On February 19, Governor JB Pritzker delivered his annual budget address in Springfield. While his proposed budget will now pass through negotiations in the Illinois General Assembly and the final budget for fiscal year 2026 may be somewhat different, we can learn about his priorities in the coming year through the proposed budget. The Governor celebrated Illinois’ progress on critical measures of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) as well as record high school graduation rates as signs of progress to build on through investments throughout the P-20 pipeline, including in essential programming and education workforce pipeline strategies.
This fiscal year’s projected fiscal shortfall was even larger than FY2025, and thus advocates and policymakers have anticipated difficult cuts in FY2026 to critical education and workforce investments. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget highlighted, however, that state fiscal revenues have increased from the initial FY2026 estimates made in November 2024, which may provide some relief.
More broadly, the Governor noted in his address that the rapidly evolving federal context will impact the state’s budget context, potentially compounding local challenges and constraints. Federal budget cuts, both broadly at agencies like the US Department of Education and those threatened directly to districts and colleges via a Dear Colleague letter, stand to most directly impact the education budget context in Illinois. Additionally, planned and current tariffs and tax code changes will have an indirect impact, contributing to consumer behaviors and impacting the state’s tax revenues broadly.
Ultimately, Governor Pritzker emphasized a continued focus on fiscal stability in the state, recovering from prior budget crises and minimizing cuts while balancing budgets. While this is a lean fiscal year, he noted, “lean budget years are a challenge and no longer a catastrophe.” We celebrate the preservation of important investments in education and workforce strategies that enable learners across Illinois to access vital opportunities to progress along unambiguous paths to economic mobility.
Key Education Highlights in Illinois’ FY2026 Proposed Budget
$350 Million Increase for Evidence-Based Funding (EBF)
The annual increase to the EBF formula, while less than many advocates have pushed for, remains essential to moving toward funding adequacy, addressing historical resource inequities, and ensuring Illinois schools are able to serve their students effectively. For FY2026, $350 million comprises a substantial portion of the overall proposed budget increase in education in the state and brings the overall EBF funding total to $8.9 billion (up $2.1 billion in aggregate since Pritzker took office).
$1.3 Million Increase in Career and Technical (CTE) Funding
While significantly more modest than last year’s more than $10 million increase, we celebrate the $1.3 million additional investment into quality CTE. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) statement in the budget proposal indicates they view this increase as critical for supporting districts at the lowest percentage of funding adequacy, which will help address key gaps in access across the state.
$3.175 Million in Continued Dual Credit Funding
We are thrilled to see the Governor continue to propose funding for dual credit at the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) after it was first approved in FY2024. This funding is building valuable capacity at ICCB to help manage growing dual credit partnerships and programming across Illinois and can also seed innovation by communities statewide. We hope this stable funding source will facilitate ongoing collaboration with ISBE to ensure dual credit offerings scale strategically and equitably.
$10 Million Increase for Monetary Award Program (MAP); Flat Funding for AIM HIGH
As in FY2025, the modest increase will help the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) ensure that MAP is more adequately distributed to the students with the highest financial need across our state. We celebrate the proposed $10 million increase, which will bring the total ISAC appropriation to $721 million for MAP, and are eager to see it in the enacted budget. The proposed $50 million for AIM HIGH represents flat funding since FY2024, which will continue to support retaining Illinois students in the P-20 pipeline.
Investment and Support for Transforming College Admissions and Programs
The Governor’s proposed budget includes $3 million for continued investment in piloting additional mechanisms for using the Common Application, including transfer programs and One Click College Admit. These initiatives will help facilitate ongoing statewide efforts to take a more student-centered approach to increasing postsecondary access and completion. The Governor also noted support for both a direct admissions program and community college baccalaureate programs in his remarks. As we have argued in our policy agenda, creating more streamlined postsecondary admissions will ensure that more students remain in our systems and progress through degree completion, and we are eager to see how the 104th General Assembly moves forward with these ideas.
Continued Investments in Teacher Preparation
The Governor’s proposal continues to support the state’s educator pipeline through several investments in teacher recruitment and preparation programs:
- $15.75 million for Golden Apple maintains flat funding for its Scholars and Accelerators programs.
- $8 million for the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship maintains flat funding for this essential investment in recruiting and preparing diverse teachers across the state, despite litigation that may impact the MTI.
- $45 million for ISBE’s teacher recruitment pilot remains flat for the third year running, which enables ISBE to continue to build capacity.
Evolving Early Childhood Investments
Given the creation of the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) and respective shifts in program administration, the Governor’s proposed budget includes provisions shifting funds and maintaining essential investments into early childhood infrastructure and programming. The proposed budget includes $21.7 million in operational funding for IDEC, some increased investment in early childhood workforce strategies (totaling $200 million overall), and level funding for ISBE’s early childhood block grant ($748 million). The Governor’s team has indicated they anticipate resuming increased investments into that block grant after a one-year pause in FY2026.
Looking Ahead
We will continue to monitor federal policy and budgetary changes that will impact work in Illinois, but we are heartened by the Governor’s address and the evidence of his priorities in education. As the 104th General Assembly progresses and the final budget is enacted, we are committed to working with our state agency partners to thoughtfully utilize funding to improve opportunities for all Illinois learners, particularly those from the most historically marginalized communities.
