STATE FUNDING GUIDE

Illinois

Illinois’ literacy law is guidance-driven rather than funding-driven: districts are encouraged (not required) to write local literacy plans aligned to the state plan. The one dedicated state stream is ISBE’s District Literacy Plan Implementation grant (about $2.36 million statewide in FY25), whose allowable costs explicitly include literacy curriculum and professional learning — small per district, but usable for an intervention purchase if a district holds an award. Beyond that, most Illinois districts fund Tier 2/3 intervention purchases from general Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) dollars and federal Title I/IDEA; there is no large dedicated state literacy fund.

Illinois Literacy Act (Public Act 103-0402, 2023) / Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan (2024)

How schools fund reading intervention in Illinois

The state-level programs below are the streams Illinois districts most often use for evidence-based reading intervention purchases, alongside the federal streams available everywhere.

District Literacy Plan Implementation Grant (ISBE, CSFA 3543)

State grant to Illinois public school districts and ROE/ISCs to create and implement local literacy plans; allowable expenses include literacy curriculum, professional learning, stipends, and external facilitators ($2,355,862 statewide in FY25; annual application cycle through ISBE).

Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) — general state aid

Illinois’ main K-12 funding formula is unrestricted state aid; districts commonly budget MTSS/intervention curriculum and PD from EBF since no dedicated large-scale state literacy intervention fund exists. Federal Title I and IDEA remain the other standard sources.

Approved-list note: Illinois does not mandate an approved curriculum list; ISBE instead publishes a rubric districts may use to evaluate and select evidence-based reading programs, so aligning an intervention to that rubric and the Comprehensive Literacy Plan is what matters in adoption conversations.

Official state resource →