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Public Act 095-0869 |
SB2512 Enrolled |
LRB095 19817 NHT 46206 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
27-13.3 as follows: |
(105 ILCS 5/27-13.3)
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Sec. 27-13.3. Internet safety education curriculum.
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(a) The purpose of this Section is to inform and protect |
students from inappropriate or illegal communications and |
solicitation and to encourage school districts to provide |
education about Internet threats and risks, including without |
limitation child predators, fraud, and other dangers. |
(b) The General Assembly finds and declares the following: |
(1) it is the policy of this State to protect consumers |
and Illinois residents from deceptive and unsafe |
communications that result in harassment, exploitation, or |
physical harm; |
(2) children have easy access to the Internet at home, |
school, and public places; |
(3) the Internet is used by sexual predators and other |
criminals to make initial contact with children and other |
vulnerable residents in Illinois; and |
(4) education is an effective method for preventing |
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children from falling prey to online predators, identity |
theft, and other dangers. |
(c) Each school may adopt an age-appropriate curriculum for |
Internet safety instruction of students in grades kindergarten |
through 12. However, beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, |
a school district must incorporate into the school curriculum a |
component on Internet safety to be taught at least once each |
school year to students in grade 3 or above. The school board |
shall determine the scope and duration of this unit of |
instruction. The age-appropriate unit of instruction may be |
incorporated into the current courses of study regularly taught |
in the district's schools, as determined by the school board, |
and it is recommended that the unit of instruction include It |
is hereby recommended that the curriculum provide for a minimum |
of 2 hours of Internet safety education each school year that |
includes instruction on each of the following topics: |
(1) Safe and responsible use of social networking |
websites, chat rooms, electronic mail, bulletin boards, |
instant messaging, and other means of communication on the |
Internet. |
(2) Recognizing, avoiding, and reporting online |
solicitations of students, their classmates, and their |
friends by sexual predators. |
(3) Risks of transmitting personal information on the |
Internet. |
(4) Recognizing and avoiding unsolicited or deceptive |
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communications received online. |
(5) Recognizing and reporting online harassment and |
cyber-bullying. |
(6) Reporting illegal activities and communications on |
the Internet. |
(7) Copyright laws on written materials, photographs, |
music, and video. |
(d) Curricula devised in accordance with subsection (c) of |
this Section may be submitted for review to the Office of the |
Illinois Attorney General.
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(e) The State Board of Education shall make available |
resource materials for educating children regarding child |
online safety and may take into consideration the curriculum on |
this subject developed by other states, as well as any other |
curricular materials suggested by education experts, child |
psychologists, or technology companies that work on child |
online safety issues. Materials may include without limitation |
safe online communications, privacy protection, |
cyber-bullying, viewing inappropriate material, file sharing, |
and the importance of open communication with responsible |
adults. The State Board of Education shall make these resource |
materials available on its Internet website. |
(Source: P.A. 95-509, eff. 8-28-07.) |