As we continue rounding out the year with quick hits on laws taking effect Jan. 1, consider House Bill 3039, which makes it easier for middle schoolers to earn high school credit.

I referenced this bill briefly in an April column about SkillsUSA and the Northern Illinois University P-20 Research and Data Collaborative promoting their study on efforts to increase “work-based learning opportunities” such as vocational (or career and technical) education and apprenticeships.

That column ran a week before the House passed the final version 106-0. The May 22 Senate vote was 55-2. Among the sponsors were two Naperville Democrats: state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr and state Sen. Laura Ellman.

“School officials in my community came to me with a problem: acing every exam for high school courses isn’t a guarantee you’ll receive credit for that course,” Yang Rohr said in April. “But HB 3039 provides a solution.”

The new law clarifies a few ways for seventh- and eighth-graders to enroll in high school courses with a guarantee option to earn actual high school credit.

“Middle school students preparing for high school deserve to be evaluated based on their academic abilities, not limited by where the course is taught or who is teaching it,” Ellman said in August after Gov. JB Pritzker signed the bill into law.

For individual students, HB 3039 does provide new and important pathways to accelerated success. But Ellman’s quote also sheds light on one of the bill’s shortcomings, something that is broadly true across the K-12 spectrum: we do limit student achievement based on where courses are taught and who is teaching because each district has its own priorities and resources.

Every high school in the state has a freshman English course, but the expectations and coursework are not homogeneous. It could be as simple as one school assigning “Fahrenheit 451” and another “The Crucible.” But some teachers spend nine months belaboring the basics of five-paragraph essays, while others expect rich literary analysis.

A similar concern awaits: if you pass freshman English as a seventh-grader, what class is your high school supposed to offer you junior year? Is a community college ready to step in? Similar questions apply to math, science and more.

Some districts will seize these new opportunities. But not every Illinois school is equipped to offer such options. We already live in an unequal system. Some districts have entire departments that others could only dream of staffing. (High school course offerings are widely available – reading a few is enlightening and frustrating.)

Giving kids a leg up is a great idea, but HB 3039 will only fully succeed as part of a much broader strategy.

A full list of the new legislation is available at tinyurl.com/2026newlawsIL.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.