Kindergarten classes in Arlington Heights Elementary District 25, like Kathy Riesing’s at Dryden Elementary School, would go to full-day beginning in August 2024 under a plan by the district that will add several new classrooms to most schools. (Joe Lewnard | Staff Photographer)
If Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs a bill requiring full-day kindergarten in all elementary and unit school districts within four years, at least nine suburban districts would be forced to comply, even if voters rejected proposals in the past.
That’s according to a Daily Herald analysis of 80 suburban districts in five counties.
The percentage statewide is similar: About 11% of elementary and unit districts statewide don’t currently have full-day kindergarten, education officials said.
And the cost of changing that would be shouldered by taxpayers in those districts.
All nine of the suburban districts without full-day kindergarten offer half-day classes. Some of the districts are in the process of making the transition to full-day after recent voter-approved — and costly — tax hikes.
Both Palatine Elementary District 15 and Arlington Heights Elementary District 25 schools will soon have full-day kindergarten no matter the outcome of the proposed legislation that was sent to Pritzker last week.
District 25 is borrowing $75 million to make additions and renovations at six of the district’s seven elementary schools to accommodate the shift. They also estimate another $1.4 million is needed annually to cover operational costs for personnel and supplies.
In the suburbs, there are five other suburban elementary districts without full-day kindergarten: Des Plaines 62, Mount Prospect 57, Prospect Heights 23, Bloomingdale 13 and Glen Ellyn 41. Two unit districts in Lake County, Barrington 220 and Wauconda 118, also are without full-day kindergarten classes.
While District 220 offers an “enrichment program” for kindergartners that allows students to remain at school all day, changes to that curriculum would be needed for it to be considered full-day kindergarten, district officials said.
Iowa teachers will be banned from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through grade six, and all books depicting sex acts will be removed from school libraries, under a bill Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Friday.
The new law is among similar measures that have been approved in other Republican-dominated statehouses around the country. As with many of those proposals, Iowa Republicans framed their action as a commonsense effort to ensure that parents can oversee what their children are learning in school and that teachers not delve into topics such as gender and sexuality.
Despite the opposition of all Democratic legislators, Republicans who hold large majorities in Iowa’s state House and Senate approved the measure in April and there was little doubt that Reynolds would sign it; she had made issues related to gender identity and sexuality a focal point of her legislative agenda this year.
“This legislative session, we secured transformational education reform that puts parents in the driver’s seat, eliminates burdensome regulations on public schools, provides flexibility to raise teacher salaries, and empowers teachers to prepare our kids for their future,” Reynolds said in a statement.
Under the new law, school administrators also would be required to notify parents if students asked to change their pronouns or names. Religious texts will be exempt from the library ban on books depicting sex acts.
Democrats and LGBTQ groups argued that the restrictions would hurt children by limiting their ability to be open with teachers about gender and sexuality issues and to see their lives reflected in books and other curriculum.
The law’s passage was not a surprise, said Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy at the LGBTQ equality group One Iowa. “But we are still very disappointed by it.”
“What a special ribbon-cutting ceremony this week, as community members came together to celebrate the end of Build 220 construction at the Fields of Dreams, the varsity baseball field, and the new multi-purpose turf field at BHS!
These new and improved spaces will be used by BHS and youth athletic teams, as well as physical education classes. Thank you to the Barrington 220 community for supporting the March 2020 referendum, which made this work possible, as well as the many donors who enabled the district to install wonderful enhancements to the various spaces!”
A measure that implements full-day kindergarten throughout Illinois is now awaiting to be sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his signature.
State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, filed House Bill 2396. It passed the House in March. After several amendments in the Illinois Senate last week, the House voted to concur Friday.
State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, said the bill better prepares the state’s youth for the future.
“Full-day kindergarten has shown to boost academic gains and prepare children for the social and emotional demands of early elementary,” Lightford said. “This can provide students and their families with sufficient support and opportunities in their early education career.”
During Senate committees, state Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, asked about the potential costs on lower-income school districts.
“For them, it’s just an issue of having space,” McConchie said. “They are going to have to build eight classrooms to be able to do this. That is not something they will be able to do in short order. Plus, it will be a million dollars a year to fund this, and they want to make sure they are doing it in a responsible manner.”
The measure phases the policy in over two years so schools can garner funding for the change, which is more than half the state’s schools, according to state Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Harrisburg.
