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The bills, HB5362 and HB5363, propose to allocate $20 million
from the Illinois General Revenue Fund to be provided as a grant
to the Afterschool for Children and Teens Now, or ACT Now,
Coalition to support full-service community schools.
The first bill sets requirements for the disbursement of the
funds to the 32 partner schools in the state.
Executive director of the coalition, Susan Stanton, spoke of
positive impact programs in community schools across the state,
in both urban and rural settings, which included improved
educational outcomes.
“Members of this committee, this is not about creating a new
system. It's about strengthening and sustaining one that already
delivers results across Illinois.,” Stanton said.
Funding for the programs was abruptly pulled by the U.S.
Department of Education, citing a July 2025 memo from U.S.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, which guided federal agencies to
revoke grants over language relating to DEI, which the memo
classified as discriminatory.
State Rep. Blaine Wilhour, R-Louisville, questioned proponents
on whether the program is a DEI program, to which proponents
said it was not.
“Just get rid of the DEI language. Just get rid of it and you
probably won’t have a problem,” Wilhour said.
Multiple proponents testified that it would not be as simple as
removing such language from their grant application, citing that
there are no new applications being taken and saying the
program’s application did not include DEI language. Instead,
advocates said the program helps to solve issues from the
community level.
The subcommittee did not hold a vote on the bills, but they
could move to the House Appropriations Committee, where they
could be amended, for a vote based on Wednesday’s testimony and
any future hearings.
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