LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

2025-2026 Legislative Program ​​

Approved by the CCCTU House of Representatives on July 18, 2025

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• Pass Legislation for an Elected Board of Trustees for City Colleges of Chicago
  An elected board would be accountable to the people, like Chicago students and community members. An elected board gives voice to faculty, staff, and students, enabling true partnership and shared governance.
   

• Protect Pensions & Improve Tier 2 Benefits
  Work to protect existing pensions. Support efforts to strengthen Tier 2 benefits for employees hired in 2011 or after.
   

• Stand Against Anti-Democratic Efforts Undermining Labor Rights
  Oppose coordinated national campaigns that aim to erode democratic governance, eliminate worker protections, and weaken the power of unions. 
   

• Defend and Strengthen the U.S. Department of Education
  Support a strong and fully funded U.S. Department of Education that upholds equity, civil rights, and federal support for public education. The efforts to gut the Department of Education destroy national standards, student protections, and funding mechanisms that ensure all students, including those at community colleges, have access to opportunities and support.
   

• Oppose Attacks on Academic Freedom and Faculty Autonomy
  Oppose any political interference that undermines academic freedom, silences classroom discourse, censors curricula, or threatens the autonomy of faculty. Education must be rooted in open inquiry and evidence-based scholarship, free from partisan manipulation. 
   

• Protect and Expand Vital Federal Student Aid Programs
  Advocate for full funding and protection of federal grant and aid programs that make higher education accessible to millions of students:

  • Pell Grants: We support expanding and strengthening Pell Grants to keep pace with the rising cost of college.

  • TRIO Programs: These essential student support services help first-generation and underrepresented students succeed in college. We call for increased investment in TRIO.

  • FAFSA: We oppose efforts to complicate or privatize the federal financial aid process and call for simplified, accessible application systems.
     

• Advance Developmental Education Corrective Legislation
  Support legislation giving faculty autonomy in determining placement criteria and curriculum design for developmental courses.
   

• Advance Legislation Supporting Student Mental Health
  Ensure all colleges have qualified counselors on campus as part of the college faculty and staff. 
   

• Support Legislation Establishing Artificial Intelligence Protections
  Ensure that humans are the primary decision makers in classrooms and in our colleges, and that technology is used in partnership with faculty and staff to improve working conditions for all.
   

• Advocate for the Health of the College Insurance Program (CIP)
  Fight for funding for the College Insurance Program (CIP) which has been underfunded for several years. 
   

• Support Common Sense Dual Credit
  Support the IFT & AFT resolutions on dual credit, supporting common-sense approaches to dual credit. 
   

• Work to Pass the PSRP (Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel) Bill of Rights
  Advocate at the federal level in support of Senate and House efforts to establish the paraprofessionals and school-related personnel bill of rights, which fights for rights such as a living wage, paid time off, and affordable healthcare.
   

• Support Efforts to Pass the PRO Act at the Federal Level.
  The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act fixes loopholes in current law that get in the way of union organization campaigns. The PRO Act would ensure that all workers have an absolute right to join a union without employer interference in the decision of workers. 
   

• Support Legislation that Removes Barriers for Our Students
  Support local, state, and national efforts that address issues that are obstacles to student success. These include issues such as student mental health, lack of housing, transportation needs, and lack of childcare. 
   

• Empower Community Colleges to Support Economically Marginalized Communities
  Support solutions--at the federal, state, and local level-- to support communities who are economically disadvantaged, advocating for support to community colleges, and advocating for basic needs. Embrace solutions that enhance our colleges’ inclusive tradition, fostering the success of future students and community members.