The District 220 Board of Education meets this evening at 7:00 PM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Topics on their agenda include:
Consideration for the Board of Education to authorize the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services/CSBO to approve contracts for the procurement of natural gas and electricity and to elect and designate the price terms of such contracts. The price terms of such contracts shall not exceed the rate of forty-four cents ($0.4400) per therm for natural gas and 6.9 cents ($0.069) per kilowatt hour for electricity, and for periods not to exceed 36 months.
Consideration to Approve BHS Trip to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario
A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be livestreamed on the district YouTube channel.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that blocks public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs, addressing a concern of conservatives ahead of the Republican governor’s expected presidential candidacy.
The law, which DeSantis proposed earlier this year, comes as Republicans across the country target programs on diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.
The signing builds on the governor’s larger push to shape Florida’s education system through regulating how schools deal with subjects such as race and gender, with DeSantis arguing that he is challenging inappropriate liberal ideology in the classroom.
DeSantis, who is expected to announce his presidential run in the coming weeks, has focused heavily on divisive cultural issues as he moves to win over the conservative voters who typically decide Republican primary elections.
Diversity, equity and inclusion offices in higher education often spearhead services tailored to students of various races, genders, sexual orientations, cultures and abilities. Some college administrators also consider so-called DEI factors when admitting students, providing scholarships or deciding which faculty to hire and promote.
The law blocks public universities from diverting state or federal funds toward programs or campus activities that advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion or promote political or social activism.
On the recommendation of current BOE member, Erin Chan Ding, Rouse reached out via his Barrington220 issued email address to recruit Clopton to run for BOE: “As you are aware we’ve got some political craziness going on and we are anticipating some strong opposition to equity work moving forward in the district without the support of a sound board of education.”
In order to facilitate Clopton’s placement on the BOE, Rouse offered to put Clopton in contact with “people that are very interested in getting behind/supporting good candidates and putting them in contact with the right people.”
It is no secret that Rouse works closely with Jessica Green, founder of Courageous Community, an organization listed as a Community Partner on Rouse’s Equity220 website. Green hosted a “Meet the Candidate” fundraiser, exclusive to candidates Clopton, Altschuler, and Collister-Lazzari, 3 of the 7 running for BOE in the recent election. Green is also a member of the Equity Committee run by Rouse, but closed to the D220 community, as only “those who support the mission” are allowed to participate. So much for Rouse’s DEI initiative “We Belong to Each Other” ~ it clearly should come with a disclaimer: We Belong to Each Other… but only if you’re the ‘right people.’
Rouse took his support of Clopton running for BOE even further by connecting her with Melissa Atteberry. Atteberry is the current President of the Barrington Education Association (BEA), the D220 teacher’s union. Atteberry was very eager to meet with Clopton, “I would love to meet with you and learn more about your motivations, as well as goals for the district.”
Clopton will be called upon to vote on the BEA Union contract. What influence does Atteberry hold over her in that regard. We know that Chan Ding took political donations from, as well as the endorsement of, the BEA two years ago when she ran for BOE. This subjected her to much criticism. It appears from this election cycle that the BEA has found other ways to influence the BOE elections other than by making public endorsements and donations.
Rouse also took time away from his DEI work to meet Clopton for an extended lunch in Deer Park, where they apparently discussed her ability to combat the “political craziness” going on and the “strong opposition” to the equity work no one other than those deemed privileged enough by Rouse to serve on his private DEI Equity Committee Team know anything about.
Each of the meetings Rouse scheduled with Clopton were conducted on D220 time, on D220 email, and many on D220’s Zoom platform. As seen above, Rouse further orchestrated and participated in meetings between Clopton and BOE incumbent candidate Collister-Lazzari.
Collister-Lazarri and Superintendent Hunt made it very clear at the BOE meeting of September 20, 2022, that only people who “support the mission” would be welcome to participate on Rouses’s DEI Equity Team. The first Equity Committee meeting was reported on at this BOE meeting starting at 48:55, wherein Collister-Lazzari advised the meetings are “not open to the public” because, similar to the Safety & Security Committee, “there’s things that maybe the whole public shouldn’t be aware of.” When pushed as to how one might get involved, Chan Ding advised that administrators (i.e. Rouse) ask parents to be involved based on the ‘fit’ for that specific committee, to which Hunt reiterated, “you want people who support the mission of the work, obviously…” Those people are:
It is clear from these communications that we have a D220 Administrator actively seeking candidates for BOE that support his taxpayer paid position. A position that is closed off from public scrutiny and only available for his “District Equity Team” to be part of. He then puts said candidate in contact with the head of the BEA Teacher’s Union, on whose contract said candidate will soon be voting, as the BOE is currently involved in contract negotiations with the BEA. He then takes it one step further by offering to put said candidate in contact with community members that directly support his paid, closed to the public, District position.
