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CV NEWS FEED // Illinois teachers’ unions have donated at least $3.5 million to politicians pushing the controversial “Homeschool Act,” which critics say hampers educational freedom and parental rights.
HB 2827, as CatholicVote previously reported, requires parents to annually submit a notice with the intent to homeschool to the state’s education authorities, providing the child’s personal information and “gender identity.” The legislation also allows local public schools to demand portfolios from homeschooled students at any time, for any reason. Parents who do not cooperate could face charges of truancy and even loss of custody.
Illinois Policy reported that the legislation, House Bill 2827, “isn’t just an attack on homeschoolers – it’s another effort to limit families’ educational options to only the public school mediocrity teachers unions produce.”
Despite the fact that states are working to increase educational opportunities through both school choice and by decreasing homeschooling restrictions, the report added, Illinois continues to restrict educational freedom.
“It isn’t hard to track the root cause: teachers unions hate educational choice and have poured $3.5 million into the lawmakers’ political committees who make these decisions,” the article states.
In 2023, Illinois legislators refused to extend the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program, which had provided scholarships for students from low-income families to attend qualifying non-public schools.
For five months ahead of the decision to cut the program, Illinois teachers’ unions donated approximately $1.5 million to their congressmen. The National Education Association (NEA) donated much of this fund, with organizations like the Chicago Teachers Union and Illinois Federation of Teachers openly calling for an end to the scholarship program.
Teachers’ unions have now donated at least $3.5 million to legislators who support HB 2827, Illinois Policy reported.
“Money speaks louder than words,” the report concluded. “Teachers unions don’t have the best interest of students at heart, and they are pouring money into political campaigns to ensure parents don’t have the best educational options for their children.”
