Illinois training legal guidelines handed in 2021 by Governor Pritzker
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker passed the following education laws in 2021.
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – 2021 was a landmark year for educational standards across Illinois, from investments in higher education to curriculum changes.
Many of the changes will take effect in the coming school years.
Standards for “culturally appealing teaching”
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) met on February 17th and allowed the Illinois State Board of Education to introduce a new set of rules called Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning Standards.
The new standards, which are expected to take place in 2025, reflect and convey a deeper understanding of yourself and how it affects others.
The aim is to lead to a more coherent and productive development of the students in relation to academic and socio-emotional developments.
The following changes will apply to all teaching courses from October 1, 2021:
The standards include the following sections:
- Self-awareness and relationships with others
- Systems of suppression
- Students as individuals
- Students as co-creators
- Use of student interest representation
- Family and community collaboration
- Content selection in all curricula
- Student representation in the learning environment
These standards replace the following sections:
- Content knowledge
- Human development and learning
- Diversity
- Planning for class
- Learning environment
- Instruction delivery
- communication
- valuation
- Collaborative Relationships
- Reflection and professional growth
- Professional behavior and leadership
The “Rebuild Illinois” plan invests in higher education
In early March, Governor Pritzker discussed developing a building for student and adult education services in the College of Lake County with funding from the Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan.
“We have to invest in the future of our state,” said Pritzker. He added that the best way to grow the state is to “invest in young people”.
Part of the Illinois rebuilding plan includes six years of state investment aimed at creating 540,000 jobs.
Asian-American history taught in public schools
On July 9, 2021, Illinois passed law mandating the teaching of Asian-American history in public schools.
The milestone made Illinois the first state in the country to make Asian-American history a requirement in the public school curriculum.
Titled “Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act,” the new stage of study in the Illinois School Code will take full effect in the 2022-23 academic year.
Below are the specific requirements that need to be taught:
- The Contributions of Asian Americans to the Advancement of Civil Rights from the 19th Century onwards
- The contributions of individual Asian Americans in government, the arts, the humanities, and the sciences
- The contributions of Asian-American communities to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States
$ 200 million investment in childcare training
Pritzker announced on July 28, 2021 that the state of Illinois will invest $ 200 million in childcare staff over a two-year period to fund education and scholarships.
Nearly $ 120 million in federal funding will be used for financial assistance such as scholarships to help childcare workers earn their degrees.
“We offer 5,600 people the opportunity to earn a degree that will advance their careers. And we are driving our economic recovery through the pandemic, ”said Pritzker in a statement.
Learning opportunities for students with special needs
A law signed by Pritzker on July 28th expands learning opportunities for students with special needs in Illinois.
Previous laws required students with special needs to leave school on the day they turned 22.
The new law allows students to leave school until the end of the academic year after April 22nd.
“I firmly believe that a core principle of governance is to ensure that our laws are friendly to the people they are intended to serve. And it’s not nice to take a student with a disability out of the classroom on October 16, January 5 or April 19 just because they are a day older, ”said Pritzker. “This doesn’t happen to general education students, nor should it happen to our students with special needs.”
This will also allow students with special needs who recently turned 22 and who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to continue their academic education in the 2021-2022 school year.