Now, this may all be well and fine if Rouse and BEA President Atteberry offered to meet with all candidates running for BOE so they could share their goals for the District and what constitutes a “sound” BOE. However, Rouse was directly contacted by another candidate prior to the recent election, Leonard Munson, who requested a meeting with Rouse to learn more from him about the DEI programs and initiatives. Rouse refused to meet with Munson, stating his “admin team” has been advised to let D220 Superintendent Hunt know if any requests to meet are made from candidates and to refer requests to Hunt’s office as it was Hunt’s job to meet with candidates to discuss the District’s programs, “including our equity work.”
This should come as no surprise as Rouse has already decided that there are parents who are and who are not on the D220 “District Equity Team” and he has said so publicly, in BOE meetings and on his Twitter feed. Rouse clearly does not believe Munson “supports the mission” as he was denied any meeting with Rouse. Yet, the District emails indicate Rouse not only recruited Clopton, but met with her multiple times on the taxpayer’s dime. Is this Rouse’s idea of “equity”? The BOE candidates, parents and taxpayers of D220 deserve better.
Pritzker has voiced support for measure backed by secretary of state
SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would block libraries from receiving state grants if they ban books cleared the Illinois Senate Wednesday and will soon be sent to Gov. JB Pritzker, who is expected to sign it.
House Bill 2789 is an initiative of Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, whose office oversees the Illinois State Library and administers several grant programs for public and school libraries.
It would require that as a condition of qualifying for those grants, libraries adopt either a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books or the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which includes a statement that “(m)aterials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”
“This right-to-read legislation will help remove the pressure that librarians have had to endure from extremist groups like the Proud Boys who have targeted some of our libraries and their staff,” Giannoulias said during a news conference after the Senate vote. “This first-of-its-kind legislation is important because the concept of banning books contradicts the very essence of what our country stands for.”
In June 2022, the Community High School District 99 school board came under pressure to remove the book “Gender Queer” from its library shelves. According to a Chicago Sun-Times article, that pressure came from a group of conservative parents as well as members of the far-right Proud Boys. The book, written and illustrated as a graphic novel, is a memoir about a nonbinary person grappling with issues of gender identity and sexuality as a teenager and young adult.
According to the American Library Association, “Gender Queer” was the most frequently challenged book in 2022, drawing 151 requests for its removal because of its focus on LGBTQ issues and allegedly explicit sexual content. All told in 2022, the ALA said it documented 1,269 demands for books and other resources to be removed from libraries, the largest number of attempted book bans since the organization began collecting data more than 20 years ago.
Senate Republicans, however, argued that the bill would put too much power in the hands of the ALA and that putting the group’s Library Bill of Rights into law would force local libraries to enact extreme policies.
For example, Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, cited a provision that said libraries that also provide exhibit spaces and meeting rooms to the public “should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.”
Barrington School District 220 hired longtime school administrator Nathaniel Rouse as the district’s first-ever director of equity, race and cultural diversity initiatives in August of 2020. Apparently, Rouse recruits Board of Education candidates HE (and presumably his union) deems to be “sound” during school hours.
Posted Tuesday by CUSD 220:
“At the May 2 Barrington 220 Board of Education meeting, the new Board was sworn into office. New Board member Diana Clopton, along with re-elected Board members Barry Altshuler and Leah Collister-Lazzari, will all serve four-year terms on the Board.
Clopton and her husband moved to the Barrington area in 2011. They have two children who attend Prairie Campus and Station Campus. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign and a MBA from Northwestern University. Clopton currently works as an Associate Marketing Director at a bio-pharmaceutical company.”
The District 220 Board of Education meets tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Items on their agenda include:
Approve Settlement (Abeyance) Agreement with Student A
Consideration to Approve Middle School SRO Contract
Consideration to Approve 5th Amendment to the BHS SRO Contract, and
Consideration to Approve Canvassing Completed by Cook County as a result of the April 4, 2023, School Board Election
A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be livestreamed on the district YouTube channel.
