Full Text of SB2918 93rd General Assembly
SB2918enr 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | 5 |
| 26-1, 26-2, 26-7, 26-8, and 26-14 and by adding Section 26-16 | 6 |
| as follows:
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| (105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
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| Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age-Exemptions. Whoever has | 9 |
| custody or control of any child between the ages of 7 and 17
16
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| years (unless the child has already graduated from high school)
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| shall cause such child to attend some public school in the | 12 |
| district
wherein the child resides the entire time it is in | 13 |
| session during the
regular school term, except as provided in | 14 |
| Section 10-19.1, and during a
required summer school program | 15 |
| established under Section 10-22.33B; provided,
that
the | 16 |
| following children shall not be required to attend the public | 17 |
| schools:
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| 1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school | 19 |
| where children
are taught the branches of education taught to | 20 |
| children of corresponding
age and grade in the public schools, | 21 |
| and where the instruction of the child
in the branches of | 22 |
| education is in the English language;
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| 2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to attend | 24 |
| school, such
disability being certified to the county or | 25 |
| district truant officer by a
competent physician or a Christian | 26 |
| Science practitioner residing in this
State and listed in the | 27 |
| Christian Science Journal; or who is excused for
temporary | 28 |
| absence for cause by
the principal or teacher of the school | 29 |
| which the child attends; the exemptions
in this paragraph (2) | 30 |
| do not apply to any female who is pregnant or the
mother of one | 31 |
| or more children, except where a female is unable to attend
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| school due to a complication arising from her pregnancy and the |
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| existence
of such complication is certified to the county or | 2 |
| district truant officer
by a competent physician;
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| 3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed according to | 4 |
| the
provisions of the law regulating child labor may be excused | 5 |
| from attendance
at school by the county superintendent of | 6 |
| schools or the superintendent of
the public school which the | 7 |
| child should be attending, on certification of
the facts by and | 8 |
| the recommendation of the school board of the public
school | 9 |
| district in which the child resides. In districts having part | 10 |
| time
continuation schools, children so excused shall attend | 11 |
| such schools at
least 8 hours each week;
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| 4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in | 13 |
| attendance at
confirmation classes;
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| 5. Any child absent from a public school on a particular | 15 |
| day or days
or at a particular time of day for the reason that | 16 |
| he is unable to attend
classes or to participate in any | 17 |
| examination, study or work requirements on
a particular day or | 18 |
| days or at a particular time of day, because the tenets
of his | 19 |
| religion forbid secular activity on a particular day or days or | 20 |
| at a
particular time of day. Each school board shall prescribe | 21 |
| rules and
regulations relative to absences for religious | 22 |
| holidays including, but not
limited to, a list of religious | 23 |
| holidays on which it shall be mandatory to
excuse a child; but | 24 |
| nothing in this paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit
the | 25 |
| right of any school board, at its discretion, to excuse an | 26 |
| absence on
any other day by reason of the observance of a | 27 |
| religious holiday. A school
board may require the parent or | 28 |
| guardian of a child who is to be excused
from attending school | 29 |
| due to the observance of a religious holiday to give
notice, | 30 |
| not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school
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| principal or other school personnel. Any child excused from | 32 |
| attending
school under this paragraph 5 shall not be required | 33 |
| to submit a written
excuse for such absence after returning to | 34 |
| school ; and . | 35 |
| 6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits to a | 36 |
| school district evidence of necessary and lawful employment |
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| pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and (ii) is enrolled in | 2 |
| a graduation incentives program pursuant to Section 26-16 of | 3 |
| this Code or an alternative learning opportunities program | 4 |
| established pursuant to Article 13B of this Code.
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| (Source: P.A. 89-610, eff. 8-6-96.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/26-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2)
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| Sec. 26-2. Enrolled pupils below 7 or over 17
16 . Any | 8 |
| person having custody or
control of a child who is below the | 9 |
| age of 7 years or is 17 years of age or above the age of 16 | 10 |
| years
and who is enrolled in any of grades 1 through 12 , in the | 11 |
| public school shall
cause him to attend the public school in | 12 |
| the district wherein he resides when
it is in session during | 13 |
| the regular school term , unless he is excused under
paragraph
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| paragraphs 2, 3, 4 ,
or 5 , or 6 of Section 26-1.
