chronic_absenteeism
97% of Illinois Districts Have Not Recovered to Pre-COVID Attendance Levels
Only 23 of 822 Illinois districts have returned to pre-pandemic chronic absenteeism rates. The rest are stuck 11 points above baseline.
Illinois Education News & Data
enrollment
Illinois is 143,000 students below where it should be
A pre-COVID trend line projected Illinois would have nearly 2 million students in 2025. Instead it has 1.85 million, a gap driven by outmigration, fewer births, and pandemic fallout.
special-populations
One in three students at Township HSD 113 now receives special education
Suburban Chicago districts are posting double-digit sped rate increases. TSD 113 went from 15% to 34% in six years.
housing
One in six Harrisburg students is homeless
Illinois identified nearly 50,000 students who are currently homeless in 2024-25, a six-year high. The steepest rates are in rural southern Illinois, not Chicago.
enrollment
Four in Five Illinois Districts Still Below Pre-COVID Enrollment
Only 155 of 865 Illinois districts have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The losses are concentrated in the largest districts, where 92% remain underwater.
district-spotlight
Four Districts, 15 Years, No Growth
Four Illinois districts declined for 15 consecutive years, the longest streaks in the state. All four finally broke in 2023-2025, but three have already resumed losing students.
demographics
White enrollment fell by 126,000 as Illinois schools grew more diverse
White students account for 92% of Illinois's enrollment decline. The south and southwest suburbs are transforming fastest.
geographic
Cook County Gains Students for the First Time in a Decade
Cook County posted back-to-back enrollment gains after losing 111,000 students. English learner growth is the engine. The rest of Illinois kept falling.
special-populations
Joliet's English learner population tripled in six years
Suburban Chicago HSDs built for monolingual instruction are absorbing triple-digit EL growth. Joliet 204 went from 494 to 1,642 English learners.
enrollment
Illinois enrollment falls below 1997 levels after a decade of unbroken decline
Illinois has lost 229,000 students since its 2007 peak. Four in five large districts are shrinking. The outer suburbs are the only exception.
equity
One in Two Illinois Students Is Economically Disadvantaged
Nearly half of Illinois public school students are economically disadvantaged. The rate gap between the richest and poorest districts spans 98 points.
district-spotlight
Yorkville Doubled. Its Neighbors Did Not.
Yorkville CUSD 115 grew 128% in 20 years while 82% of Illinois districts shrank. Now the district is asking voters for $275 million to keep up.
enrollment
307 Illinois Districts Have Never Been Smaller
307 of 860 trackable Illinois districts are at all-time enrollment lows, outnumbering those at record highs by 6 to 1. The biggest districts are hit hardest.
special-populations
Illinois lost 2,730 students. Without EL growth, it would have lost 22,616.
The smallest enrollment decline in 17 years masks a deeper split: non-EL enrollment is still falling by 30,000 a year while English learner growth papers over the gap.
demographics
Chicago lost 49,522 Black students in 12 years
Black enrollment in Illinois fell 16.7% since 2013, with Chicago Public Schools accounting for more than four-fifths of the decline.
