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The office of state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel announced that seven local school districts will receive over $5.6 million in additional evidence-based funding.
“The EBF model is essential for our public schools because it provides all children the opportunity to succeed,” said Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood. “In Illinois, education is a top priority, and we will continue our efforts to fully fund our schools so every child has access to a fair, quality education.”
The funding, which is awarded in addition to the base-level funding received by all public schools, is based on the evidence-based funding formula implemented in 2017, which overhauled state funding for K-12 education.
The law, which Loughran Cappel backed, calculates funding based on the individual needs of school districts according to factors including enrollment, poverty rate, and the number of special education and English-language learner students.
School districts in the 49th Senate District that will receive funding are:
- Richland School District 88A
- Troy School District 30C
- Chaney-Monge School District 88
- Valley View School District 365U
- Joliet Public Schools District 86
- Joliet Township High School District 204
- Plainfield School District 202
Three of the districts will receive more than $1 million in funding each. Plainfield School District 202 will receive the most funding, with $1,843,726 awarded, followed by JTHS District 204, which will receive $1,539,243, and Joliet Public Schools District 86, which will receive $1,120,372.
Additionally, Valley View will receive $831,231, Chaney-Monge will receive $178,418, Troy 30C will receive $73,605 and Richland 88A will receive $15,608.
The evidence-based funds are part of more than $300 million in funding awarded to Illinois schools for fiscal 2026. Schools will start to see the distribution of these funds later in August.