Empower Illinois/ The Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship program will be ending at the conclusion of the 2023-24 school year and will not return for the 2024-25 school year. Empower Illinois is a scholarship program that depends on taxpayer-supported donations to send low-income families to private schools. This program allows low-income students to go to private school. As of 2023, Empower Illinois has awarded roughly 9,700 student scholarships as of last year.
By shutting down Empower Illinois, kids who have gotten scholarships in previous years may have to go to public schools as Empower Illinois will no longer be funding their tuition. Changing schools can cause the student to have depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Doing so may also create a less diverse community in private schools.
While shutting down Empower Illinois gives the government more money to use towards the public education system, there are many problems that don’t cost money. These changes could drastically make the public school system more effective. We believe implementing a new curriculum is the key point of public school education. This curriculum would have more classes, and harder subjects would be introduced at early ages. Using this curriculum is good as it’s easier for the students to understand the material when they’re older in high school or college.
Marissa Draney, the principal of Peoria Academy, says, “A reason why public schools are not being taught a broader curriculum is because there are more restrictions on what the teachers can teach. Also, it is harder to teach kids on a more individual level when there are 30-35 kids in one classroom, which is why it’s so important to make sure teachers have the support they need to help all of their students.”
Private education is more nimble and can respond to students who may need help quicker than public education because of the curriculum and school environment. In Illinois, there is not enough room in private schools for everyone. Meaning, we need to make the public school curriculum relatively similar to the private school curriculum. This way, everyone receives the same chance of opportunity for education.
Empower Illinois was a temporary fix, but now the temporary fix is gone, and we need to come up with a permanent solution. A better curriculum is one change that will make a large difference. For a long-term fix, public schools should widen their curriculum, include subjects that are not currently being taught, and introduce more difficult levels of subjects. On top of that, it would be ideal if class sizes were smaller so teachers could help students more efficiently. To support these issues, you may send letters and emails to your state leaders. Help us change education in Illinois for the better.
Peoria Academy Journalism Club: Ammini Guzzardo, Emelia Stevenson