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 several in South Cook County.
In South Cook County, students who meet income criteria in the following school districts are eligible for the scholarships:
• Gen. George Patton School District 133
• Thornton Township High School District 205
• Bremen Community High School District 228
• Hazel Crest School District 152
• Community Consolidated School District 168
• Thornton Fractional Township High School District 215
• Calumet City School District 155
• Dolton School District 149
• Hoover-Schrum Memorial School District 157
• Community High School District 218
• Rich Township High School District 227
• Bloom Township High School District 206
• Chicago Heights School District 170
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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