On Wednesday morning, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) heard a controversial rule promulgated by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) for “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards.”
Unlike legislation that comes before the entire General Assembly for consideration, JCAR hears rules brought forward by agencies from the Governor’s administration. JCAR includes six Republicans and six Democrats, split equally between the Senate and the House. Eight of the Committee’s 12 votes are required to block a rule’s implementation.
Senate Republicans opposed the rule because it creates a burdensome, confusing, and indecipherable set of progressive ideas and buzzwords for educators in Illinois. Many felt the new rule would stifle healthy debate and the fostering of independent critical thinking skills, and would encourage teachers to steer teaching and learning toward specific political ideologies. Click here to learn more about the rule.
Although the three Senate Republicans and three House Republicans on JCAR stood together to oppose the ISBE rule, their six votes left them two votes shy of the requisite number of votes needed to block it. As written and approved, the new standards will take effect in 2025.