End of Session Report

2024 End of Session Report 

July 2024

The 2024 End of Session Report is offered to IASB members and provides information on the full scope of legislative activity that occurred during the 2024 Spring Session of the Illinois General Assembly. This report highlights key bills the Governmental Relations team worked on during session and the outcomes, including bills that passed both chambers and bills that failed to move forward this session pending further conversations to address concerns raised by IASB on behalf of its members. It is not uncommon for ideas and initiatives to be reintroduced in future years, so awareness of these issues is important.  

There are many ways bills proceed through the legislative process, so the same bills may be in more than one category depending upon what work was invested in each initiative. We hope you will appreciate having this elevated level of information and we look forward to your continued involvement in IASB’s advocacy work.

In August 2024, IASB will publish the Digest of Bills which outlines all bills that impact K-12 public education that have passed both chambers and are awaiting the Governor’s signature. That publication is a comprehensive list of bills that are expected to be signed into law.  

Members can expect a new edition of IASB’s New School Laws at the beginning of 2025. This document is a comprehensive digest of all state laws affecting Illinois K-12 public schools enacted in 2024. New School Laws should be very similar to the Digest of Bills but will not include bills that were vetoed by the Governor, unless the legislature overrides the veto during veto session. It will also note PRESS policies that are impacted by the legislative changes.

Please be advised that this publication is not intended as a substitute for either a current version of the Illinois Compiled Statutes or legal counsel. The synopsis of each act is brief and may or may not encompass the full content or impact of the Act. The synopsis is designed to call attention to statutory changes and additions that may merit further research. Active links to each bill are provided for those who would like more information. All legislation can be viewed online at the Illinois Legislative Information System website, www.ilga.gov. If you have any questions about legislation, please do not hesitate to contact any of the IASB Governmental Relations staff. We are only as successful as you are engaged!

Quick Links
Session Overview
End of Session Omnibus Bills - Budget  
Bills That Passed Both Chambers
11 New Mandates That Passed Both Chambers
Bills That Did Not Pass Both Chambers
Other Topics with Outstanding IASB Concerns  
Bills of Note That Could Reemerge

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Session Overview

The IASB Governmental Relations (GR) team identifies bills of importance and collaborates with IASB attorneys to provide legal review of all bills introduced that may impact Illinois school districts. In Spring 2024, the GR team monitored, analyzed, testified, negotiated, met with sponsors and other stakeholders, and/or researched over 400 measures that, if passed, would directly impact school districts. This volume of legislation requires IASB and other statewide partner organizations to prioritize the work and focus on initiatives that will have the greatest impact on the greatest number of districts and students. In total, 469 bills passed both chambers, including 210 House bills and 259 Senate bills, with 91 of those impacting Pre-K public education.  

The 2024 session, like all others, provided a series of challenges for Illinois school districts. Since 1982, the Illinois General Assembly has imposed more than 700 mandates on schools averaging about 18 per year. This year, IASB prioritized reducing educational mandates and with this increased focus, this session was notably different. While an additional 11 new educational mandates were passed, that is well below the average of 18 and half of the 22 education-related mandates passed last session. Other good news is that none of the curriculum bills passed will require the creation of new, stand-alone courses or add to current graduation requirements. IASB advocated for adding new topics into existing course offerings and ensuring alignment with the current Illinois Learning Standards. In total, 65 educational mandates were introduced with 11 passing both chambers, 51 not passing both houses, and three bills were amended to remove the mandate altogether. Also of note this year, there were four bills introduced by four different legislators to tackle the issue of educational mandates. This indicates that legislators are hearing from IASB members regarding the mandate overload and offering solutions.  

