Lilly Spotlights New Law to Bring Transparency to School Class Sizes

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, D-Chicago, is spotlighting a new law to increase transparency regarding school class sizes.

“Over the past four years, class sizes at Chicago Public Schools have risen over 13.5% and we need more information about the effect of this increase,” Lilly said. “This law will put critical additional information about class sizes in front of parents and the public.”

Lilly supported House Bill 254, which requires all school districts, including the Chicago Public Schools, to beginning reporting more information about class sizes to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), which will include the information on its annual Illinois Report Card, a compilation of educational metrics measured statewide as well as by individual district and individual school. Currently, the Illinois Report Card contains only the basic student to teacher ratio, but under the Lilly-backed transparency measure it will now include additional information on the total number of teachers employed by district and school, the number of class instructors by grade level and subject in each district and the class size for every class at each school and the total number of classes in each school that exceed class size guidelines.

“Parents are rightfully concerned about increasing class sizes and this law will help parents and the public have a greater understanding of class size management in our public schools,” Lilly said. “When classrooms are too crowded, teachers don’t have the time or resources to adequately see to the needs of their students. With more information available about class sizes, we can work to remedy existing problems and prevent other classrooms from becoming too crowded.”