Illinois schools still have a huge staffing shortage: 4 Ways the State budget is making education jobs more attractive to Illinois residents.
No matter where you live, it seems like you can’t go anywhere without hearing the phrase “educator shortage”. But the issue is far more serious than just a cliche phrase. The National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers’ union in America, reported that the ratio between educator job openings and job hires has been rapidly declining since as far back as 2017. The Covid-19 pandemic has, predictably, exacerbated the problem. By 2022, that ratio was an alarming 0.55, meaning that almost half of the country’s job openings for educators were going unfilled (NEA, 2022).
The state of Illinois is no exception. As of the 2023/24 school year, there are 7188.45 unfilled Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions statewide (ISBE, 2023). That’s a 3.4% shortage in the workforce. While that may seem like a small proportion, it’s the equivalent of about 70,000 Illinois K-12 students not receiving instruction or support because of the absence of a qualified professional.
It gets more complicated. Teachers make up 50% of that shortage, with around 3600 unfilled positions. 30% of those, alone, are Special Education teachers. Meanwhile, paraprofessionals like classroom assistants and tutors make up 37% of unfilled positions. Paraprofessionals are vital to student learning, as they provide necessary one-on-one academic, social, emotional, and often physical, support to Diverse Learner students and students with disabilities. Support personnel, such as counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses, make up 11% of unfilled positions, and administrative roles, like Principals and Deans, make up about 2%.
How is the state budget making public education employment more attractive?
Illinois is running short on school staff in both teaching and non-teaching roles. The call for new teachers is more important than ever, and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has responded to this call by taking budgetary steps aimed at tackling statewide staffing shortages across its more than 850 school districts. ISBE’s budget is doing this by incentivizing job-seeking in public education. ISBE is casting a wide net.
Whether you have a passion for Special Education, mental health, or parent engagement, ISBE’s budget will make it possible for you to enter the education sector through a variety of doors. ISBE is prioritizing learner diversity in the way it allocates its resources.
Here is how ISBE’s FY 2024 $19 billion budget is making it easier for everyday residents to help close the staffing gaps in education:
1. Southwest Organizing Project Parent Mentor Program
ISBE has allocated $17,877,300 to this program, appropriating $8 million from the General Revenue Fund (GRF) and $9,877,300 from the State Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency Fund (CURE). This program is administered by the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), a Chicago nonprofit that works to promote and build interfaith communities through local schools and other institutions.
The Parent Mentor Program promotes meaningful family engagement by developing parent leaders in low-income and underserved schools. The program is designed to engage parents by helping them organize volunteer opportunities in their children’s schools and communities. Volunteer areas range from classroom assistance, to training, to school culture and climate.
Parent volunteers are assigned for a full academic year to a participating classroom for two hours per day, four days per week. They receive three hours of training per week from SWOP’s Parent Engagement Institute, additional mentorship from their assigned teachers, and a $1000 stipend upon completing 100 volunteer hours.
The Parent Mentor Program boosts educational manpower in schools by attracting one of their most important and valuable stakeholders. Meanwhile, parents develop valuable skills in the education profession, build their social and professional networks, and contribute to increased school-parent partnership and transparency.
If you are interested in learning more about this program, visit SWOP’s website.
2. Illinois Elevating Special Educators (IESE)
Funded by IDEA’s (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) — Part D State Personnel Development Grant, ISBE has allocated $2.1 million to the IESE program, as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s larger multiyear award of $9.6 million.
IESE aims to improve educational services for children with disabilities by empowering Special Education Agencies with the necessary resources to reform and improve their personnel preparation and professional development systems — especially in the areas of early intervention and transition services.
One of IESE’s main priorities is to address Illinois’ special education teacher shortage by providing mentoring, coaching, and professional development to Illinois Special Education educators. This will help increase teacher retention, especially those educators who are early in their special education careers.
These services are indispensable to Special Education teachers, whose workload is often more strenuous than other teachers’. Special Education teachers must complete both the normal duties of a general education teacher as well as manage significantly more paperwork associated with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and other crucial communications with teachers, parents, and health professionals. In fact, studies have shown that Special Education teachers leave their jobs more frequently than other teachers and experience burnout more severely (Singer, 1992; Thakur, 2018). It is no surprise that this is still a core advocacy issue for organizations like the Chicago Teachers’ Union, who obtained a recent and significant victory that will see a further reduction in Special Education teacher administrative workload.
