Delivered via email: March 13, 2026
This Week at the Capitol
This week marked the Senate Committee deadline which means that senators were focused on getting their substantive bills passed out of committee in order for them to continue through the legislative process this session. While there are various ways to keep key bills moving after this deadline, this is an important deadline for the majority of bills introduced this year. One important distinction when bills do pass out of committee is whether they are “held on second.” When a bill is “held on second,” it means that negotiations are still ongoing and the senator is committed to continued negotiations and will bring the bill back to committee before calling it on the Senate Floor. There are multiple education-related bills that fall into this category.
The Senate is taking a break next week and won’t return until March 24. March 24 is also IASB Advocacy Day in Springfield. Over 75 school board members are registered for this exciting event featuring legislative and agency speakers in the morning and legislator meetings and attending committees in the afternoon.
The House will return on March 18, the day after the primary election. With the House committee deadline being March 27, the next two weeks promise to be busy for the House as members try to pass their bills out of committee within those nine days.
Areas of Focus for the Senate During Deadline Week
Employment
There were two important employment bills that passed out of the Senate Education Committee this week. The first was SB2773, sponsored by Senator Cappel. This bill creates a new pathway for paraprofessionals who are on a temporary license to obtain a more permanent license with stipulations once the short-term license expires. This is an initiative of the Illinois Association of Administrators for Special Education (IAASE) and is an effort to help districts statewide who are experiencing paraprofessional shortages. IASB is supportive of this bill as an additional avenue to allow districts to keep successful paraprofessionals. Legislators noted that Illinois is currently experiencing thousands of paraprofessional vacancies which impacts our students. While IASB advocates for the state to work towards a more permanent paraprofessional pipeline, it is essential to serve our students now and ensure that districts can fill these paraprofessional positions. ISBE opposed the bill raising concerns that this is not the best route to licensure.
One bill IASB has been very engaged in is SB2914, also sponsored by Senator Cappel, which makes significant changes to the Notice to Remedy process. IASB opposes this bill. However, there is a commitment by the sponsor to continue negotiations between the unions and school management groups and will bring the bill back to committee.
Charter Schools
Two important bills related to charter schools passed out of the Senate Executive Committee this week, both of which were opposed by charter organizations. The first, (SB4040, Castro) is an initiative of ISBE. As some background, the original charter law enacted in 1996 established a State Charter School Commission, which had the authority to override a local school district’s decision to authorize, renew, or revoke a charter. When the State Charter School Commission overrode the local school district’s decision to deny a charter school, the State Charter School Commission became the authorizer. In 2020, the State Charter School Commission was abolished and ISBE became the official authorizer. Importantly for our school districts, SB4040 would have the authorization of all state-authorized charter schools outside of Chicago transferred back to the local school districts on July 1, 2027.
The second charter bill (SB3391, Villanueva), an initiative of the Chicago Teacher’s Union, would put provisions in place to ensure financial responsibility and oversight of charter schools. This bill is in response to the many charters that have closed in Chicago, displacing thousands of CPS students. The sponsor noted the need for this legislation given the serious and detrimental impact of these sudden closures on school districts, students, and families.
While there is a commitment to continue negotiating both bills, the Senate Executive Chair noted that this was a new era for charters and the importance of them coming to the table.
Pensions
During the 2025 veto session, there appeared to be movement to passing Tier 2 Pension reform this session. However, given the state’s challenging fiscal outlook, this issue has not moved forward. A bill that did pass out of the committee this week was SB2950, sponsored by Senator Martwick. It extends the TRS Accelerated Pension Benefit Payment Program for an additional two years (currently set to expire in 2026). This program allows Tier 1 educators to voluntarily opt out of their 3% compounded cost of living adjustments (COLAs) and instead receive a one-time lump sum payment equal to 70% of the difference between the present value of the Tier 1 COLAs and a 1.5% non-compounded COLA.
Bills That Passed Out of Committee
The following bills impact K-12 education and were passed out of legislative committees this week.
Senate Education
Teacher Evaluations (SB2913, Lightford)
Asthma Medication (SB2837, Johnson)
IASB Supported - Paraprofessional Licensure (SB2773, Cappel)
IASB Opposed - Notice to Remedy (SB2914, Cappel)
Whole Child Month (SR611, Johnson)
Senate Behavior and Mental Health
Suicide Prevention (SB2771, Belt)
Senate Executive
State-Authorized Charter Schools (SB4040, Castro)
Charter School Financial Accountability (SB3391, Villanueva)
Senate Pensions
TRS Accelerated Pension Benefit – Extension (SB2750, Martwick)
Senate Criminal
Student Discipline – Expulsion for Sexual Assault (SB2991, McClure)
Spring 2026 Legislative Update Webinar
On March 20, from noon to 1 p.m., the Governmental Relations team will be hosting the Legislative Update & Know Before You Go webinar, covering both federal and state updates. The team will discuss bills that are in committee, those that have passed out of committee and are gaining traction, and what is next as deadline weeks come and go. This webinar is open to all members but is especially important for those attending the upcoming Advocacy Day on March 24. This will also replace this month's Advocacy Ambassadors meeting. Make sure to sign up for this important webinar.
Legislative Tracking List
The IASB Governmental Relations team tracks all legislation that may impact K-12 public education and makes regular updates to that list. As a reminder, although a bill may be filed, many factors influence whether it makes its way through the legislative process. Some of those factors include whether the bill gets assigned by leadership to a committee, the extent of any opposition, and the priorities of the sponsor.
In an effort to ensure that IASB members can monitor all bills the Governmental Relations team is tracking, legislation has been broken down into ten different topics:
Boards of Education(Opens in a new window)
Insurance(Opens in a new window)
OMA and FOIA(Opens in a new window)
Personnel(Opens in a new window)
Regional Office of Education(Opens in a new window)
School Finance(Opens in a new window)
School Safety and Health(Opens in a new window)
State Board of Education(Opens in a new window)