HB1535eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1535 Engrossed LRB094 05650 LJB 35699 b

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act is amended by changing Sections 2 and 3 as follows:

(105 ILCS 110/2) (from Ch. 122, par. 862)

Sec. 2. Program defined Definitions. The following terms shall have the following meanings respectively prescribed for them, Except as the context otherwise requires, : (a) "Comprehensive Health Education Program" means : a systematic and extensive educational program designed to provide a variety of learning experiences based upon scientific knowledge of the human organism as it functions within its environment which will favorably influence the knowledge, attitudes, values and practices of Illinois school youth; and which will aid them in making wise personal decisions in matters of health and nutrition.

(Source: P.A. 77-1405.)

(105 ILCS 110/3) (from Ch. 122, par. 863)

Sec. 3. Comprehensive Health Education Program. The program established under this Act shall include, but not be limited to, the following major educational areas as a basis for curricula in all elementary and secondary schools in this State: nutrition, with an emphasis on nutritional values and wellness, human ecology and health, human growth and development, the emotional, psychological, physiological, hygienic and social responsibilities of family life, including sexual abstinence until marriage, prevention and control of disease, including instruction in grades 6 through 12 on the prevention, transmission and spread of AIDS, public and environmental health, consumer health, safety education and disaster survival, mental health and illness, personal health habits, alcohol, drug use, and abuse including the medical and legal ramifications of alcohol, drug, and tobacco use, abuse during pregnancy, sexual abstinence until marriage, tobacco, nutrition, and dental health. Notwithstanding the above educational areas, the following areas may also be included as a basis for curricula in all elementary and secondary schools in this State: basic first aid (including, but not limited to, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the Heimlich maneuver), early prevention and detection of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and the prevention of child abuse, neglect, and suicide. The school board of each public elementary and secondary school in the State shall encourage all teachers and other school personnel to acquire, develop, and maintain the knowledge and skills necessary to properly administer life-saving techniques, including without limitation the Heimlich maneuver and rescue breathing. The training shall be in accordance with standards of the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization. A school board may use the services of non-governmental entities whose personnel have expertise in life-saving techniques to instruct teachers and other school personnel in these techniques. Each school board is encouraged to have in its employ, or on its volunteer staff, at least one person who is certified, by the American Red Cross or by another qualified certifying agency, as qualified to administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In addition, each school board is authorized to allocate appropriate portions of its institute or inservice days to conduct training programs for teachers and other school personnel who have expressed an interest in becoming qualified to administer emergency first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. School boards are urged to encourage their teachers and other school personnel who coach school athletic programs and other extracurricular school activities to acquire, develop, and maintain the knowledge and skills necessary to properly administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in accordance with standards and requirements established by the American Red Cross or another qualified certifying agency. No pupil shall be required to take or participate in any class or course on AIDS or family life instruction if his parent or guardian submits written objection thereto, and refusal to take or participate in the course or program shall not be reason for suspension or expulsion of the pupil.

Curricula developed under programs established in accordance with this Act in the major educational area of alcohol and drug use and abuse shall include classroom instruction in grades 5 through 12. The instruction, which shall include matters relating to both the physical and legal effects and ramifications of drug and substance abuse, shall be integrated into existing curricula; and the State Board of Education shall develop and make available to all elementary and secondary schools in this State instructional materials and guidelines which will assist the schools in incorporating the instruction into their existing curricula. In addition, school districts may offer, as part of existing curricula during the school day or as part of an after school program, support services and instruction for pupils or pupils whose parent, parents, or guardians are chemically dependent.

The State Board of Education shall develop and make available, through Internet website resources, instructional materials and guidelines concerning nutrition and wellness to all elementary and secondary schools in this State.

(Source: P.A. 92-23, eff. 7-1-01.)

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