Public Act 0981 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5488 Enrolled LRB102 25503 CMG 34791 b

Public Act 102-0981

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections 26-1, 26-2, and 26-2a as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)

Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions. Whoever has custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and 17 years (unless the child has already graduated from high school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or (ii) between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17 years (unless the child has already graduated from high school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year shall cause such child to attend some public school in the district wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session during the regular school term, except as provided in Section 10-19.1, and during a required summer school program established under Section 10-22.33B; provided, that the following children shall not be required to attend the public schools:

1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school where children are taught the branches of education taught to children of corresponding age and grade in the public schools, and where the instruction of the child in the branches of education is in the English language;

2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to attend school, such disability being certified to the county or district truant officer by a competent physician licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant, or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is excused for temporary absence for cause by the principal or teacher of the school which the child attends, with absence for cause by illness being required to include the mental or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days for which the child need not provide a medical note, in which case the child shall be given the opportunity to make up any school work missed during the mental or behavioral health absence and, after the second mental health day used, may be referred to the appropriate school support personnel; the exemptions in this paragraph (2) do not apply to any female who is pregnant or the mother of one or more children, except where a female is unable to attend school due to a complication arising from her pregnancy and the existence of such complication is certified to the county or district truant officer by a competent physician;

3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed according to the provisions of the law regulating child labor may be excused from attendance at school by the county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of the public school which the child should be attending, on certification of the facts by and the recommendation of the school board of the public school district in which the child resides. In districts having part-time continuation schools, children so excused shall attend such schools at least 8 hours each week;

4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in attendance at confirmation classes;

5. Any child absent from a public school on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day for the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study, or work requirements on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day because of religious reasons, including the observance of a religious holiday or participation in religious instruction, or because the tenets of his religion forbid secular activity on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day. A school board may require the parent or guardian of a child who is to be excused from attending school because of religious reasons to give notice, not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school principal or other school personnel. Any child excused from attending school under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a written excuse for such absence after returning to school. A district superintendent shall develop and distribute to schools appropriate procedures regarding a student's absence for religious reasons, how schools are notified of a student's impending absence for religious reasons, and the requirements of Section 26-2b of this Code;

6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and (ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning opportunities program established pursuant to Article 13B of this Code;

7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a public school on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps" at a military honors funeral held in this State for a deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the absence and shall provide the school's administration with the date, time, and location of the military honors funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day notification requirement if the student did not receive at least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify the school's administration as soon as possible of the absence. A student whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended school for purposes of calculating the average daily attendance of students in the school district. A student whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed during the absence. If the student satisfactorily completes the school work, the day of absence shall be counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may not be penalized for that absence; and

8. Any child absent from a public school on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day for the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an active duty member of the uniformed services and has been called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat-support postings. Such a student shall be granted 5 days of excused absences in any school year and, at the discretion of the school board, additional excused absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused absence and for ensuring that such assignments are completed by the student prior to his or her return to school from such period of excused absence.

Any child from a public middle school or high school, subject to guidelines established by the State Board of Education, shall be permitted by a school board one school day-long excused absence per school year for the child who is absent from school to engage in a civic event. The school board may require that the student provide reasonable advance notice of the intended absence to the appropriate school administrator and require that the student provide documentation of participation in a civic event to the appropriate school administrator.

(Source: P.A. 102-266, eff. 1-1-22; 102-321, eff. 1-1-22; 102-406, eff. 8-19-21; revised 9-28-21.)

(105 ILCS 5/26-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2)

Sec. 26-2. Enrolled pupils not of compulsory school age.

(a) Any For school years before the 2014-2015 school year, any person having custody or control of a child who is below the age of 7 years or is 17 years of age or above and who is enrolled in any of grades kindergarten through 12 in the public school shall cause him to attend the public school in the district wherein he resides when it is in session during the regular school term, unless he is excused under paragraph 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 of Section 26-1. Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, any person having custody or control of a child who is below the age of 6 years or is 17 years of age or above and who is enrolled in any of grades kindergarten through 12 in the public school shall cause the child to attend the public school in the district wherein he or she resides when it is in session during the regular school term, unless the child is excused under paragraph 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 of Section 26-1 of this Code.

(b) A school district shall deny reenrollment in its secondary schools to any child 19 years of age or above who has dropped out of school and who could not, because of age and lack of credits, attend classes during the normal school year and graduate before his or her twenty-first birthday. A district may, however, enroll the child in a graduation incentives program under Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning opportunities program established under Article 13B. No child shall be denied reenrollment for the above reasons unless the school district first offers the child due process as required in cases of expulsion under Section 10-22.6. If a child is denied reenrollment after being provided with due process, the school district must provide counseling to that child and must direct that child to alternative educational programs, including adult education programs, that lead to graduation or receipt of a high school equivalency certificate.

(c) A school or school district may deny enrollment to a student 17 years of age or older for one semester for failure to meet minimum attendance standards if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The student was absent without valid cause for 20% or more of the attendance days in the semester immediately prior to the current semester.

(2) The student and the student's parent or guardian are given written notice warning that the student is subject to denial from enrollment for one semester unless the student is absent without valid cause less than 20% of the attendance days in the current semester.