With the release of the Governor’s Budget in February, the projection of a near $900 million deficit set the tone for session. Despite the revenue limitations for the FY2025 state budget, legislators continued to advocate all session for initiatives of importance to them, including funding the Healthy Meals for All program ($209 million), support for new arrivals ($188 million), and student teacher stipends (approximately $54 million). In the end, the majority of these programs were not funded. One program that did receive $300,000 in funding for FY2025 was Breakfast after the Bell, an initiative of Senator Christopher Belt. Additionally, the legislature showed support for after-school programs, with over $50 million in funding. Literacy remained a priority this year with over $4 million in funding for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and $3 million to implement ISBE’s comprehensive literacy plan which was released in January 2024

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End of Session Omnibus Bills - Budget 

In addition to the long-anticipated budget and the budget implementation bill (BIMP), the final days of the legislative session brought the passage of numerous other comprehensive bills, including the Revenue Omnibus, the Sunset Omnibus, the Bond Authorization Act, the Procurement Bid Preference bill, and the Election Omnibus. Below are highlights of those end-of-session omnibus bills.

Budget (SB251)

The Fiscal Year 2025 State of Illinois Budget contains significant K-12 education funding. Some highlights:

• Increase of $350 million to Evidence-Based Funding ($50 million earmarked for Property Tax Relief Grants);  
• Increase of $30 million for Special Ed Transportation Mandated Categorical (MCAT);
• New funding of more than $25 million to ISBE for grants and administrative expenses for After School Programs, to bring the total for FY2025 to more than $50 million;  
• $45 million for the Teacher Vacancy grant (year two of a three-year grant commitment by the Governor);
• Increase of $10 million for Career and Technical Education (CTE);
• Increase of $800,000 for Agricultural Education;  
• New grant of $3 million to support implementation of the ISBE State Literacy Plan; and
• Early Childhood Funding:
  • An additional $75 million in funding through the Early Childhood Block Grant, which is part of the Smart Start Illinois program that is expected to provide universal preschool by 2027. The $75 million allows for 5,000 new early childhood slots; and
  • $13 million for the first year of transition to the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood, which will be created in July 2024 and oversee programs starting in July 2026.

Budget Implementation Act - BIMP (HB4959)

• Extends the ability for a TRS retiree to teach in a subject shortage area to 2027 (currently expires in 2024);  
• Adds state-authorized charter schools to the transportation line item (the state budget increased the Regular/Vocational Transportation MCAT line-item by $2 million to account for these costs);
• Creates the Fleet Electrification Incentive program which includes school buses (the state budget allocated $70 million to the program);
• Requires ISBE to report on which districts offer a Breakfast After the Bell program;
• Establishes the Breakfast After the Bell program (the state budget allocated $300,000 total at a maximum of $7,000 per school); and
• Adds dental and vision benefits to TRS health benefits beginning January 1, 2025, as well as sets forth required premiums to be paid by TRS benefit recipients.

Revenue Omnibus (HB4951)  

• Creates an anticipated billion dollars in additional state revenue in an effort to balance the $53 billion state budget;
• Modifies the state’s income, franchise, and sales/use tax laws;
• Extends the sunset date for certain credits and incentives; and
• Adds a new child tax credit for low-income families.  

Sunset Omnibus (HB4615)

• Extends the sunset date allowing 17-2A interfund transfers for school districts through 2026 (currently set to expire in 2024).  

Bond Authorization Act (HB4582)  

• Removes the referendum requirement for new building construction that results in an increase in pre-kindergarten or kindergarten classroom space. This initiative supports the unfunded mandate of requiring full-day kindergarten by the 2027-28 school year (HB2396);
• Exempts taxes levied for school fire prevention and safety bonds from PTELL;
• Increases the maximum term of school district bonds from 20 years to 30 years; and
• Allows districts to increase the amount of bonds by 3% to cover costs of issuance and/or capitalized interest.

Election Omnibus (HB4488)  

• Moves the filing deadline for certificates of nomination and nomination papers for candidates for school district offices to not more than 141 (rather than 113) nor less than 134 (rather than 106) days before the consolidated election. This would also impact the circulation period and time period for objections.

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Bills That Passed Both Chambers

There are many ways bills proceed through the legislative process, so the bills noted below may be included in more than one category depending upon what work was invested in each initiative. Throughout the 2024 legislative session, over 400 bills that impact public education were filed. Below are highlights of key bills that passed both chambers.

