Early Childhood Education

• Expanded child care assistance eligibility so 80% of Illinois families will pay less for child care
• Strengthened early childhood education and child care with the biggest investment ever in Illinois into early childhood programs and facilities, setting a goal to make Illinois the best state in the nation for raising young families
• Created an early childhood workforce consortium among higher education institutions that will expand both the size and skill level of educators and caregivers
• Launched a pilot program to support quality improvements for child care providers in rural Illinois communities
• Increased access to early childhood education to provide learning opportunities for very young children
  

K-12 Education

• Provided historic funding levels for K-12 students across the state, increasing overall education funding by more than $1 billion
• Raised the minimum salary for teachers
• Signed legislation to make it easier to hire and keep substitute teachers in classrooms
• Expanded skills development with new investments in vocational training and career and technical training in high school

College Affordability

• Awarded more than 24,000 additional need-based grants for students and increased the maximum size of each scholarship to a record amount
• Expanded the number of Illinois students eligible for federal tuition aid, giving a record number of students the opportunity to fund their college education
• Restored and stabilized higher education funding after years of neglect, increasing aid for public universities and community colleges
• Extended financial aid to eligible students who are undocumented
• Dedicated $2.9 billion to build state-of-the-art classrooms and rebuild deteriorated school buildings throughout the state