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Public Act 102-0321 | ||||
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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 | ||||
26-1 and 26-2a 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 | ||||
custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and | ||||
17
years (unless the child has already graduated from high | ||||
school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or | ||||
(ii) between the ages
of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17 | ||||
years (unless the child has already graduated from high | ||||
school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year
shall cause | ||||
such child to attend some public school in the district
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wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session | ||||
during the
regular school term, except as provided in Section | ||||
10-19.1, and during a
required summer school program | ||||
established under Section 10-22.33B; provided,
that
the | ||||
following children shall not be required to attend the public | ||||
schools:
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1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school | ||||
where children
are taught the branches of education taught | ||||
to children of corresponding
age and grade in the public |
schools, and where the instruction of the child
in the | ||
branches of education is in the English language;
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2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to | ||
attend school, such
disability being certified to the | ||
county or district truant officer by a
competent physician | ||
licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in | ||
all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under | ||
the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced | ||
practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant, | ||
or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this
State | ||
and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is | ||
excused for
temporary absence for cause by
the principal | ||
or teacher of the school which the child attends , with | ||
absence for cause by illness being required to include the | ||
mental or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days | ||
for which the child need not provide a medical note, in | ||
which case the child shall be given the opportunity to | ||
make up any school work missed during the mental or | ||
behavioral health absence and, after the second mental | ||
health day used, may be referred to the appropriate school | ||
support personnel ; the exemptions
in this paragraph (2) do | ||
not apply to any female who is pregnant or the
mother of | ||
one or more children, except where a female is unable to | ||
attend
school due to a complication arising from her | ||
pregnancy and the existence
of such complication is | ||
certified to the county or district truant officer
by a |
competent physician;
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3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed | ||
according to the
provisions of the law regulating child | ||
labor may be excused from attendance
at school by the | ||
county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
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the public school which the child should be attending, on | ||
certification of
the facts by and the recommendation of | ||
the school board of the public
school district in which | ||
the child resides. In districts having part-time
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continuation schools, children so excused shall attend | ||
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 | ||
attendance at
confirmation classes;
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5. Any child absent from a public school on a | ||
particular day or days
or at a particular time of day for | ||
the reason that he is unable to attend
classes or to | ||
participate in any examination, study or work requirements | ||
on
a particular day or days or at a particular time of day, | ||
because the tenets
of his religion forbid secular activity | ||
on a particular day or days or at a
particular time of day. | ||
Each school board shall prescribe rules and
regulations | ||
relative to absences for religious holidays including, but | ||
not
limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it | ||
shall be mandatory to
excuse a child; but nothing in this | ||
paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit
the right of any | ||
school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on
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any other day by reason of the observance of a religious | ||
holiday. A school
board may require the parent or guardian | ||
of a child who is to be excused
from attending school due | ||
to the observance of a religious holiday to give
notice, | ||
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 attending
school under this paragraph 5 shall not be | ||
required to submit a written
excuse for such absence after | ||
returning to school; | ||
6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits | ||
to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful | ||
employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and | ||
(ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program | ||
pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative | ||
learning opportunities program established pursuant to | ||
Article 13B of this Code;
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7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a | ||
public school on a particular day or days or at a | ||
particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps" | ||
at a military honors funeral held in this State for a | ||
deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this | ||
paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's | ||
administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the | ||
absence and shall provide the school's administration with | ||
the date, time, and location of the military
honors | ||
funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day |
notification requirement if the student did not receive at | ||
least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify | ||
the school's administration as soon as possible of the | ||
absence. A student whose absence is excused under this | ||
paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended | ||
school for purposes of calculating the average daily | ||
attendance of students in the school district. A student | ||
whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be | ||
allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed | ||
during the absence. If the student satisfactorily | ||
completes the school work, the day of absence shall be | ||
counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may | ||
not be penalized for that absence; and | ||
8. Any child absent from a public school on a | ||
particular day or days or at a particular time of day for | ||
the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an | ||
active duty member of the uniformed services and has been | ||
called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately | ||
returned from deployment to a combat zone or | ||
combat-support postings. Such a student shall be granted 5 | ||
days of excused absences in any school year and, at the | ||
discretion of the school board, additional excused | ||
absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian | ||
relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or | ||
legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant | ||
to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal |
guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments | ||
from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused | ||
absence and for ensuring that such assignments are | ||
completed by the student prior to his or her return to | ||
school from such period of excused absence. | ||
(Source: P.A. 99-173, eff. 7-29-15; 99-804, eff. 1-1-17; | ||
100-185, eff. 8-18-17; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff. | ||
8-14-18.)
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(105 ILCS 5/26-2a) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2a) | ||
Sec. 26-2a. A "truant" is defined as a child who is subject | ||
to compulsory school
attendance and who is absent without | ||
valid cause, as defined under this Section, from such | ||
attendance for more than 1% but less than 5% of the past 180 | ||
school days. | ||
"Valid cause" for absence shall be illness , including the | ||
mental or behavioral health of the student , observance of a | ||
religious
holiday, death in the immediate family,
or family | ||
emergency , and shall include such other situations beyond the | ||
control
of the student , as determined by the board of | ||
education in each district,
or such other circumstances which | ||
cause reasonable concern to the parent
for the mental, | ||
emotional, or physical health or safety of the student. | ||
"Chronic or habitual truant" shall be defined as a child | ||
who is subject to compulsory
school attendance and who is | ||
absent without valid cause from such attendance
for 5% or more |
of the previous 180 regular attendance days. | ||
"Truant minor" is defined as a chronic truant to whom | ||
supportive
services, including prevention, diagnostic, | ||
intervention and remedial
services, alternative programs and | ||
other school and community resources
have been provided and | ||
have failed to result in the cessation of chronic
truancy, or | ||
have been offered and refused. | ||
A "dropout" is defined as any child enrolled in grades 9 | ||
through 12 whose
name has been removed from the district | ||
enrollment roster for any reason
other than the student's | ||
death, extended illness, removal for medical non-compliance, | ||
expulsion, aging out, graduation, or completion of a
program | ||
of studies and who has not transferred to another public or | ||
private school and is not known to be home-schooled by his or | ||
her parents or guardians or continuing school in another | ||
country. | ||
"Religion" for the purposes of this Article, includes all | ||
aspects of
religious observance and practice, as well as | ||
belief. | ||
(Source: P.A. 100-810, eff. 1-1-19; 100-918, eff. 8-17-18; | ||
101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
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