HB1278 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 05243 RJT 50261 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1278

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Rep. Daniel Didech

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/27-20.05 new
30 ILCS 805/8.47 new

Amends the Courses of Study Article of the School Code. Provides that beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of pre-Columbian Native American societies. Sets forth additional topics of instruction. Provides that beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the history of Native Americans during and after the American Revolution, as well as the contributions of Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. Provides that the State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials that may be used as guidelines for development of these units of instruction. Provides that a school may meet the curricular requirements through an online program or course. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement.

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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 adding Section 27-20.05 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/27-20.05 new)

Sec. 27-20.05. Study of Native Americans.

(a) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of pre-Columbian Native American societies, including, but not limited to, the Pueblo, Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian, and Clovis cultures. This instruction shall further be supplemented by education concerning the contemporary life of Native American societies, including, but not limited to, the Navajo and Cherokee, and the cultural traditions and customs of Native American societies, such as their beliefs, traditions, geography, and language. The studying of this material shall constitute an affirmation by students to understand the foundations of the land in which they live and to restore history previously lost.

(b) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the history of Native Americans during and after the American Revolution, including studying their relationships with settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the contributions of Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. These contributions shall include those made to advance civil rights both in the Midwest and across the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. The study of this material shall constitute an affirmation by students of their commitment to respect the dignity of all races and peoples and to forever eschew every form of unjust discrimination in their lives and careers.

(c) The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials, including those established by the Public Broadcasting Service, that may be used as guidelines for development of the units of instruction under this Section. However, each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction satisfying the requirements of this Section.

(d) The regional superintendent of schools shall monitor a school district's compliance with this Section's curricular requirements during the regional superintendent's annual compliance visit.

(e) A school may meet the requirements of this Section through an online program or course.

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.47 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.47 new)

Sec. 8.47. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.