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There were rumblings that the General Assembly may take up the
program during the spring legislative session, but that has yet
to happen.
According to the American Federation for Children, the program
witnessed over 15,000 students in its last academic year,
marking a significant increase from prior years.
Despite a loud call to renew the program, lawmakers last spring
chose to let the program expire for its seventh school year, a
win for teachers unions that claimed that it directed money from
public schools.
“My first reaction to it is it’s just a sad situation in terms
of the amount of students that are coming into the program and
telling them the next school year they are not going to be able
to go to the same school that is serving them well,” said AFC
spokesperson Hera Varmah.
Before it expired at the end of last year, Invest in Kids
allowed Illinois residents and businesses to receive a tax
credit worth 75% of their contributions to scholarship granting
organizations that fund scholarships for low-income students to
attend qualified private and technical schools.
Several private schools announced they were closing at the end
of the school year because so many students relied on Invest in
Kids scholarships. Last week, St. Bede School in Ingleside
announced it will shut its doors unless the program is renewed.
A $500,000 fundraising effort is not enough to save the school.
Empower Illinois and other proponents of the Invest in Kids
program plan to continue lobbying for its return.
Darnell Starks of Peoria, who has two granddaughters who were
enrolled in the program, drove to Springfield last week to urge
lawmakers to take action because he said they can’t afford to
send the girls to their former school.
“We’ve been very concerned that the state legislature hasn’t
renewed this program, because without it, these two can’t attend
the school of their choice and it’s been a perfect fit for
them,” Starks told The Center Square.
Greg Bishop contributed to this report.
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