Bills IASB Supported That Passed Both Chambers

The bills listed below were actively supported by IASB in committee hearings and the bills passed through the House and Senate to be signed into law by the Governor.

SB1400 (Lightford/West) Student Discipline

SB1400 directs the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to create model guidance for the development of reciprocal reporting systems, school bus safety procedures, evidence-based interventions, and re-engagement of students who received exclusionary discipline to provide a more uniform approach to student discipline. IASB worked extensively with stakeholders on this legislation given the increased student discipline concerns districts have reported.

SB3606 (Laughran Cappell/Mussman) Special Education Reimbursement  

This bill would equalize the funding between public and private day schools. Currently, private day schools receive a higher reimbursement rate than public day schools although both schools serve students who receive intensive special education services. This bill ensures that private and public day schools are reimbursed at the same rate. SB3606 is a long-time initiative of the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE) and aligns with the recommendations from the High-Cost Special Education Committee, which are outlined in that Committee’s final report.

Bills IASB Opposed That Passed Both Chambers

IASB is proud to report that there were no bills passed by both houses that IASB actively opposed.

Bills IASB Worked to Amend That Passed Both Chambers

The bills listed below were negotiated and IASB and other management groups worked to amend them in an effort to better align with our members’ needs. These bills passed through both the House and the Senate.

SB2872 (Ventura/Faver Dias) Relaxation Activities

The bill makes it permissive for districts to offer 20 minutes of relaxation activities per week to advance the mental and physical health of students. A school district may also partner with a community organization to provide the services. IASB staff worked with the sponsor to remove the mandate of 20 minutes of relaxation activities at least once per week.

SB2987 (Loughran Cappel/Elik) School Board Member Training   

This bill requires new school board members, within the first years of a term, to be trained on student outcomes as part of the current four-hour training that is already required. The bill, as introduced, would have created a new mandate for school board members to take an additional three hours of training every two years related to student outcomes. Aligning to Position Statement 4.02, IASB staff worked to amend the bill and include student outcome training in the four hours of training already required for school board members.  

SB3151 (Stadelman/West) Driver’s Education Worker Safety

This bill requires that the Driver’s Education course include worker safety in highway construction and maintenance zones.

SB3156 (Johnson/Davis) State Board of Education Omnibus Clean Up

This was essentially an ISBE clean-up bill. However, in updating the section of the School Code that relates to the duties of school counselors, language was added that stated school counselors “shall” be the only ones who could provide school counseling services. The current law states that the services may be provided by school counselors. The one word change significantly removed flexibility for districts. As amended, the word “may” was put back in and flexibility remains.  

SB3473 (Sims/Smith) Diabetes Information

This bill requires school districts to post Type 1 diabetes information, which will be developed by ISBE in coordination with the Department of Public Health, on the district website, if available. IASB staff worked with the sponsor and the Diabetes Association to ensure that the information was provided by ISBE and IDPH and resulted in minimal impact to district operations while providing pertinent information to parents and guardians.

SB3571 (Harriss/Elik) AED After Hours  

This bill requires all school districts to have at least one automated external defibrillator (AED) on school grounds during a school-sponsored extracurricular activity. The intention is to ensure a quick response in the event of a medical emergency. IASB staff worked with the Illinois Principals Association and the sponsor to ensure that requirements were not overly burdensome on school personnel and volunteers.  

HB305 (Katz-Muhl/Harris) Cook County Township Treasurer and Trustees  

This bill allows school districts in Cook County, by resolution adopted by at least two-thirds of a school board, to withdraw from the jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer and elect or appoint their own treasurer. Additionally, trustees for township treasurers will no longer be elected. Instead, each school board will appoint a school board member or school employee to serve as trustee. This bill applies only to Cook County school districts under the jurisdiction and control of a township treasurer. Currently, school districts can only withdraw from a township treasurer by legislative action.  

