Illinois Families for Public Schools

06/16/2026

Governor Pritzker, you know what to do—reject the destructive, discriminatory Trump education agenda and say NO federal school vouchers for Illinois. Now is the time to take every measure to protect and defend our public schools against this administration's full-force actions to dismantle public education.

Governor Kotek of Oregon, who had been on the fence about participating in the fed voucher program, announced that her state won’t participate, following the Trump administration’s release of a preview for how the program will work.

In a statement, she noted the release “indicates states like Oregon will not have the flexibility they need to participate in alignment with our values. At this point, I simply cannot trust that any education policy coming from Trump’s White House is in the best interest of Oregon’s kids and our public education system.” (https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/another-democratic-leaning-state-will-pass-on-the-federal-school-choice-program/2026/06)

In the preview of the federal voucher program regulations (which were supposed to be ready for review June/July and are now promised by the end of September), the Treasury Department confirmed that states cannot mandate that Scholarship-Granting Organizations (SGOs) serve only lower-income students or public school students and cannot apply their own accountability or nondiscrimination policies to the program.

Couple this with today’s announcement that the oversight of special education, civil rights, and student privacy will be moved out of the Department of Education and scattered to other agencies that do not have the expertise or capacity to manage them, and the writing on the wall could not be clearer.

06/13/2026

Thank you to Reps. Budzinski, Davis, García, Jackson, Kelly, Krishnamoorthi, Quigley, Ramirez, Schakowsky, and Underwood for co-sponsoring the "Keep Public Funds In Public Schools Act of 2026" (the bill to REPEAL the federal school voucher scheme), and to everyone who reached out to urge their support. The bill was introduced yesterday with a strong show of solidarity from Illinois!

Disappointingly, Casten, Foster, and Sorensen haven’t signed on yet. If they’re your reps, write them TODAY (bit.ly/repeal_fed_vouchers) and follow up with a call next week. They should know that Illinois rejected our harmful, discriminatory voucher program, and we’re not going back!

Not in Illinois? This legislation is a nationwide effort to demand that public funds stay in public schools—check to see if your rep signed on: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9289/cosponsors?hl=9289&r=3&s=1

06/12/2026

Here’s a we don’t ever want to go back to. These samplings of discrimination are taken directly from the handbooks of private schools in Illinois that received public dollars through the now-defunct Illinois Invest in Kids voucher program. We can expect more of this discrimination with the Trump administration's federal school voucher scheme.

Public schools in Illinois can't discriminate on the basis of disability status, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, pregnancy or parenting status, immigration status, or religion. But under Invest in Kids, public dollars went to private schools, many of which discriminated against students, families, and staff in all of these protected categories. For more examples and sources, see: bit.ly/vouchers_fund_discrimination

Public dollars must be for public schools—schools that serve ALL children and families.

Tell your friends, neighbors, and legislators that WE WON’T GO BACK and accept a voucher program that funnels public dollars to private schools that can—and do—discriminate.

No federal school vouchers for Illinois!

06/10/2026

Our calls are working! More Illinois congresspeople have co-sponsored the "Keep Public Funds In Public Schools Act of 2026"—the bill that would REPEAL the federal school voucher scheme.

CALL your rep TODAY and ask them to co-sponsor! If they’ve signed on, call to thank them and ask them to urge their colleagues to sign on. Find their number here: www.congress.gov/contact-us

Let’s make sure every Illinois rep has signed on to show broad support for repealing federal school vouchers when the bill is introduced tomorrow! Not in Illinois? No problem…this legislation is a nationwide effort to demand that public funds stay in public schools.

06/05/2026

The "Keep Public Funds In Public Schools Act of 2026"—the bill that would REPEAL the federal school voucher scheme—is scheduled to be introduced in the House next week and still has MANY Illinois congresspeople who haven’t signed on as sponsors!

CALL your rep TODAY and ask them to co-sponsor! Find your rep and their number here: www.congress.gov/contact-us

After the call, take a minute and send a quick email too: bit.ly/repeal_fed_vouchers

So far from Illinois, Reps. Davis, Garcia, Jackson, Quigley, and Ramirez have signed on, so you can thank them if that's your rep!

Let’s make sure every Illinois rep signs on to show broad support for repeal when the bill is introduced.

Not in Illinois? No problem…this legislation is a nationwide effort to demand that public funds stay in public schools. So ask your rep too!

06/04/2026

It’s our 10th birthday and you’re invited to our party on Thursday June 25th at 6:30pm, !

Roll up for an “old-school” celebration of our 10 years in the fight for public schools and a fundraiser to keep us moving into our next decade. Host committee is still in formation; you can buy your ticket or join the host committee here: bit.ly/June25party - link in our bio!

PLAY games 🎉 TASTE food + drink 🎉 HONOR advocates 🎉 MOVE w/ dance tutorials +DJ….we’re gonna have a good time!

05/29/2026

Thanks Chicago Tonight () for inviting our executive director, Cassie Creswell, to discuss the federal voucher scheme and why we, along with 45 community, civil rights, good government, labor, and faith-based organizations, urge Governor Pritzker to opt Illinois out of the harmful program that would open the door for taxpayer dollars to be diverted away from our public schools that serve every child and into private and religious institutions that can discriminate and operate without scrutiny.

Full segment at to.wttw.com/4wOPPlH—link in our bio!

State leaders must be cautious of the federal government’s motivations and consider the unlikelihood of the Trump administration creating a program that is going to help public schools. Their education agenda aims to weaken the public system that serves all children and implement vouchers, privatization, and unaccountable private-school programs.

The new federal voucher scheme closely mirrors IL’s now-defunct “Invest in Kids” vouchers, which should undoubtedly serve as a lesson. The program sunsetted after six years in 2023, after diverting more than $315 million dollars from our General Revenue Fund to private schools, 95% of which were religious. We saw discrimination against students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students, undocumented immigrant students, and pregnant-parenting students and more in voucher schools because, unlike public schools, private schools are not required by the state to serve all students and can set their own admissions standards.

For more on the serious issues we saw with vouchers in Illinois — https://www.ilfps.org/sunsetilvouchers

05/28/2026

US Rep. Moore (D-WI) and others are preparing to introduce the "Keep Public Funds In Public Schools Act of 2026"—the companion to the Kelly/Hirono bill in the Senate.

This bill would REPEAL the federal school voucher scheme, a measure included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that could divert as much as $50 billion in taxpayer funds to K-12 private and religious schools.

Ask your congressperson TODAY to co-sponsor! Take a minute and send a quick email here: bit.ly/repeal_fed_vouchers

Let’s get every rep to sign on to show broad support for repeal when the bill is introduced. Not in Illinois? No problem…this is a nationwide effort to demand that public funds stay in public schools.

05/26/2026

👋 Public school supporters! The Illinois General Assembly is back in Springfield to start their last week of Spring Session. Here’s our update on what’s needed and what’s still moving + a complete to-do list of actions for reaching out to your legislators!

Taking action for the public good

05/26/2026

Tax the Rich Power Hour—Illinois Revenue Alliance

Virtual phone bank!
1 – 2pm CDT
Tuesday, May 26
Thursday, May 28

Join Citizen Action Illinois—talk to Illinoisans about the importance of taxing the rich & patch them through to urge their legislators to take action!

Sign up: https://www.mobilize.us/citizenactionillinois/event/951844

While working families see their budgets stretched thin and communities see important programs and services cut, billionaires and big corporations continue to hoard massive amounts of money and refuse to pay their fair share. Join us to talk to Illinoisans about the importance of taxing the rich and...