Illinois association survey shows unease over dismantling of U.S. Department of Education

A recent survey of Illinois residents shows growing unease over President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

That’s according to the Illinois Education Association’s seventh annual State of Education report released Wednesday.

The bipartisan poll of 1,000 people randomly surveyed in late January shows their views on public education. A majority of those surveyed believe: all students have a right to public education (91%); funding for public schools should increase (71%); teachers and support staff should be paid more (53% and 69%, respectively); and that local school board elections should be free from the influence of national political groups (72%).

“Public education is the great equalizer. It’s the key to the American dream,” IEA President Al Llorens said. “It is the one thing our country does that levels the playing field for all children. Rural, suburban, urban, no matter who you are or where you come from, a good education can change your life.”

The state’s largest educators’ union represents 135,000 members statewide, including teachers, support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers.

“The public is aware that it is harder to be a teacher and paraprofessional in our public schools, the two-tiered pension system our educators are enrolled in (is) unfair, and that adjunct professors are not being treated fairly by our colleges, universities and community colleges,” Llorens said.

Llorens said 80% of the state’s public schools are underfunded and those surveyed support providing more money to schools and students.

“We appreciate our lawmakers and governor setting aside money for evidence-based funding every year, but it's not enough to get us where we need to be,” he said.

Illinois public schools rely heavily on federal funding for certain programs — $641.5 million through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) benefiting nearly 295,000 students, $794.5 million in Title I funds helping nearly 960,000 low-income students, and $1.1 billion in Pell grants awarded to roughly 264,000 students who can't afford college. Federal money also supports more than 17,000 jobs locally, Llorens said.

While federal education funding cuts haven’t hit home yet, losing even a portion of those dollars could be disastrous for school districts, officials say.

Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said the potential absence of the Department of Education would cost the state $3.5 billion in funding that disproportionately would affect rural communities, students with disabilities and special needs and low-income families.

Victoria Mikos, a special-education teacher at Blackwell Elementary School in Schaumburg Township District 54, said there is growing anxiety among her peers over potentially losing resources for such a vulnerable population.

She said the district’s early childhood center relies on IDEA funding to hire special education teachers and related service providers for 3- to 5-year-olds with varying degrees of disabilities.

“We have families and communities that are low income and who are unable to access private services to support their child’s needs, so they rely on public education for special education-related services,” Mikos said. “Also students with disabilities can qualify for special education transportation so should funding be decreased, it would make it more difficult for our students to access and benefit from special education in their public school.”

Key points from the IEA report include:

• 74% think teaching has become harder over the last few years;

• 78% say they are very worried about the teacher shortage;

• 62% support pension reform to allow those in the Tier 2 pension system to retire before the age of 67;

• 62% believe adjuncts should be paid the same as tenured professors when teaching the same courses;

• 80% are opposed to book bans;

• 75% believe public schools should be teaching about racism and 81% about slavery.