Galesburg Reporter

State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) is among a group of Republican lawmakers pushing a package of legislation crafted to give parents more of a say in the state’s educational direction.

Tracy recently joined fellow Senate Republican Caucus members Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) and Neil Anderson (R-Andalusia) at a press conference in Springfield to unveil four bills designed to promote greater transparency and accountability for all students.

Supporters of the package say the bills are also intended to empower parents, with the first set to add five new posts to the Illinois State Board of Education in the name of greater accountability. As it is, all members of the state board are appointed by the governor, meaning the individual members making decisions on school curriculums and how mandates affect classrooms aren’t held directly accountable to voters.  

Senate Bill 4180 seeks to change that, creating one board member per judicial district elected by voters, leaving new members more directly accountable to families in local districts.

With Senate Bill 4181, Tracy is also pushing for the extension of the Illinois Invest in Kids program, which provides tuition for a private education, giving low-income students in struggling schools an opportunity for a better educational outcome. The scholarships are funded by private donations, encouraged by tax credits

“Invest in Kids has already been the source of many success stories, but the program is set to expire,” Tracy said. “Extending the program will provide a real choice to families. We are also looking to offer some stability for students, by creating a funding preference for those currently participating in the program, thus providing educational stability for them and their families.”

With the program currently not guaranteeing scholarship students assistance from year to year, SB 4181 would also create a preference for previously awarded students when determining award recipients.

Another bill, SB 4179, would require school districts to publicly post on the district’s website at least twice a year , all the learning materials and activities used for student instruction, as well as the policies and procedures for review and approval of the materials and activities.

“As parents, we ought to have the ability to see exactly what is being taught in the classroom, which can not only impact the educational success of students, but the people that they become,” said Anderson. “This legislation would bring much-needed transparency without forcing parents to jump through hoops to find out what their child is learning. By viewing the curriculum, parents will have the opportunity to better decide if it suits their child’s academic needs.”

SB 4182 seeks to update the Invest in Kids Program’s tax credit language in hopes of aligning it with existing federal tax credits that would allow donors to maximize existing federal tax benefits while directing more private contributions into scholarship resources.

Now in its fifth year, the Invest In Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program now offers a 75% income tax credit to individuals and businesses that contribute to qualified Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs).

“The more we hear from parents about the fact that they feel like they aren’t represented well, the more we have to try and react to that,” Bryant said at a Feb. 24 press conference at the Illinois Capitol. “All of our bills basically are to give parents a better voice.”