Illinois’ Invest In Kids school choice program, set to expire in 2023, enhanced under new law

(The Center Square) – Illinois’ public schools are not performing well, but the state does have a program in place that gives some families a choice.

The latest Illinois public schools report card data reviewed by Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski shows many schools get high marks from the state education board and graduation rates are up, despite evidence that many schools are failing students.

“Many of them, most of them can’t read at grade level, so we’ve got a real disconnect, it’s a real indictment on the public school system of Illinois,” Dabrowski told The Center Square. “By the time they get to 11th grade, they still can’t perform, and yet the high, high majority of those kids graduate anyway.”

Illinois Policy’s Executive Vice President Amy Korte said the Invest In Kids scholarship program is giving some families hope. The program gives a 75% tax credit to donors who fund a school choice program.

“Thousands of families are benefiting from it now and many, many thousands more are on the wait list and want a chance to send their kids to a school that they think is the best fit for their children,” Korte told WMAY.

The Invest in Kids program was created in 2017. Scholarship Granting Organizations are non-profits that take the contributions and disburse the funds to eligible students to qualified, non-public schools throughout the states.

Korte said a recent measure the governor signed gives students already enrolled in the program priority to continue and gives schools flexibility in offering more partial scholarships. But, she said, the program that is set to expire at the end of 2023 should be made permanent and include pre-K scholarships and an expanded tax incentive.

“That would allow people to participate more fully and really fully fund that program so that many of those thousands of kids on the wait list can be bumped up and get a chance at a scholarship,” she said.