(3) The student's parent or guardian is provided with the right to appeal the notice, as determined by the State Board of Education in accordance with due process.

(4) The student is provided with attendance remediation services, including without limitation assessment, counseling, and support services.

(5) The student is absent without valid cause for 20% or more of the attendance days in the current semester.

A school or school district may not deny enrollment to a student (or reenrollment to a dropout) who is at least 17 years of age or older but below 19 years for more than one consecutive semester for failure to meet attendance standards.

(d) No child may be denied reenrollment under this Section in violation of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(e) In this subsection (e), "reenrolled student" means a dropout who has reenrolled full-time in a public school. Each school district shall identify, track, and report on the educational progress and outcomes of reenrolled students as a subset of the district's required reporting on all enrollments. A reenrolled student who again drops out must not be counted again against a district's dropout rate performance measure. The State Board of Education shall set performance standards for programs serving reenrolled students.

(f) The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the changes to this Section made by Public Act 93-803.

(Source: P.A. 100-825, eff. 8-13-18.)

(105 ILCS 5/26-2a) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2a)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-466)

Sec. 26-2a. A "truant" is defined as a child who is subject to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause, as defined under this Section, from such attendance for more than 1% but less than 5% of the past 180 school days.

"Valid cause" for absence shall be illness, including the mental or behavioral health of the student, observance of a religious holiday, death in the immediate family, attendance at a civic event, or family emergency and shall include such other situations beyond the control of the student, as determined by the board of education in each district, or such other circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the parent for the mental, emotional, or physical health or safety of the student.

"Chronic or habitual truant" shall be defined as a child who is subject to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause from such attendance for 5% or more of the previous 180 regular attendance days.

"Civic event" means an event sponsored by a non-profit organization or governmental entity that is open to the public. "Civic event" includes, but is not limited to, an artistic or cultural performance or educational gathering that supports the mission of the sponsoring non-profit organization. The State Board of Education may adopt rules to further define "civic event".

"Truant minor" is defined as a chronic truant to whom supportive services, including prevention, diagnostic, intervention and remedial services, alternative programs and other school and community resources have been provided and have failed to result in the cessation of chronic truancy, or have been offered and refused.

A "dropout" is defined as any child enrolled in grades 9 through 12 whose name has been removed from the district enrollment roster for any reason other than the student's death, extended illness, removal for medical non-compliance, expulsion, aging out, graduation, or completion of a program of studies and who has not transferred to another public or private school and is not known to be home-schooled by his or her parents or guardians or continuing school in another country.

"Religion" for the purposes of this Article, includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief.

(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-266, eff. 1-1-22; 102-321, eff. 1-1-22.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-466)

Sec. 26-2a. A "truant" is defined as a child who is subject to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause, as defined under this Section, from such attendance for more than 1% but less than 5% of the past 180 school days.

"Valid cause" for absence shall be illness, including the mental or behavioral health of the student, attendance at a verified medical or therapeutic appointment, appointment with a victim services provider, observance of a religious holiday, death in the immediate family, attendance at a civic event, or family emergency and shall include such other situations beyond the control of the student, as determined by the board of education in each district, or such other circumstances which cause reasonable concern to the parent for the mental, emotional, or physical health or safety of the student. For purposes of a student who is an expectant parent, or parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence, "valid cause" for absence includes (i) the fulfillment of a parenting responsibility, including, but not limited to, arranging and providing child care, caring for a sick child, attending prenatal or other medical appointments for the expectant student, and attending medical appointments for a child, and (ii) addressing circumstances resulting from domestic or sexual violence, including, but not limited to, experiencing domestic or sexual violence, recovering from physical or psychological injuries, seeking medical attention, seeking services from a domestic or sexual violence organization, as defined in Article 26A, seeking psychological or other counseling, participating in safety planning, temporarily or permanently relocating, seeking legal assistance or remedies, or taking any other action to increase the safety or health of the student or to protect the student from future domestic or sexual violence. A school district may require a student to verify his or her claim of domestic or sexual violence under Section 26A-45 prior to the district approving a valid cause for an absence of 3 or more consecutive days that is related to domestic or sexual violence.

"Chronic or habitual truant" shall be defined as a child who is subject to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause from such attendance for 5% or more of the previous 180 regular attendance days.

"Civic event" means an event sponsored by a non-profit organization or governmental entity that is open to the public. "Civic event" includes, but is not limited to, an artistic or cultural performance or educational gathering that supports the mission of the sponsoring non-profit organization. The State Board of Education may adopt rules to further define "civic event".

"Truant minor" is defined as a chronic truant to whom supportive services, including prevention, diagnostic, intervention and remedial services, alternative programs and other school and community resources have been provided and have failed to result in the cessation of chronic truancy, or have been offered and refused.

A "dropout" is defined as any child enrolled in grades 9 through 12 whose name has been removed from the district enrollment roster for any reason other than the student's death, extended illness, removal for medical non-compliance, expulsion, aging out, graduation, or completion of a program of studies and who has not transferred to another public or private school and is not known to be home-schooled by his or her parents or guardians or continuing school in another country.

"Religion" for the purposes of this Article, includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief.

(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-266, eff. 1-1-22; 102-321, eff. 1-1-22; 102-466, eff. 7-1-25; revised 9-23-21.)

Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other Public Act.