For Immediate Release
August 13, 2003
State Board of Education Grants Recognition to 674 Non-public
Schools for 03-04 School Year
Final year for program, which has been eliminated by budget
cuts
A total of 674 Illinois non-public schools which met required
deadlines for making application have been granted “recognition”
status for the 2003-04 school year by the Illinois State Board
of Education – the last time such status will be granted
because budget cuts have eliminated the program. ISBE today
released the list of schools, after notifying the schools
by mail.
The recognized non-public schools list can be accessed at
http://www.isbe.net/news/2003/04_recog_nonpublic_schls.pdf.
“Many non-public schools find this program valuable
for a number of reasons and we regret the agency no longer
is in a position to offer it,” said Robert E. Schiller,
state superintendent of education. “But the budget cut
eliminated our capacity to administer the program. We had
no choice but to eliminate it,” he said.
In July, Governor Blagojevich used his line item veto authority
to eliminate funds from the Illinois State Board of Education
Budget, including a reduction of $1.2 million in the Accountability
and Assessment area, which contained the non-public recognition
program. Eliminating the program saves $344,000 in the education
budget, ISBE officials said.
In May, ISBE had sent letters to all nonpublic schools in
the state informing them that to be processed, their applications
for recognition for the 03-04 school year must be sent to
ISBE (schools in Chicago) or to the local Regional Office
of Education (all other schools) no later than June 30th.
All applications that met that deadline were processed before
the Governor’s cuts were announced, and those schools
will be notified of their status next week. Any application
received after June 30 will not be processed because of the
budget cut. The recognition program will shut down fully August
15, ISBE said.
ISBE recognition is sought by non-public schools for various
reasons, including:
- It gives assurance that the school's educational program
has been approved by ISBE and meets at least minimum state
requirement.
- It is an aid/requirement to entrance in many colleges, universities,
and other post-secondary institutions and training programs.
- It is a requirement for membership in Illinois High School
Association and student participation in Illinois Elementary
School Association sanctioned sports, contests, tournaments,
etc.
- It is a requirement for acceptance/assignment to most military
training programs.
- It is a requirement for eligibility of students to sit for
licensing examinations in fields covered under the Illinois
Nursing Act.
- Teaching in a recognized nonpublic school is often used
to determine placement on the salary schedule when teachers
transfer to other schools, both public and private, especially
in other states.
- Student transfers from recognized schools are expedited
and credits can be generally accepted.
“The State board believes this is a crucial service,
and it’s our intention to work with the General Assembly
next year to restore fiscal support for it,” said Robert
E. Schiller, State Superintendent of Education. “But
providing this program is not required by the statutes and
we no longer have the funding to perform the work,” he
said.
Chicago schools that are recognized for 03-04 will receive
their certificates from ISBE; all other school in the state
will receive their certificate from the Regional Office of
Education.
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