ISBE has a responsibility to advocate for what all of Illinois’ children deserve. The State Board makes budget recommendations to the General Assembly annually each January. The state constitution mandates that the “primary responsibility for financing the system of public education” belongs solely to the state.

FY 2026

FY 2026 Budget Hearing Presentation

Public Hearing Date	Number of Speakers	Speaker Capacity	Speaker Capacity Status
{{item.HearingDate}}	{{item.CntSpeakers}}	50	Open Closed

The Illinois State Board of Education invites you to give your input on the state’s budget for public education in fiscal year 2026. Each year, ISBE welcomes educators, parents, students, and community organizations to submit testimony that informs our advocacy for equitable funding for all Illinois students. Please follow the steps below to participate.

Submit your request in writing via the online form. Proceed to Steps 2 and 3 only if you would also like to speak at or attend an in-person or virtual budget hearing. ISBE will consider all written and oral testimony equally. Speakers must submit written testimony. Oral testimony is not required.
If you would like to speak at a hearing after submitting your request in writing, join the in-person hearing at the ISBE Springfield Office or register for the appropriate virtual hearing using the links below. You will need the reference number you receive after submitting your request in writing.
- In-Person: 4-7 p.m. Oct. 8 at 100 North First Street Springfield, IL 62777 – Submit request in writing by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 3. Speakers who submit online requests after the deadline are not guaranteed a time slot to speak and may present at the end of the hearing depending on availability of time.
- Virtual: 4-7 p.m. Oct. 10 – Submit request in writing and register for the Oct. 10 webinar by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 7.
- Virtual: 1-4 p.m. Oct. 28 – Submit request in writing and register for the Oct. 28 webinar by: 11:59 p.m. Oct. 23.
Participate in the budget hearing at your assigned time. After you register for a hearing, ISBE will inform you via email of the 30-minute window when you may speak. Please keep your testimony to less than three minutes. Only one person per organization should provide testimony.

Hearings are open to the public even if you do not plan to submit a funding request or speak. If you wish to listen but not submit testimony or speak, you can either attend the hearing in person in Springfield on Oct. 8 or follow Step 2 to register to listen into a virtual budget hearing.

View a detailed instruction guide.

All of the budget hearings are accessible to persons with disabilities and to persons speaking languages other than English. Persons planning to participate who need real-time captioning, American Sign Language, or spoken language translation services should contact ISBE Language Access Coordinator Carolina Fabian at cfabian@isbe.net or 312-814-8884 at least two weeks prior to the hearing.

FY 2025

The Illinois State Board of Education recently hosted three public hearings to gather input from across the state on the budget for public education in fiscal year 2025. ISBE heard from educators, parents, students, community organizations, and other leaders via budget request forms that were submitted and in-person and virtual testimony. Several related documents are available below.

FY 2025 Budget Hearings

FY 2024

The Illinois State Board of Education hosted three hearings to gather input on the state budget for public education in fiscal year 2024. Each year, ISBE welcomes educators, parents, students, and community organizations to submit testimony that informs our advocacy for equitable funding for all Illinois students.

FY 2024 Budget Hearings

FY 2023

FY 2022

FY 2022 Enacted Operations Budget
FY 2022 Budget - Senate Bill 2800 with House Amendment 3
Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Book
Fiscal Year 2022 - Board Recommendation Comparison to Governor's Recommendation
Fiscal Year 2022 Board's Recommended Budget
The Illinois State Board of Education hosted three hearings to gather input on the state's budget for public education in fiscal year 2022. Each year, ISBE welcomes educators, parents, students, and community organizations to submit testimony that informs our advocacy for equitable funding for all Illinois students.

FY 2021

ISBE hosted four hearings to gather input in person:

Oct. 16, immediately following the board meeting, at approximately noon, in the East St. Louis School District Administration Building at 1005 State St., East St. Louis
Oct. 23, 3:30-5:30 p.m., in the Senior Cafeteria of Bloomington High School at 1202 E. Locust St., Bloomington
Nov. 6, 3:30-5:30 p.m., in the CORE Classroom of Dr. Nick Osborne Primary Center at 401 N. 30th St., Mt. Vernon
Nov. 21, 1-4 p.m., in Room 16-503 of the James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago

View the event flyer

. 

FY 2020

Funding a Civil Right: Quality Education for All

Fiscal Year 2020 Enacted Operations Budget
FY 2020 Capital Budget Passed by the General Assembly on June 1, 2019
Fiscal Year 2020 Board’s District Intervention April 17, 2019 Budget Recommendation
Fiscal Year 2020 Board's General Funds March 20, 2019 Budget Recommendation
Fiscal Year 2020 Board’s Recommendation compared to the Governor’s Recommendation
"Funding a Civil Right: Quality Education for All" FY 2020 Budget Book
FY 2020 ISBE Recommendation Compared to FY 2019 Appropriations
FY 2020 Budget Recommendation – Presentation to State Board 1-16-2019
“Funding A Civil Right: Quality Education for All” One-Pager
Quotes Available for Attribution
ISBE hosted three public budget hearings to gather testimony about educational and community funding needs across the state. ISBE also accepted email submissions through the FY 2020 Budget Request Form at ISBEFY2020@isbe.net. ISBE received 425 requests. The hearings occurred on:

Oct. 17 immediately following the Board meeting in Springfield (100 N. First Street, ISBE Board Room, Fourth Floor)
Oct. 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. in Mt. Vernon (Dr. Nick Osborne Primary Center, 401 North 30th Street)
Nov. 16 immediately following the Board meeting in Chicago (Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph Street, Conference Room 16-503)

Resources

{{CurrentPage.Title}}