Left to right: Policy Fellow Taylor Winfield, Policy Director Bill Curtin, Policy and Research Intern Quinn McConnell, and Policy Fellow Joe Brewer
Kankakee, IL, June 4, 2025—A group of Kankakee-connected educators with Teach Plus Illinois led the effort to create the first coordinated guidance on AI use in Illinois classrooms, which was approved by the Illinois General Assembly last Saturday and is awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature.
Bill Curtin, a former Kankakee High School Teacher (2009-2015) and Daily Journal Progress Award Winner, now serves as the Policy Director for Teach Plus Illinois, an education nonprofit that empowers teachers to lead student-centered improvements in educational policy and instructional practice.
In summer 2024, Curtin selected a new cohort of Teach Plus Policy Fellows that included Taylor Winfield, a 2014 Kankakee High School (KHS) graduate who now teaches 8th-grade English at Great Lakes Academy Charter School in Chicago, and Joe Brewer, a Bradley-Courbonnais Community High School graduate and son of former KHS teacher Bonnie Brewer who now serves as Dean of Students in Beardstown, Illinois. In addition, Teach Plus hired 2015 KHS graduate and current Kankakee School District (KSD) 111 teacher Quinn McConnell as a Policy and Research Intern to support the Fellows’ work.
“While my career has taken me to the other side of the state, I’m so excited, and not surprised, to discover Kankakee-area teachers involved in Teach Plus. Staying connected to the Kankakee area has been crucial for my professional development as I’ve discovered many educators here leading innovative efforts to positively impact their schools and students,” Brewer said, “AI is moving forward in classrooms now and policy makers need to catch up quickly, because the choices Illinois makes today will determine whether AI becomes a powerful tool to bridge the achievement gap or a missed opportunity.”
In fall 2024, Brewer, Winfield, and their Teach Plus Illinois colleagues published Rules and Tools for AI-Powered Learning, summarizing findings and recommendations from a statewide survey of educators on AI use. Then, they worked to turn those recommendations into state policy. McConnell conducted research into legislation passed across the country on AI in schools, and Winfield used that information and the recommendations in their report to draft a bill that was introduced by State Representative Laura Faver Dias (HB 2503) and Senator Meg Loughran Cappel (SB 1556).
Over the course of the spring, the group advocated to build support for their legislation. Winfield and Curtin presented to the Illinois Digital Educators Alliance to organize teachers in support of the bill and worked with other education stakeholders to negotiate the details of the proposed legislation. Meanwhile, Brewer raised public awareness for the effort as he testified before the House Education Committee in Springfield, published an op-ed illustrating the potential of AI, was featured in a story on Illinois Public Media, and was interviewed by IL Teacher of the Year Rachael Mahmood about his group’s work on AI.
For procedural reasons their bill language was later amended into SB 1920, which was passed by the General Assembly last week. It requires the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to publish guidance for schools and teachers on using AI to enhance learning while protecting student safety, requires that classroom teachers be included in any AI advisory group convened by ISBE, and updates the state’s recommended internet safety curriculum to include AI.
“The rapidly expanding presence of artificial intelligence in schools means that teachers have to make decisions about AI in their classrooms every day, whether they’re AI experts or not. Teachers need guidelines now, and our teacher leaders were able to call attention to this issue and develop legislation that both addresses the possibilities AI offers for innovative teaching and learning, as well as the need to ensure this learning benefits all students,” said Bill Curtin, Teach Plus Illinois Policy Director.
Teach Plus Policy Fellow Taylor Winfield said: “It has been truly inspiring to witness the dedication and collaboration that went into passing this AI legislation. This work marks a significant step forward for education in Illinois, and I’m convinced it’ll empower teachers in my home community with innovative tools to better prepare students for the future that they deserve. We have an obligation to provide them with the tools necessary to succeed in this evolving educational landscape. KSD 111 has produced and will continue to produce exceptional scholars by staying ahead of the technology curve.”
This is not the first time Kankakee teachers have had statewide impact through Teach Plus; as a 2020-21 Teach Plus Policy Fellow, KSD111 Innovation Coordinator Krystal Clifton coauthored a policy brief calling for flexible school models to better serve students. Next year, KSD teachers Khyla Smith, a Head Start Instructional Coach, and Tracy Selock, Junior High Montessori Math Teacher and Regional Teacher of the Year, will continue to represent the Kankakee area as Policy Fellows.
“I am excited about the opportunity to use my voice as a veteran educator to help promote change for our schools. Joining the ranks of fellow educators from our area is an honor. I am thrilled to be able to include the perspective of Kankakee’s learning community in conversations about the future of education,” Selock said.
In addition to policy advocacy, Teach Plus also coaches teachers to lead effective teams in schools that deliver results for students and was selected as a recipient of a Network for School Improvement grant to improve outcomes for students of color and low-income students in middle school math and reading.
For more information or to connect with any of the teacher leaders mentioned above, contact Policy Director Bill Curtin, at bcurtin@teachplus.org or 708-337-1932.
About Teach Plus
Teach Plus is dedicated to the mission of empowering excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that advance equity, opportunity, and student success. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning for students. https://teachplus.org/il/
