examine bills on the House agenda. Many House committees have posted hearing notices for this week.

One of the key issues being discussed is the future of the "Invest in Kids" scholarship program. Rep. Spain and House Republicans are fighting to keep this popular program alive. The program provides indirect state assistance to those who donate money to Illinois private-school scholarship funds. However, the program is threatened by an imminent sunset deadline, as the State tax credit that incentivizes the program is set to expire on December 31, 2023.

In the field of education, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) recently released its annual report card on Illinois public schools. The report card provides attendance data, student absenteeism data, and aggregated test score data for each individual school and school district in Illinois. The report covers numbers generated through the end of the 2023 spring school term, which was the first full school year since the lifting of substantial barriers to in-school classroom learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdown.

During the pandemic, Illinois school attendance and test scores experienced significant drops, especially among students from at-risk backgrounds and those classified as "English learners." While the 2023 Report Card showed partial recoveries from the pandemic lows, full recoveries have not yet been achieved. The numbers of students classified as "proficient" in English and math have increased compared to the previous year, but they still remain below the levels achieved in 2019 before the start of the pandemic.

The report also highlighted the continued high numbers of students from various identity groups who are chronically absent from classrooms. Approximately 30% of all Illinois public school students missed more than 17 days of school last year. Chronic absenteeism poses additional challenges for both the absent student and their classmates when they return to the classroom.

Moving on to the topic of first responders, an Illinois State Police trooper named Dakotah Champman-Green was seriously wounded during an on-duty shooting. The incident occurred during a traffic stop in Springfield. The driver of the vehicle, Cristobal Santana, allegedly opened fire, causing severe injuries to Trooper Champman-Green. Santana fled the scene and was later apprehended. He is also a suspect in a recent homicide case.

The dashcam video of the traffic stop and shooting was released to the public and Illinois news outlets this week. Santana has been charged with attempted murder of a police officer, along with other related charges.

In higher education news, Illinois community college enrollment showed positive growth in 2023. The spring 2023 enrollment numbers saw a 7.2% increase compared to the previous year, marking the largest year-over-year gain in nearly 15 years. The Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) compiled the Spring 2023 Enrollment Report, which revealed this positive trend.

Enrollment increases were particularly notable in areas classified as Career and Technical Education, which saw a 10.4% increase, and Vocational Skills Training, which saw a 6.3% increase. While online enrollment declined slightly, it still remains strong, with 42.3% of all enrolled community college students signing up for at least one online course.

These updates on the veto session, education, and first responders provide a snapshot of the current state of affairs in Illinois. The discussions around the "Invest in Kids" scholarship program, the annual report card on Illinois public schools, and the challenges faced by first responders shed light on the ongoing efforts to improve education and public safety in the state. Meanwhile, the positive growth in community college enrollment showcases the resilience and adaptability of students seeking higher education in Illinois.

For additional details, please follow this link: https://repryanspain.com/2023/11/06/update-veto-session-education-first-responders/