(The Center Square) – A new report on education integrity ranks Illinois lower than any other state.
Defending Education scored 50 states and the District of Columbia on gender and sexuality, diversity, equity, and inclusion, parental rights, teacher policies, and foreign influence in public schools.
Illinois finished 50th, ahead of D.C. but behind every other state.
“It’s terrible leadership. It’s Democrats that are at the behest of teachers unions,” Defending Education Director of Government Affairs Terry Stoops told Greg Bishop on The States, The Center Square’s daily news program.
“Just as cell phones are physical distractions in the classroom, we have ideology that is really distractions inside the classroom,” Stoops said.
Stoops said the report is not necessarily saying “woke” is bad.
“It’s trying to say, ‘Listen, woke is getting in the way of prioritizing academic performance, student achievement,’ which is what our public schools really need to be about,” Stoops said.
According to the Institute of Education Sciences Report on the Condition of Education 2026, Illinois public schools spent more than $25,000 per student during the 2022-23 school year, far more than neighboring states.
Enrollment, meanwhile, dropped 10% from 2014 to 2024.
Stoops said citizens are leaving due to teachers union politics.
“They’re tired of seeing their taxes go up and their schools get worse and worse, represented really by the worst the teachers unions have to offer,” Stoops said.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education’s Illinois Report Card for 2024-2025, 52.4% of the state’s K-12 students were proficient in ELA and 38.4% were proficient in math.
Tennessee finished first in the Defending Education rankings, followed by Alabama, Florida and North Carolina. Iowa was fifth.
Greg Bishop contributed to this story
