Lightford measure aims to keep reenrolled dropouts in school

• Education

SPRINGFIELD— Re-enrolled dropouts could receive more resources under legislation steered by Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) that was approved in the Senate today.

School districts with a high dropout rate would receive more funding for each student that was dropped from enrollment rolls for at least one month and was re-enrolled into an evidence-based and best practices program for high school dropouts.

Read more …

Lightford: Chicago children’s education is not a political pawn

• Education
• CPS

CHICAGO- A Cook County judge rejected a CPS injunction request in its state education funding lawsuit today. Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) reacted to the ruling with the following statement:

“The General Assembly has a responsibility to make sure the academic progress of Chicago’s children is not disrupted due to our governor’s unwillingness to help them. His rhetoric has done nothing but alienate these children, and their education is not a political pawn.”

Lightford measure provides more opportunities for minority teachers, students

• Education
• Higher Education

SPRINGFIELD- More minorities could soon be eligible for the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program under a plan led by Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) that was approved in the Senate today.

Senate Bill 1739 allows licensed teachers pursuing additional teaching endorsements or a master’s degree in an academic field related to the subject they currently teach or plan to teach to apply for the MTI scholarship.

Read more …

Lightford: We must limit the amount of children being expelled before kindergarten (VIDEO)

• Video
• Education

Children in public preschools are more than three times more likely to be expelled than children in kindergarten through 12th grades, according to a report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois. Today, Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford (D-Maywood) joined a group of law enforcement officials and colleagues from both chambers to discuss a proposal that would keep more at-risk preschool students in the classroom.

The proposal, which was approved in the House with significant bipartisan support 95-20, would prohibit the expulsion of children enrolled in early childhood programs receiving grants from the Illinois State Board of Education. The legislation focuses on transitioning children to programs that better fit a child’s needs.

Read more …