HB4372eng 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4372 Engrossed LRB104 16674 LNS 30078 b

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 Section 27-505 and by adding Section 27-550 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/27-505) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-21)

Sec. 27-505. History of the United States.

(a) History of the United States shall be taught in all public schools and in all other educational institutions in this State supported or maintained, in whole or in part, by public funds.

The teaching of history shall have as one of its objectives the imparting to pupils of a comprehensive idea of our democratic form of government and the principles for which our government stands as regards other nations, including the studying of the place of our government in world-wide movements and the leaders thereof, with particular stress upon the basic principles and ideals of our representative form of government.

The teaching of history shall include a study of the role and contributions of African Americans and other ethnic groups, including, but not restricted to, Native Americans, Polish, Lithuanian, German, Hungarian, Irish, Bohemian, Russian, Albanian, Italian, Czech, Slovak, French, Scots, Latin Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, etc., in the history of this country and this State. To reinforce the study of the role and contributions of Hispanics, such curriculum shall include the study of the events related to the forceful removal and illegal deportation of Mexican-American U.S. citizens during the Great Depression.

The teaching of history shall also include teaching about Native American nations' sovereignty and self-determination, both historically and in the present day, with a focus on urban Native Americans.

In public schools only, the teaching of history shall include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this State.

The teaching of history also shall include a study of the role of labor unions and their interaction with government in achieving the goals of a mixed free enterprise system.

Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, the teaching of history must also include instruction on the history of Illinois.

The teaching of history shall include the contributions made to society by Americans of different faith practices, including, but not limited to, Native Americans, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, Christian Americans, Hindu Americans, Sikh Americans, Buddhist Americans, and any other collective community of faith that has shaped America.

(b) No pupils shall be graduated from the eighth grade of any public school unless the pupils have received instruction in the history of the United States as provided in this Section and give evidence of having a comprehensive knowledge thereof, which may be administered remotely.

(c) Instructional materials that include the addition of content related to Native Americans shall be prepared by the State Superintendent of Education and made available to all school boards on the State Board of Education's Internet website no later than July 1, 2024. These instructional materials may be used by school boards as guidelines for the development of instruction under this Section; however, each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instructional time for satisfying the requirements of this Section. Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this Section, a school or other educational institution is not required to teach and a pupil is not required to learn the additional content related to Native Americans until instructional materials are made available on the State Board's Internet website.

Instructional materials related to Native Americans shall be developed in consultation with members of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative who are members of a federally recognized tribe, are documented descendants of Indigenous communities, or are other persons recognized as contributing community members by the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative and who currently reside in this State.

(Source: P.A. 103-422, eff. 8-4-23; 103-564, eff. 11-17-23; 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-550 new)

Sec. 27-550. Latine studies.

(a) Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, every public elementary and high school shall include in its curriculum the study of the contributions made by Latin Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. The instruction shall include the events of the Latine experience and Latin American history, including the contributions made by Latin Americans in government and the arts, humanities, and sciences, as well as the effects of colonialism in society.

(b) The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional resources and professional development opportunities that may be used as guidelines for the development of a unit of study under this Section. However, each school board shall determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of study satisfying the requirements of this Section.

(c) The regional superintendent of schools shall monitor a school district's compliance with the requirements of this Section during the regional superintendent's compliance visit and make recommendations for improvement, including professional development.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.