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| A school district shall deny reenrollment in its secondary | 16 |
| schools to any
child 17 years of age or above the age of 16 | 17 |
| years who has dropped out of school
and who could
not, because | 18 |
| of age and lack of credits, attend classes during the normal
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| school year and graduate before his or her twenty-first | 20 |
| birthday.
A district may, however, enroll the child in a | 21 |
| graduation incentives program under Section 26-16 of this Code | 22 |
| or an alternative learning
opportunities program established
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| under Article 13B.
No
child shall be denied reenrollment for | 24 |
| the above reasons
unless the school district first offers the | 25 |
| child
due process as required in cases of expulsion under | 26 |
| Section
10-22.6. If a child is denied reenrollment after being | 27 |
| provided with due
process, the school district must provide | 28 |
| counseling to that child and
must direct that child to
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| alternative educational
programs, including adult education | 30 |
| programs, that lead to graduation or
receipt of a GED diploma. | 31 |
| No child may be denied reenrollment in violation
of the | 32 |
| Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the Americans | 33 |
| with
Disabilities Act.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-42, eff. 1-1-02.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/26-7) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-7)
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| Sec. 26-7. Notice
to custodian-Notice of non-compliance. | 3 |
| If any person fails to send any child under his custody or | 4 |
| control to
some lawful school , the truant officer or, in a | 5 |
| school district that does not have a truant officer, the | 6 |
| regional superintendent of schools or his or her designee
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| shall, as soon as practicable after
he is notified thereof, | 8 |
| give notice in person or by mail to such person
that such child | 9 |
| shall be present at the proper public school on the day
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| following the receipt of such notice. The notice shall state | 11 |
| the date that
attendance at school must begin and that such | 12 |
| attendance must be continuous
and consecutive in the district | 13 |
| during the remainder of the school year.
The truant officer or, | 14 |
| in a school district that does not have a truant officer, the | 15 |
| regional superintendent of schools or his or her designee shall | 16 |
| at the same time that such notice is given notify
the teacher | 17 |
| or superintendent of the proper public school thereof and the
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| teacher or superintendent shall notify the truant officer or | 19 |
| regional superintendent of schools of any
non-compliance | 20 |
| therewith.
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| (Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/26-8) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-8)
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| Sec. 26-8. Determination as to compliance - Complaint in | 24 |
| circuit court. )
A truant officer or, in a school district that | 25 |
| does not have a truant officer, the regional superintendent of | 26 |
| schools or his or her designee,
All Truant officers after | 27 |
| giving the notice provided in Section 26-7 , shall
determine | 28 |
| whether the notice has been complied with. If 3 notices have | 29 |
| been given and the notices have
the notice has not
been | 30 |
| complied with, and if the persons having custody or control | 31 |
| have knowingly
and wilfully permitted the truant behavior to | 32 |
| continue, the regional superintendent of schools, or his or her | 33 |
| designee, of the school district where the child resides shall | 34 |
| conduct a truancy hearing. If the regional superintendent | 35 |
| determines as a result of the hearing that the child is truant, |
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| the regional superintendent shall require the student to | 2 |
| complete 20 to 40 hours of community service over a period of | 3 |
| 90 days. If the truancy persists, the regional superintendent | 4 |
| shall (i) make complaint against the persons having custody or | 5 |
| control
truant officer
shall thereupon make complaint against | 6 |
| such person to the state's
attorney or in the circuit court in | 7 |
| the county where such person resides
for failure to comply with | 8 |
| the provisions of this Article or (ii) conduct truancy | 9 |
| mediation and encourage the student to enroll in a graduation | 10 |
| incentives program under Section 26-16 of this Code . If, | 11 |
| however,
after giving the notice provided in Section 26-7 the | 12 |
| truant behavior has
continued, and the child is beyond the | 13 |
| control of the parents, guardians
or custodians, a truancy | 14 |
| petition shall be filed under the provisions of
Article III of | 15 |
| the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
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| (Source: P.A. 85-1209.)
