Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 095-0869
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Public Act 095-0869


 

Public Act 0869 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 095-0869
 
SB2512 Enrolled LRB095 19817 NHT 46206 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
27-13.3 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/27-13.3)
    Sec. 27-13.3. Internet safety education curriculum.
    (a) The purpose of this Section is to inform and protect
students from inappropriate or illegal communications and
solicitation and to encourage school districts to provide
education about Internet threats and risks, including without
limitation child predators, fraud, and other dangers.
    (b) The General Assembly finds and declares the following:
        (1) it is the policy of this State to protect consumers
    and Illinois residents from deceptive and unsafe
    communications that result in harassment, exploitation, or
    physical harm;
        (2) children have easy access to the Internet at home,
    school, and public places;
        (3) the Internet is used by sexual predators and other
    criminals to make initial contact with children and other
    vulnerable residents in Illinois; and
        (4) education is an effective method for preventing
    children from falling prey to online predators, identity
    theft, and other dangers.
    (c) Each school may adopt an age-appropriate curriculum for
Internet safety instruction of students in grades kindergarten
through 12. However, beginning with the 2009-2010 school year,
a school district must incorporate into the school curriculum a
component on Internet safety to be taught at least once each
school year to students in grade 3 or above. The school board
shall determine the scope and duration of this unit of
instruction. The age-appropriate unit of instruction may be
incorporated into the current courses of study regularly taught
in the district's schools, as determined by the school board,
and it is recommended that the unit of instruction include It
is hereby recommended that the curriculum provide for a minimum
of 2 hours of Internet safety education each school year that
includes instruction on each of the following topics:
        (1) Safe and responsible use of social networking
    websites, chat rooms, electronic mail, bulletin boards,
    instant messaging, and other means of communication on the
    Internet.
        (2) Recognizing, avoiding, and reporting online
    solicitations of students, their classmates, and their
    friends by sexual predators.
        (3) Risks of transmitting personal information on the
    Internet.
        (4) Recognizing and avoiding unsolicited or deceptive
    communications received online.
        (5) Recognizing and reporting online harassment and
    cyber-bullying.
        (6) Reporting illegal activities and communications on
    the Internet.
        (7) Copyright laws on written materials, photographs,
    music, and video.
    (d) Curricula devised in accordance with subsection (c) of
this Section may be submitted for review to the Office of the
Illinois Attorney General.
    (e) The State Board of Education shall make available
resource materials for educating children regarding child
online safety and may take into consideration the curriculum on
this subject developed by other states, as well as any other
curricular materials suggested by education experts, child
psychologists, or technology companies that work on child
online safety issues. Materials may include without limitation
safe online communications, privacy protection,
cyber-bullying, viewing inappropriate material, file sharing,
and the importance of open communication with responsible
adults. The State Board of Education shall make these resource
materials available on its Internet website.
(Source: P.A. 95-509, eff. 8-28-07.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2009