State’s Evidence-Based Funding for Schools Grows by $350 million, Reaching $9.3 Billion

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) today released annual allocations for Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) for Fiscal Year 2027, reflecting Illinois’ continued and historic commitment to equitable school funding. Under Governor JB Pritzker, the state has increased EBF tier funding by $2.5 billion, including a $350 million increase for Fiscal Year 2027 to meet the needs of students, bringing the state’s total annual investment to $9.3 billion. Consistent with prior years, all school districts are receiving more state funding than last school year.

This year’s calculation reflects data and process improvements that more accurately counts the number of low-income students in the State of Illinois. ISBE, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), and the Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) reviewed and adjusted a query, created during the Rauner Administration, that pulled low-income counts. ISBE also made the policy decision to count all students who were eligible for federal social programs as of July 1, regardless of the date the student's application was processed and approved, and whether they remain eligible after July 1. Additionally, the state has implemented data and process improvements that have led to ‘cleaner’ data, including improvements in geocoding students.

Since the more accurate data applied to all school districts, there was not significant variance in tier distribution (198 out of 936 districts/organizational units shifted tiers, compared to 264 out of 934 last school year). While the distribution of funds is not significantly impacted by this change, the 43% increase in the count of low-income students statewide (approximately 300,000), combined with other factors such as higher costs for teacher salaries and declines in local school district share of Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax (CPPRT) revenue in most districts due to national economic conditions, means that a statewide effort to raise every district to a 90% adequacy rate has increased by $1.05 billion to a total of $4.078 billion. This is consistent with trends experienced in FY26. More detailed information can be found in ISBE’s Evidence-Based Funding Frequently Asked Questions document​.

“The continued historic investment into our Evidence-Based Funding model means that every school district in the State of Illinois is receiving more funding than last school year, consistent with prior years,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “Yes, FY 2027 has new challenges — from declining federal resources and CPPRT revenue to the increased cost of educating Illinois students to new low-income data — but we remain fully committed to funding public schools and supporting strong communities.”

The EBF formula – which is outlined in state statute – considers enrollment, student demographics, local funding capacity, and 34 cost factors to ensure funding is responsive and equitable. Every school district will receive at least the same amount of funding as last year through the Base Funding Minimum, with the additional FY 2027 EBF Tier appropriation of $300 million distributed equitably based on district need.

EBF is built to reflect the changing needs and costs of our public schools. Changes in adequacy are not linear because the EBF formula is a dynamic model that was never intended to be static. Cost factor increases and updates to the low-income count have increased the state’s aggregate adequacy target from 11 to 14 years. The continuing decline in the CPPRT, a state revenue source that helps to fund schools, and increases in district expenditures, including salaries and benefits provided to Illinois educators, each raise the bar for what’s needed to reach 90% adequacy.

To protect and strengthen how the state counts low-income students the FY 2027 state budget includes a $200,000 appropriation to study the development of an alternative low-income count for EBF calculations. This was included in the budget in response to President Trump’s budget bill, HR1, which is drastically reducing the number of families qualifying for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), all of which also qualify students as “low income” in the EBF formula. ISBE will undertake this study during the 2026-27 school term.

Count of Illinois School Districts by EBF Tier
The cutoff between districts in Tier 1 (furthest from being adequately funded) and Tier 2 dropped from 75.6% to 72.0%. This means a district must have an adequacy target at or below 72% to be eligible for the highest level of funding. Tier 2 districts have an adequacy target this year that is between 72% and 90%. By statute, Tier 3 districts are those between 90% and 100% adequacy, and Tier 4 districts are those at or above 100%.