Illinois State Board Of Education

Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), a U.S. government entity and state education agency, serves as the primary administrative body responsible for overseeing public education throughout Illinois. As the state educational agency with jurisdiction over all public schools in Illinois, ISBE coordinates federal education programs, manages education data reporting initiatives, and administers critical support services to ensure educational equity and excellence across the state. Since its registration with the federal government in January 2005, ISBE has emerged as a significant recipient of federal contract and grant awards, leveraging these resources to advance student achievement, support educators, and enhance educational infrastructure across Illinois's 850+ school districts.

Through federal contract awards, ISBE has undertaken specialized education research and evaluation functions. Most notably, ISBE received a firm-fixed-price definitive contract valued at $1,963,228.00 from the Institute of Education Sciences (the research and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education) beginning April 1, 2025, to serve as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) State Coordinator for Illinois through March 31, 2035. In this role, ISBE administers NAEP assessments statewide and supports the National Center for Education Statistics State Partnership System, responsibilities that align with ISBE's broader mission of coordinating federal education programs and managing education data initiatives. This contract represents the primary contractual obligation ISBE maintains with the federal government, demonstrating the state's reliance on ISBE's administrative capacity and expertise in managing national assessment systems.

Illinois State Board of Education has established itself as a major recipient of federal grant funding, administering programs across multiple federal agencies and funding sources that collectively totaled well over $2 billion in recent award cycles. Under the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, ISBE administers substantial formula grants including Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies (totaling $757,221,486.00 for FY2025-2026), Special Education Grants to States ($602,555,133.00), Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers ($56,108,973.00), Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants ($72,326,454.00), Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants ($58,554,297.00), and English Language Acquisition State Grants ($31,138,247.00). Additionally, ISBE manages significant child nutrition programs funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, including the National School Lunch Program ($224,455,217.00 in block grants plus $50,751,096.89 in additional funding), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program ($6,825,219.00), and Child and Adult Care Food Program ($1,406,217.00), with supporting administrative grants for meal reimbursement and program management. Recent awards also reflect ISBE's expanded role in mental health services, with the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education awarding $7,632,729.00 (combining the Mental Health Service Professionals Program and School-Based Mental Health Services Grant) to address shortages of credentialed school-based mental health providers, particularly school psychologists in high-need local educational agencies. ISBE further administers specialized programs including Career and Technical Education grants ($45,316,233.30), Special Education Preschool Grants ($19,409,261.00), Education for Homeless Children and Youth ($5,180,855.00), Migrant Education State Grants ($1,927,442.00), and State Assessments Formula Grants ($10,767,370.00). The U.S. Department of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services also funded ISBE's Special Education State Personnel Development Grant ($2,746,827.00) to reform personnel preparation systems, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $27,105,267.00 project grant under the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program to replace 70 school buses with zero-emission vehicles and install charging infrastructure. Beyond direct grants, ISBE functions as a pass-through agency, distributing sub-awards to hundreds of local school districts, educational service centers, charter schools, community organizations, and nonprofit entities throughout Illinois, enabling these entities to directly implement federally-funded educational programs and services while ISBE maintains oversight, compliance, and accountability responsibilities.