Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Five years ago today, after focused years of fierce advocacy, the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula was signed into law. This landmark legislation overhauled Illinois’ K-12 education funding system, replacing an outdated and inequitable structure with a formula that prioritizes the state’s least well-funded districts, distributes funds based on a research-based estimate of what schools need to fully serve students, and takes into account differences in student needs across districts. Importantly, the law includes a “Minimum Funding Level” clause that requires that the state appropriate at least $350 million in additional funds for the formula each year, a commitment that has driven roughly $1.5B in new funding since the law passed. As we mark the five-year milestone of this legislation, I would like to pause and reflect on how it has transformed resource equity in Illinois, benefiting students, educators, and school communities and serving as a national model. 

Before EBF... 

In order to appreciate the full impact of the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula, we need to revisit what the state’s education funding was like before its passage. Prior to 2017, Illinois had one of the least equitable school funding formulas in the country, and one of the lowest levels of state financial support. Across the state, and as a result of our outsized reliance on local property taxes to fund schools, on average, students from low-income households were funded significantly less than their peers from wealthier districts. In fact, before EBF, over 160 Illinois school districts, serving hundreds of thousands of students, had less than 60% of the funding required to meet their needs.  And over half of the state’s districts, serving over 1.2 million students, had less than 70% of what they needed to provide sound instruction.  To put a human face on it, this meant that on a per-pupil basis, these districts had thousands of dollars less than they needed to hire teachers, counselors, reading specialists, and support personnel.  Thousands of dollars less per pupil than they needed to provide extracurriculars, fine arts, world language, and summer programming.  Thousands of dollars less per pupil than they needed to upgrade curriculum, textbooks, and buildings.  And as if that wasn’t problematic enough, decisions to prorate state funding in the years prior to EBF wound up hurting neediest districts the most.  

Put together, heading into the historic vote on whether or not the state should adopt EBF, the regressive impact of our school funding formula was clear: 

• Students from low-income households were in districts funded, on average, at 68% of adequacy. 

• Black and Latinx students were in districts funded, on average, at 68% and 69% of adequacy, while their white peers were in districts funded at 81% of adequacy. 

Leadership & Advocacy Matters 

The passage of the evidence-based formula did not happen overnight. It took years of technical analysis, significant district, educator, and community input and advocacy, and leadership from key elected officials, the Illinois School Board of Education (ISBE) and the General Assembly to pass.  Critically, school districts, civil right organizations, legislators, advocacy groups, and groups representing teachers and administrators formed a powerful coalition – Funding Illinois’ Future – and made themselves heard in countless town hall meetings around the state, and in Springfield.  Indeed, the possibility of (finally!) reimagining the school funding formula to truly prioritize equity brought together arguably the most diverse – and effective – coalition of families, residents and leaders the state has ever seen.   

Since EBF... 

Data from the first five years of EBF show that the formula is working exactly as planned. As seen below, EBF is effectively driving new dollars to districts that disproportionately serve students from low-income households, students of color, and English Learners.  Because EBF calculates education costs based on student need and distributes new state dollars to school districts furthest from full funding, EBF has driven 70%-80% of new state resources in any given year to the state’s most property poor districts and those that serve the most students from low-income households.  

Since the passage of EBF through Fiscal Year (FY) 23, new tier funding through the formula has totaled $1.57 Billion. And because the formula is dynamic, EBF can and does respond to changes at the local level.  Every year, ISBE calculates a unique “Adequacy Target” for each of the more than 850 school districts. These targets reflect the cost of providing research-based components of a high-quality education, based on each district’s student characteristics. Five years in, the progress is striking –  

• There are now only 2 districts funded below 60% of adequacy. 

• As of FY23, the average percent of adequacy for students from low-income households was 77%, up from 68% in FY18. 

• Black and Latinx students average percent of adequacy was 76% and 78%, compared to 86% among their white peers – meaning that all groups have benefitted over the past five years, and the gap across groups has decreased.

For further discussion of EBF’s positive impact, the Professional Review Panel recently released a 5-year evaluative study detailing the impact of new funding, and it is worth a read.  

The road ahead... 

While significant progress has been made, this progress is only possible when the state invests adequate new funds through the formula each year. Illinois has done an impressive job getting more districts (and students) closer to adequate funding.  That said, roughly 200 districts serving over 460,000 students are still at or below 70% of adequacy. Over half of Illinois students are still in districts at or below 75% of adequacy. And nearly eight in 10 students attend districts below 90% of adequacy.  As we begin this new school year, the gap between current funding levels and full and adequate funding is $6.7 billion.  If the state continues to invest $350M in EBF each year,2 it will take another 20 years – until 2042 (!) -- to get all districts to at least 90% adequacy. If Illinois is going to realize the full benefit of EBF and keep its commitment to provide children across the state an adequate and equitable education, we will need to raise our sights and invest more new dollars each year – more than the minimum of $350M.   

Passing EBF in 2017 was not only a huge step forward for Illinois students, it was a reminder of what we can accomplish when we come together around powerful ideas.  As we reflect on the first five years of EBF and the significant progress we have made in that time, let us also commit to the next five years, knowing that we can and must continue to take bold action.  

Robin Steans

President

We encourage you to read these two other perspectives highlighting the significance EBF has had on IL students and our state.