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This is National School Choice Week, a chance for Illinois families
to raise awareness about school choice while parents are exploring
new schools.
A survey this month by the National School Choice Awareness
Foundation showed that nearly 54% of parents have recently explored
or are currently considering new options for their child's
education.
Shelby Doyle, vice president of public awareness with the National
School Choice Awareness Foundation, said the pandemic helped
jump-start the effort.
“Parents started voicing their desire for different things and more
flexibility coming out of that, and I think legislatures are
catching up a year or two after all of that,” Doyle said.
Illinois has fairly flexible open enrollment laws for families
wishing to choose another traditional public school in their
district. The state also has many public charter and public magnet
schools.
According to the National School Choice Awareness Foundation,
Illinois offers tax deductions for most students in private or home
schools, and state-run scholarships for students under a certain
income level. The state does not, however, offer a full-time,
statewide online public school option, unlike a majority of U.S.
states.
The Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which allows
school choice in Illinois, is set to expire on Dec. 31. The program
gives donors who contribute to a scholarship-granting organization
an income tax credit equal to 75% of their donation.
Young Americans for Liberty announced a nationwide mobilization on
behalf of educational freedom in celebration of National School
Choice Week. YAL has been mobilizing thousands of student activists
and supporting members of its Hazlitt Coalition as they advance
school choice bills in state legislatures.
“Every single American family, regardless of where they live,
regardless of their family’s income, regardless of their learning
style, should have educational freedom, and Illinois would be a
great state for that to happen,” said Randan Steinhauser, National
School Choice Director with YAL.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in Illinois
for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of experience in radio
news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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