HB340 (Mussman/Villivalam) Special Education Materials Notice for IEP

The bill requires districts to provide notice to parents and guardians regarding the date that they will receive copies of all written materials for an IEP meeting.  

HB4219 (Yang Rohr/Ellman) Fentanyl Education  

This bill amends the Comprehensive Health Education Act and specifies that the teaching of fentanyl education to grades 6-8 (currently only required in grades 9-12) as one of the areas to be taught. This bill also allows a school social worker or law enforcement officer to teach the instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl. IASB worked to amend this bill to ensure that instruction is age and developmentally appropriate.

HB4350 (J. Davis/Rezin) Child Abuse Notice Act

The bill mandates certain public establishments post child abuse notices in the bathrooms of specified public facilities. IASB staff worked on an amendment with the sponsor to remove schools from the mandate given that districts already provide instruction on the topics set forth in the notice in age and developmentally appropriate ways.  

HB4417 (Johnson/Halpin) Workplace Readiness Week

This bill encourages districts to educate their students about workers' rights and outlines topics that can be covered. IASB staff worked with the sponsor to amend the bill from a mandate to being permissive.

HB4895 (Yang Rohr/Johnson) Climate Change Education  

This bill adds the requirement to teach climate change under the currently required instruction on environmental education. This bill does not create or require a standalone course or new unit of study. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, school districts have local control on how the information related to climate change is disseminated. Subject to appropriation, ISBE may create resources to aid in implementing the material. No money was appropriated for this purpose in FY2025.  

HB5276 (Ness/Koehler) Special Education Transition  

This bill requires the discussion of a student’s post high school assistive technology needs to be included in the student’s transition planning meeting. These are devices that assist in functionality for students and would ensure there is a plan in place after graduation.  

HB5394 (Faver Dias/Harriss) Cardiac Plans

This bill requires that, no later than 30 days after the first day of each school year, the school board “shall provide” (currently shall “encourage”) school employees with information on specified emergency procedures, including use of the school district’s AED. Additionally, requires each school district to create a cardiac emergency response plan and the plan must be distributed to employees. This plan must also be discussed at the annual meeting to review emergency and crisis response plans. The requirement that a school board identify a cardiac emergency response team was removed in an amendment, which was IASB’s outstanding concern with the bill.

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11 New Mandates That Passed Both Chambers

The bills listed below are educational mandates that passed both the House and the Senate.

HB340 (Mussman/Villivalam) Special Education Materials Notice for IEP

The bill requires districts to provide notice to parents and guardians regarding the date that they will receive copies of all written materials for an IEP meeting.  

HB4219 (Yang Rohr/Ellman) Fentanyl Education  

This bill amends the Comprehensive Health Education Act and specifies that the teaching of fentanyl education to grades 6-8 (currently only required in grades 9-12) as one of the areas to be taught. This bill also allows a school social worker or law enforcement officer to teach the instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl. IASB worked to amend this bill to ensure that instruction is age and developmentally appropriate.

HB4895 (Yang Rohr/Johnson) Climate Change Education  

This bill adds the requirement to teach climate change under the currently required instruction on environmental education. This bill does not create or require a standalone course or new unit of study. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, school districts have local control on how the information related to climate change is disseminated. Subject to appropriation, ISBE may create resources to aid in implementing the material. No money was appropriated for this purpose in FY2025.

HB4902 (Faver Dias/Lightford) School Improvement Plan Reading  

The bill requires that supports provided by any vendor or learning partner approved to support a school’s continuous improvement plan, which is required for schools that receive Targeted Support or Comprehensive Support designations, related to English language arts, must be based on the comprehensive literacy plan for the state developed by the State Board of Education.

HB5250 (Ammons/Lightford) Accelerated Placement

The bill requires that beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, any student who exceeds (no longer “meets or exceeds”) state standards are to be auto enrolled in the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework. Beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, any student that “meets” state standards shall be “automatically eligible to enroll” (not auto enrolled) in the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework. The district will have to provide notification in writing to the parents/guardians of the student’s “eligibility to enroll” in the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework. If the parent/guardian does not select a course, then the student must be automatically enrolled in the next most rigorous level of advanced coursework.

