At the Illinois Education and Career Success Network Policy Committee‘s quarterly meeting on September 24, 2025, Illinois Workforce and Education Resource Collaborative Director Meg Bates shared the new study, “Precarious Prospects: Education Pays, Yet Socioeconomic Disparities Persist in Illinois Students’ Later Earnings.” In addition, the Policy Committee highlighted its new memo on College and Career Pathway Endorsement (CCPE) implementation challenges plus updates regarding state dual credit policy, cut score re-evaluation, and new resources.
The Policy Committee focuses on new and emerging education and career policy efforts, including (but not limited to) issues around college and career pathways, work-based learning, early college credit, transitional instruction, and postsecondary transitions. Quarterly meetings provide space for local practitioners and policy leaders to collaborate and learn from one another, elevate local practice to inform state policy, and support local practitioners to take advantage of policy windows. The Policy Committee is composed of a range of education, workforce, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and state agency stakeholders spanning the P-20 pipeline.