A tentative settlement agreement has been reached in a long-standing lawsuit that alleged inequities and discrimination in Illinois' education funding system.

Details of the settlement are expected to be released Friday evening.

Illinois has had long-standing issues with the way the state finances public schools, with affluent districts able to raise and spend far more dollars on schoolchildren than districts that have lower property values and many low-income children.

The 2008 lawsuit by the Chicago Urban League said funding disparities unfairly affected African-American and Latino children.

"The Chicago Urban League and the Illinois State Board of Education have reached a tentative settlement agreement in the matter of Chicago Urban League v. Illinois State Board of Education. The Board will consider and vote on the tentative settlement agreement during the Feb. 22 regular meeting," ISBE spokeswoman Jackie Matthews said Friday.

The agreement will be included in materials related to the ISBE meeting — to be released Friday — but "the Board will not comment on this matter until after the vote," Matthews said.

drado@chicagotribune.com

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