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| (105 ILCS 5/26-14) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-14)
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| Sec. 26-14. Truancy programs for dropouts. Any dropout, as | 19 |
| defined in
Section 26-2a, who is 17
whose age is 16 or greater, | 20 |
| but less than 18 years of age ,
may apply to a school district
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| for status as a truant, and the school district shall permit | 22 |
| such person to
participate in the district's various programs | 23 |
| and resources for truants.
At the time of the person's | 24 |
| application, the district may request
documentation of his | 25 |
| dropout status for the previous 6 months.
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| (Source: P.A. 85-629 .)
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| (105 ILCS 5/26-16 new) | 28 |
| Sec. 26-16. Graduation incentives program.
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| (a) The General Assembly finds that it is critical to | 30 |
| provide options for children to succeed in school. The purpose | 31 |
| of this Section is to provide incentives for and encourage all | 32 |
| Illinois students who have experienced or are experiencing | 33 |
| difficulty in the traditional education system to enroll in | 34 |
| alternative programs. |
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| (b) Any student who is no more than 18 years of age is | 2 |
| eligible to enroll in a graduation incentives program if he or | 3 |
| she: | 4 |
| (1) is considered a dropout pursuant to Section 26-2a | 5 |
| of this Code; | 6 |
| (2) has been suspended or expelled pursuant to Section | 7 |
| 10-22.6 or 34-19 of
this Code; | 8 |
| (3) is pregnant or is a parent; | 9 |
| (4) has been assessed as chemically dependent; or | 10 |
| (5) is enrolled in a bilingual education or LEP | 11 |
| program. | 12 |
| (c) The following programs qualify as graduation | 13 |
| incentives programs for students meeting the criteria | 14 |
| established in this Section: | 15 |
| (1) Any public elementary or secondary education | 16 |
| graduation incentives program established by a school | 17 |
| district or by a regional office of education. | 18 |
| (2) Any alternative learning opportunities program | 19 |
| established pursuant to Article 13B of this Code. | 20 |
| (3) Vocational or job training courses approved by the | 21 |
| State Superintendent of Education that are available | 22 |
| through the Illinois public community college system. | 23 |
| Students may apply for reimbursement of 50% of tuition | 24 |
| costs for one course per semester or a maximum of 3 courses | 25 |
| per school year. Subject to available funds, students may | 26 |
| apply for reimbursement of up to 100% of tuition costs upon | 27 |
| a showing of employment within 6 months after completion of | 28 |
| a vocational or job training program. The qualifications | 29 |
| for reimbursement shall be established by the State | 30 |
| Superintendent of Education by rule. | 31 |
| (4) Job and career programs approved by the State | 32 |
| Superintendent of Education that are available through | 33 |
| Illinois-accredited private business and vocational | 34 |
| schools. Subject to available funds, pupils may apply for | 35 |
| reimbursement of up to 100% of tuition costs upon a showing | 36 |
| of employment within 6 months after completion of a job or |
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| career program. The State Superintendent of Education | 2 |
| shall establish, by rule, the qualifications for | 3 |
| reimbursement, criteria for determining reimbursement | 4 |
| amounts, and limits on reimbursement. | 5 |
| (5) Adult education courses that offer preparation for | 6 |
| the General Educational Development Test. | 7 |
| (d) Graduation incentives programs established by school | 8 |
| districts are entitled to claim general State aid, subject to | 9 |
| Sections 13B-50, 13B-50.5, and 13B-50.10 of this Code. | 10 |
| Graduation incentives programs operated by regional offices of | 11 |
| education are entitled to receive general State aid at the | 12 |
| foundation level of support per pupil enrolled. A school | 13 |
| district must ensure that its graduation incentives program | 14 |
| receives supplemental general State aid, transportation | 15 |
| reimbursements, and special education resources, if | 16 |
| appropriate, for students enrolled in the program.
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