Illinois

How Long Must Illinois Students Wait For Fully Funded Schools?

September 2022
Illinois’ Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act (EBF) was signed into law in August 2017, comprehensively overhauling the state’s school funding formula. To fully fund Illinois’ public schools by 2027, as required by the law, the state needs to increase funding by over $1.4 billion a year to fill the $7.2 billion gap. Illinois has only committed the minimum $350 million each year, with no new funding in FY21, meaning that students in most Illinois schools will not receive an adequately funded education for at least two more decades. Without full formula funding, Illinois’ historically regressive funding distribution continues. Wealthier districts that are less reliant on state funds are much more likely to have adequate funding; districts with less wealth are not receiving the resources they need.