The services provided by the IESE program should attract prospective teachers as well as help retain new and established ones. If you are interested in learning more about this program, visit IESE’s website.
3. Philip J. Rock Center and School
Underfunded unique educational institutes is an ongoing problem. This includes education for the deaf-blind. Those with both auditory and visual impairments have historically been unable to access education because their needs require such specialized educational services and strategies. Demand for this education rose during the national rubella epidemics of the 1960s, and by 1978 the Illinois legislature established and funded what would become the Philip J. Rock Center and School for the Deaf-Blind. Since it’s opening, people with hearing and visual disabilities have since been able to access special education, with rich curricula and tailored instruction.
But with Illinois’ growth, the demand for education for the deaf blind has increased, along with staffing shortages. ISBE’s current budget allocated $5 million, 21% more than ISBE had recommended Governor J. B. Pritzker appropriate for the program. This is welcome news, as the major goal for this additional funding is raising workers’ salaries to a competitive rate. The more than $1.2 million increase to the program (32%) from the previous year’s budget is also going towards boosting professional development to existing professionals, increasing the number of rolls, establishing new transition services, and improving safety for students and staff.
4. Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration
In FY 2024, ISBE appropriated $3.6 million from the federal Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant. The sole purpose of this program is to increase the number and diversity of qualified mental health professionals in Local Educational Agencies (LEAs). As previously mentioned, these professionals account for up to 11% of Illinois’ overall education staffing shortage. ISBE distributes these funds by forming partnerships with LEAs and higher education institutions, where it will support innovative training, and help people obtain employment as future school mental health professionals.
This grant comes following the efforts of Senator Dick Durbin who, in 2022, sent a letter to education leaders across Illinois, explaining the federal funds that had been secured through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Senator Durbin’s letter was in response to the revelation that firearms had become the leading cause of death among American children and teens. As a result, the Demonstration grant will be used to attract and train prospective mental health professionals, who have a passion for helping students prevent and endure the social and emotional damage of gun violence.
For now, the mental health services administered through this grant are done so through Chicago Public Schools (CPS). One way, for example, is through CPS’ School Counseling Internship Program, where interns are prepared to complete a practicum and/or an internship with CPS.
References
Pelika, S. (2022). 6 Charts That Explain the Educator Shortage | NEA. Nea.org. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/6-charts-explain-educator-shortage
Unfilled Positions Data. (2019). Illinois State Board of Education; ISBE. https://www.isbe.net/unfilledpositions
Digest of Education Statistics, 2013. (2023). Ed.gov; National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_203.20.asp
About Us. (2020). Swopchicago.org. https://www.swopchicago.org/about-us
Illinois Elevating Special Educators Network. (2023). Iesenetwork.org. https://www.iesenetwork.org/o/iese/page/what-the-iese-network-offers
Illinois Elevating Special Educators Network. (2022). Iesenetwork.org. https://www.iesenetwork.org/o/iese
Thakur, I. (2018). Relationship between Workload and Burnout of Special Education Teachers. Pakistan Journal Of Distance And Online Learning, 4(1), 235–242.
Singer, J. D. (1992). Are special educators’ career paths special? Results from a 13-year longitudinal study. Exceptional children, 59(3), 262–279.
Strategies to build a sustainable special education teacher workforce. (2022). National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). https://www.nctq.org/blog/Strategies-to-build-a-sustainable-special-education-teacher-workforce#:~:text=Special%20education%20positions%20carry%20a,meeting%20legal%20requirements%2C%20and%20other
In A Letter To Illinois Public Schools, Durbin Highlights Federal Funds That Support Mental Health And Counseling Efforts In Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill | U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. (2022, July 11). Senate.gov. https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/in-a-letter-to-illinois-public-schools-durbin-highlights-federal-funds-that-support-mental-health-and-counseling-efforts-in-bipartisan-gun-safety-bill
