Delievered via email: January 31, 2025
IASB staff spent the week reaching out and meeting with legislators to start discussions, share concerns, and begin work on possible amendments to bills. While several bills have been assigned to Senate committees for next week, no legislation has yet been assigned to House committees. The IASB Governmental Relations team will keep you up to date as we continue to monitor bills, have discussions with sponsors, and hear bills that are called in coming weeks.
In the House, Representative Michelle Mussman will serve as the chair of the newly renamed Education Policy Committee (previously known as the House Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee), a role she has held since 2019. Serving as chair since 2019, Representative Sue Scherer will continue as the chair of the Elementary and Secondary Education: Administration, Licensing & Charter Schools Committee. The Republican spokespeople are Representative Joe Sosnowski and Representative Amy Elik, respectively.
In an effort to ensure that IASB members can monitor all bills the Governmental Relations team is tracking, legislation has been broken down into nine different topics:
To attend, you must be registered as an Advocacy Ambassador. Please register to be an Advocacy Ambassador under the Advocacy tab on the IASB website. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at govrel@iasb.com.
Bill Filings Continue this Week in the General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly convened this week, after being off for two weeks, with a flurry of legislation introduced in the House and Senate. As of January 30, lawmakers have filed more than 3,700 bills in both chambers. Of those bills, 254 have an impact on K-12 public education. IASB staff is anticipating that number to climb until the introduction of Senate and House bills deadline on February 10. While the General Assembly did not spend a lot of time on the floor, the week marked the beginning of what promises to be a busy session.IASB staff spent the week reaching out and meeting with legislators to start discussions, share concerns, and begin work on possible amendments to bills. While several bills have been assigned to Senate committees for next week, no legislation has yet been assigned to House committees. The IASB Governmental Relations team will keep you up to date as we continue to monitor bills, have discussions with sponsors, and hear bills that are called in coming weeks.
New Committee Assignments and Chairs
This week, the Senate announced new chairs and committee assignments for the 104th General Assembly. The Senate Democrats named Senator Meg Loughran Cappel as the new chair of the Education Committee and Senator Mike Halpin as the new Chair of Education Appropriations Committee. The Senate Republicans named Senator Dale Fowler as the spokesperson for the Education Committee, and Senator Chris Balkema as the spokesperson for the Education Appropriations Committee.In the House, Representative Michelle Mussman will serve as the chair of the newly renamed Education Policy Committee (previously known as the House Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee), a role she has held since 2019. Serving as chair since 2019, Representative Sue Scherer will continue as the chair of the Elementary and Secondary Education: Administration, Licensing & Charter Schools Committee. The Republican spokespeople are Representative Joe Sosnowski and Representative Amy Elik, respectively.
Legislative Tracking List – New This Year!
The IASB Governmental Relations team tracks all legislation that may impact K-12 public education and makes regular updates to that list. As a reminder, although a bill may be filed, many factors influence whether it makes its way through the legislative process. Some of those factors include whether the bill gets assigned by leadership to a committee, the extent of any opposition, and the priorities of the sponsor.In an effort to ensure that IASB members can monitor all bills the Governmental Relations team is tracking, legislation has been broken down into nine different topics:
- Boards of Education
- Insurance
- Open Meetings Act
- Personnel
- Regional Office of Education
- School Finance
- School Safety and Health
- Students
- Taxation
Advocacy Ambassador Program
The IASB Governmental Relations team would love for you to join the Advocacy Ambassador program. The first meeting of the year will be held virtually on Zoom at noon on Friday, February 7. It will include a summary of Lame Duck session, an overview of IASB’s 2025 legislative priorities and initiatives, a discussion of key bills filed this session, and an opportunity for members to ask questions and provide feedback to the IASB Governmental Relations team.To attend, you must be registered as an Advocacy Ambassador. Please register to be an Advocacy Ambassador under the Advocacy tab on the IASB website. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at govrel@iasb.com.