SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education is not telling schools to stop any diversity, equity and inclusion lessons or programs, the state’s education chief told a House committee this week, even as the Trump administration threatens to pull federal funding from schools that don’t stop.
State Superintendent Tony Sanders informed the panel that ISBE received a “dear colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education earlier this month informing schools that “under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.” It said compliance with federal discrimination laws will be reviewed by the department by the end of February as a condition of federal funding.
The letter asserts that diversity, equity and inclusion programs, also known as DEI, “frequently preference certain racial groups and teach students that certain racial groups bear unique moral burdens that others do not,” the letter stated.
“Such programs stigmatize students who belong to particular racial groups based on crude racial stereotypes,” the letter stated.
President Donald Trump had previously signed an executive order threatening to cease federal funding for K-12 schools that teach “discriminatory equity ideology” or “gender ideology.” But it’s unclear exactly what programs the state would have to end to comply with the orders.
The letter has no legal force, Sanders said Tuesday, “and so I would encourage districts to continue … teaching the way they’ve always taught.”
Sanders acknowledged that roughly 10% of funding for Illinois school districts could be at risk if the federal government ceases funding. ISBE receives billions annually from the federal government.
“We don’t have a way to make up for that loss of funds,” he said.
Prompted by lawmakers to explain what equity means in Illinois schools, Sanders said it means making sure all students have the resources they personally need for their individual success. ISBE’s lineup of initiatives designed to uplift a greater variety of students and educators include special education programs, efforts to recruit more minority teachers and mechanisms to improve grades for students of color.
The data shows incorporating DEI is necessary, he said, pointing to the 2024 results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.
The results showed significant achievement gaps among different subgroups of students in Illinois. In fourth grade math, for example, there was a 32-point gap between the average score for white and Black students. Eighth grade math assessments had a similar 32-point gap.
Even so, the committee’s ranking Republican debated the importance of initiatives designed to assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Maybe we should start focusing on excellence a little bit more,” Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Beecher City, said. “We have a great equity center and focus right now and I think it’s led to some of these dismal results. I think if we focus more on the specifics of reading and writing and math, it would stand to reason that those scores could come up.”
Sanders responded by saying incorporating DEI isn’t changing classroom curriculum.
“What you see in the curriculum are high levels of quality instruction across the state,” Sanders said. “Again, there’s always room for improvement but all I see is teachers trying to meet the needs of their students.”
Separate from uncertainty over the future of federal funding to Illinois education, ISBE faces a tightening budget picture in the coming fiscal year beginning July 1.
ISBE requested a $497 million increase to $11.4 billion of general fund spending from state lawmakers, but the budget proposal Gov. JB Pritzker’s delivered to lawmakers last week would spend $200 million less. Pritzker also proposed about $100 million less for “mandatory categorical” aid for expenses such as transportation and special education.
Pritzker’s budget plan does include the annual $350 million increase to evidence-based funding for K-12 schools.
“We are very conscious of the state’s tight fiscal environment, and we have prioritized the most crucial funding streams and those investments that we believe have a most direct impact on students,” Sanders said.
Peter Hancock contributed to this story. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.