A new public school funding bill recently passed by the Illinois Legislature, SB1947, includes a scholarship program that would award donated funds to students in lower-income families — up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level — to provide them the opportunity to attend private schools.
A provision within the bill allows for scholarship eligibility to students in select “focus districts” in the state, including Freeport School District 145 in northwest Illinois.
A breakdown from the Illinois Policy Institute reveals the criteria for eligibility: A district must include at least one school ranking in the bottom 10 percent in terms of student performance or a school with a graduation rate of less than 60 percent.
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