Equity, Accountability, and the future of Illinois Education
In 2020, Illinois took a bold step forward by adding a Fine Arts Indicator to the Illinois School Report Card—affirming what educators, researchers, and communities have known for decades: arts education is essential, not extracurricular. Read more about that effort.
Now, as the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) moves to redesign the state’s school accountability system, that progress hangs in the balance.
What’s Happening Now?
ISBE is exploring potential adjustments to the current accountability system to “establish clear, transparent criteria that are easily communicated and actionable.” However, the proposed redesign does not clearly include the Fine Arts Indicator as part of the School Quality/Student Success (SQSS) metric.
A draft sample of a school’s custom report suggests the arts—and other “meta-indicators”—will not be reflected in the new framework. When asked for clarity, ISBE confirmed that they “do not have any plans to remove the Fine Arts Indicator” from the school report card—but also stated that its future role “remains unknown.”
That uncertainty puts years of work toward educational equity, access, and student-centered learning at risk.
What We’ve Heard
Through ISBE’s Accountability Listening Tour, arts educators, administrators, and advocates have shown up, asked questions, and voiced their support for arts education.
But it’s also become clear: These sessions are primarily geared toward school administrators.
That’s why we’re encouraging arts leaders, parents, and students across Illinois to connect with their school or district leadership and urge them to join you at an upcoming listening session. Administrator participation is critical to ensuring the Fine Arts Indicator remains visible and meaningful in the redesigned system.
What You Need to Know
- The weighted system is being eliminated.
ISBE’s new model no longer uses numerical scores to rate school performance. That means the arts indicator, if unscored, risks becoming invisible or optional.
- Meta-indicators (like Fine Arts) are not being removed—but their role is unclear.
ISBE has said it’s open to ideas on how these indicators can be reflected in the redesign—but no current plan exists to ensure arts education is acknowledged in school quality reporting.
- June 2025 will bring the next phase of redesign proposals.
We have a short window to influence what comes next.
What You Can Do
Ask Your Administrators to Attend an ISBE Listening Session With You
These sessions offer an opportunity to directly ask how the Fine Arts Indicator will be represented in the new accountability system and to share why the ESSA Arts Indicator is essential to how we measure school quality and student success.
Upcoming Dates:
All sessions are from 1–3 PM, except Chicago (4–6 PM)
- April 1 – ROE #3, Vandalia
- April 7 – John A. Logan College, Carterville
- April 21 – East Moline School District
- May 5 – Peoria School District
- May 9 – University of St. Francis, Joliet
- May 22 – Chicago World Language Academy
ISBE Listening Tour Info & RSVP
Other Resources
- Download an Info Sheet to share with your administrator.
- Download Talking Points from ILMEA
Contact ISBE Directly
Share your thoughts and ask your questions by emailing ISBE’s ESSA Team: [email protected], and write the State Superintendent at [email protected].
Let’s Keep Illinois a Leader in Arts Education
Together with our partners—arts educators, advocacy organizations, and community champions—we’ve been meeting weekly since this issue came to light. We’re committed to ensuring Illinois students continue to benefit from the creative, academic, and social-emotional gains that come from access to the arts.
Now is the time to speak up. Let’s keep the Fine Arts where they belong—at the heart of school quality and student success.
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Thank you to IL Music Education Association, IL Art Education Association, IL Dance Education Organization, Chicago Public Schools Arts Education, Ingenuity, and National Association for Music Education for their support in pulling these resources together.
