A school board member before joining the Illinois General Assembly in 2010, state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, has long advocated for laws dealing with literacy and her persistence now has the Illinois State Board of Education crafting a statewide plan.

Unable to muster sufficient votes among her colleagues in Springfield after introducing legislation for a statewide literacy plan last year, Mayfield started her quest again when the 103rd General Assembly was convened in January.

Working with colleagues and stakeholders, Mayfield helped muster support for legislation requiring the ISBE to create a statewide literacy plan by the end of January. The legislature sent it to Gov. J.B. Ritzier June 16 and he signed it July 28.

“It’s surreal,” Mayfield said. “We were able to move the needle in the right direction which is my end goal. Literacy is so important. So many children have reading deficiencies. I knew we needed to do something.”

When passage of the legislation became certain in the spring, the ISBE began to write a first draft of its Illinois Literacy Plan. It began a four-city listening tour the same day the law was signed, ending with virtual sessions July 31 and Aug. 4.

Educators, organizations and other individuals who want to give their ideas about the Illinois Literacy Plan and teaching literacy in the state’s schools must submit them online to the ISBE by Sept. 1 to have it considered for the next draft of the plan.

Jackie Matthews, the ISBE’s executive director of communications, said in an email the second draft will be submitted to the board this fall before another listening tour is conducted. The legislation mandates the plan be in place by Jan. 31.

“Literacy is a fundamental right and an essential foundation for equitable participation in society,” Matthews said in the email. “This is an incredible opportunity for the state to open a new chapter in how we prepare students to read, write, and communicate.”

After she was unable to find sufficient support for her 2022 proposal, Mayfield said she learned some school districts around the state did not want to be handed specific requirements. They wanted freedom to adjust it for their locale.

There are some precise ingredients imposed by the legislature. Mayfield said they include a rubric to evaluate the reading curriculum in a school or district, a template for schools to follow and a teacher training module. There is also flexibility.

As a member of the Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education before becoming a representative 14 years ago, Mayfield said she learned how severe the impact of a lack of reading skills can have on a person.

“The first thing they ask for when they enter the penal system is how to get a GED,” Mayfield said. “That means we failed somehow. They drop out of school because they can’t keep up.”

Realizing she needed to find out why she was getting resistance last year, Mayfield said she enlisted the help of Jessica Handy, the executive director of Stand For Children. The organization seeks equity and racial justice in education among its goals.

“She helped gather all the stakeholders together,” Mayfield said, referring to administrators’ organizations, unions and others involved in education. “We left no organization behind.”

Handy said working with a wide range of groups required an effort on a granular level. She listened to concerns about youngsters with dyslexia, those who are comfortable with language in assorted dialects, struggling readers, gifted readers and more.

“Schools did not want anyone to take over their control in any way,” Handy said. “They did not want to be told what to do, Illinois has taken a very inclusive approach.”

Matthews said so far she is encouraged by the feedback ISBE has receive from its listening tour and other public comments. It will help as the those charged with writing the plan work on the second draft.

“People have been highly engaged in the feedback process so far and have provided incredibly valuable insights, which will make the second draft of the plan even stronger,” Matthews said.