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.


LRB103 05243 RJT 50261 b

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1278LRB103 05243 RJT 50261 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
527-20.05 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27-20.05 new)
7    Sec. 27-20.05. Study of Native Americans.
8    (a) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public
9elementary school and high school shall include in its
10curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of
11pre-Columbian Native American societies, including, but not
12limited to, the Pueblo, Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian, and
13Clovis cultures. This instruction shall further be
14supplemented by education concerning the contemporary life of
15Native American societies, including, but not limited to, the
16Navajo and Cherokee, and the cultural traditions and customs
17of Native American societies, such as their beliefs,
18traditions, geography, and language. The studying of this
19material shall constitute an affirmation by students to
20understand the foundations of the land in which they live and
21to restore history previously lost.
22    (b) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public
23elementary school and high school shall include in its

 

 

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1curriculum a unit of instruction studying the history of
2Native Americans during and after the American Revolution,
3including studying their relationships with settlers in the
418th and 19th centuries, as well as the contributions of
5Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and
6political development of the United States. These
7contributions shall include those made to advance civil rights
8both in the Midwest and across the United States in the 19th
9and 20th centuries. The study of this material shall
10constitute an affirmation by students of their commitment to
11respect the dignity of all races and peoples and to forever
12eschew every form of unjust discrimination in their lives and
13careers.
14    (c) The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and
15make available to all school boards instructional materials,
16including those established by the Public Broadcasting
17Service, that may be used as guidelines for development of the
18units of instruction under this Section. However, each school
19board shall itself determine the minimum amount of
20instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction
21satisfying the requirements of this Section.
22    (d) The regional superintendent of schools shall monitor a
23school district's compliance with this Section's curricular
24requirements during the regional superintendent's annual
25compliance visit.
26    (e) A school may meet the requirements of this Section

 

 

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1through an online program or course.
 
2    Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
3Section 8.47 as follows:
 
4    (30 ILCS 805/8.47 new)
5    Sec. 8.47. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and
68 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for
7the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory
8Act of the 103rd General Assembly.