Author name: Hailey Winkleman

This blog post is was originally written for and published by The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools. View the original published post here. — The American President Trump signed H.R. 1383, the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025, into law on December 22, 2025, after bipartisan support moved it through the House and Senate. The bill was introduced earlier this year with the goal of extending the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Originally introduced in Congress in 1908, this legislation supports rural counties with federal land that local governments cannot tax [1]. It has been continually reauthorized by Congress, but the legislation died in 2024 [2]. This meant that many of the provisions for secure payments to states and counties with federal land were set to expire in 2023. The passage of this Act pushes these deadlines to 2026, and it includes a commitment for payments within 45 days for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. Ten of Illinois’ southernmost counties host federal forest lands. This area includes 37 rural school districts who may benefit from this additional line of assistance to help improve infrastructure and buildings. “While Illinois is not impacted as greatly as other states, any funding set aside for rural and small schools is critical for continued positive educational outcomes of rural children,” said AIRSS Executive Director David Ardrey. The reauthorization of this support is a necessary victory for rural schools and communities across the country. The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools has supported this legislation, and its passage paves the way for future support for rural communities. That said, there is still much work to be done. The reauthorization only guarantees funding to the end of FY26, so if Congress does not act again, the funding will expire in one year.  “AIRSS will continue to advocate on behalf of all rural and small schools in Illinois, both at the state and federal levels,” said Ardrey. Thank you to the following advocates for their efforts to support and pass this legislation: – The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools (AIRSS) is the ONLY statewide education association that is focused on policy and advocacy for Illinois rural and small schools. Through advocacy, policy, and legislation, AIRSS strives to address the needs, issues, and concerns of all pk-12 rural and small schools in Illinois.

This blog post is was originally written for and published by The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools. View the original published post here. — The American Dream – a concept idealized the world over – is the idea that anyone can achieve a happy, comfortable life. The United States has always prided itself on giving everyone a fair chance, regardless of their circumstances. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes buildings and public spaces more accessible, criminalizes discrimination in the workplace, and codifies many other important legal distinctions to give disabled individuals that fair chance – including Title II. Title II extended rights to disabled children in school, regardless of their federal funding status. Similarly, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was created to make education more accessible. The IDEA is, according to their website, “a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children.” While the ADA started the fight for schoolchildren with disabilities, the IDEA emphasizes that their education must, by law, be equitable, even if it includes additional services. The IDEA also authorizes two grant programs to support disabled students: Now, during the 50th anniversary year of IDEA’s creation, these accommodations and protections are at risk. What should be a landmark year for progress in equity for disabled individuals is instead an avalanche of regression. It is nothing short of a crisis. When IDEA became law in1975, Congress vowed to fund up to 40% of the average per-pupil expenditure for the number of children with disabilities receiving special education services. Yet, Congressional appropriations for funding under IDEA are currently at 10-14%—a quarter of the 40% target. This has been the appropriation model for IDEA funds since its inception. The current administration has been steadily chipping away at the U.S. Department of Education – canceling grant programs, slashing funding, and removing offices altogether. While there is always certainly some fat to trim, this indiscriminate gutting means that fundamental programs for supporting our rural and small schools have been thrown to the wayside. More dire yet, the personnel and office cuts mean that four key offices for disability access – the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) – are rendered functionally ineffective. The outlook for a fair chance begins to look grim. The impact of these changes are felt more deeply in rural and small schools. According to Save the Children, “children in rural areas are nearly 25% more likely to have a disability than their non-rural counterparts.”  The Illinois Report Card states that 16% of all students in our state have IEPs, which is their measure for students with disabilities. This number is, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, another department gutted by the administration), above the national average. Compared with other states, Illinois also has one of the largest discrepancies between urban and rural rates of children with disabilities (Save the Children). About 3.1% of non-rural children have disabilities, while that number jumps to 4.7% for rural children, making Illinois’s the fourth largest discrepancy.  Right now, IDEA is still a law, but how is it enforceable? How will the grant programs continue to function? How will schools be held accountable – or worse, will they be reprimanded for issues due to losing these funds? The futures of disabled students – over 8 million children and youth that are served by IDEA – rests entirely in the hands of the powers that be, and they do not seem interested in protecting those futures. It seems that there is no proper course of action for public schools if these offices, grants, and laws are diminished.  One action we can take is speaking up. Over 700 organizations have now signed a letter condemning these indiscriminate cuts to the Department and their impact on IDEA, OSEP, RSA, OCR, and OESE. The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools is proud to sign onto this letter, advocating on behalf of the approximately 15,000 rural Illinois students with disabilities. We believe that proper leadership and facilitation of federal programming is essential to giving ALL rural students – disabled or otherwise – a fair chance. Read the full letter, as well as the full list of undersigned organizations, here. – The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools is the ONLY statewide education association that is focused on policy and advocacy for Illinois rural and small schools. AIRSS serves its membership in matters concerning policy and legislation at the state and federal level, and ensures the rural context is included in all conversations.