LM Summer 2025

News In Brief

Unfrozen: White House releases remaining $5B for K-12 programs From K-12 Dive: The Trump administration will release the remaining fiscal year 2025 K-12 grant funds that it had frozen — nearly $5 billion — to states and districts, the Office of Management and Budget confirmed Friday. The funding for student academic supports, English learners, immigrant students and teacher training was supposed to be available July 1, but was not released pending a “programmatic review” by OMB, the White House’s budget arm. That review was to ensure the grants align with Trump administration policies and priorities, OMB told K-12 Dive earlier this month. The office had said initial findings showed “many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda.” On Friday, a senior administration official told K-12 Dive in an email, “Guardrails are in place to ensure these funds will not be used in violation of Executive Orders or administration policy.” K-12 Dive New Children’s Adversity Index Measures Exposure to Childhood Trauma in Communities Across Illinois The Pritzker administration on July 14 unveiled the Children’s Adversity Index, a new tool designed to measure community childhood trauma exposure for children ages 3 through 18 in communities across Illinois. The Children’s Adversity Index was developed by Chapin Hall and the Illinois State Board of Education in collaboration with eight state agencies and leading experts. It builds on the administration’s commitment to creating equitable, inclusive, and supportive environments for every child. This groundbreaking Index, which originated from the 2022 Whole Child Task Force Report, became a legislative mandate in 2023. It marks a pivotal step in identifying and addressing systemic challenges impacting communities statewide. “The Children’s Adversity Index provides an opportunity for us, as a state, to come together and address the interconnected, systemic challenges facing Illinois children and families – from food insecurity, to lack of access to safe and affordable housing, to over-imprisonment,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Sanders. “The concept of the ‘whole child’ means recognizing the need for partnerships and inter-agency action to address inequities beyond the school walls. The ‘whole child’ approach begins with a data- and research-driven understanding of community-level adversity. The Children’s Adversity Index empowers us to better understand the challenges communities face and to take meaningful action to most effectively allocate resources and programming to uplift children and families across Illinois.” Click here to read full press release.

ISDLAF+ Monthly Update Click here to view the most current ISDLAF+ rates, economic indicators and general economic news brief. To obtain additional information regarding this IASA sponsored service, contact Audra Braski, Senior Vice President, Investment Services/ISDLAF+ at 630–657–6422, or email: abraski@pmanetwork.com. Website: www.pmanetwork.com .

28 LM Summer 2025