HB5394 (Faver Dias/Harriss) Cardiac Plans

This bill requires that, no later than 30 days after the first day of each school year, the school board “shall provide” (currently shall “encourage”) school employees with information on specified emergency procedures, including use of the school district’s AED. Additionally, requires each school district to create a cardiac emergency response plan and the plan must be distributed to employees. This plan must also be discussed at the annual meeting to review emergency and crisis response plans. The requirement that a school board identify a cardiac emergency response team was removed in an amendment, which was IASB’s outstanding concern with the bill.   

SB2987 (Loughran Cappel/Elik) School Board Member Training  

This bill requires new school board members, within the first year of their term, to be trained on student outcomes as part of the current four-hour training that is already required. The bill, as introduced, would have created a new mandate for school board members to take an additional three hours of training every two years related to student outcomes. Aligning to Position Statement 4.02, IASB staff worked to amend the bill and include student outcome training in the four hours of training already required by school board members.  

SB3151 (Stadelman/West) Driver’s Education Worker Safety

This bill requires that the Driver’s Education course include instruction on worker safety in highway construction and maintenance zones.

SB3473 (Sims/Smith) Diabetes Information

This bill requires school districts to post Type 1 diabetes information, which will be developed by ISBE in coordination with the Department of Public Health, on the district website, if available. IASB staff worked with the sponsor and the Diabetes Association to ensure that the information was provided by ISBE and IDPH and resulted in minimal impact to district operations while providing pertinent information to parents and guardians.

SB3571 (Harriss/Elik) AED After Hours  

This bill requires all school districts to have at least one automated external defibrillator (AED) on school grounds during a school-sponsored extracurricular activity. The intention is to ensure a quick response in the event of a medical emergency. IASB staff worked with the Illinois Principals Association and the sponsor to ensure that requirements were not overly burdensome on school personnel and volunteers.  

SB3779 (Villa/West) Social Work Opioid Antagonist

The bill requires employers to provide training in the administration of opioid antagonists for licensed clinical social workers or licensed social workers who possess an opioid antagonist in a professional capacity. Employers must also establish a policy to control the acquisition, storage, transportation, and administration of the opioid antagonist.

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Bills That Did Not Pass Both Chambers

These are bills that failed to move forward this session pending further conversations to address concerns raised by the IASB Governmental Relations team. It is not uncommon for these ideas and initiatives to be reintroduced in future years, so awareness of these issues is important.

Bills IASB Supported That Did Not Pass Both Chambers

The bills listed below were actively supported by IASB during Committee hearings yet did not pass both houses.

HB4622 (Didech/Villivalam) School District Impact Note

The bill creates the School District Mandate Taskforce. The task force would conduct a statewide study to determine the information and data sets needed to establish a system that provides a timely and reliable estimate of the anticipated fiscal, operational, and other impacts that a bill filed in the General Assembly imposes or may impose through mandates on a local school district. The Task Force would provide its findings to the General Assembly by a specified date. This bill passed out of committee but was never called to a floor vote in the House.

HB5020 (Blair-Sherlock/Castro) Dual Credit Quality Act  

This bill makes important improvements to the Dual Credit Quality Act. Changes include definitions of fully qualified and minimally qualified instructors, increasing equitable access to dual credit, equalizing credit and weighting between dual credit and Advanced Placement classes, and balancing the 29-member Dual Credit Committee that would develop a Dual Credit Instructor Qualification Framework. While this bill was negotiated for months with stakeholders and passed the House unanimously, it stalled in the Senate.  

Bills IASB Opposed That Did Not Pass Both Chambers  

The bills listed below were actively opposed by IASB in Committee hearings and did not pass both houses.

SB2568 SA6 (Villa) Retirement Savings Plan

This bill puts new parameters in place for 403(b) products, both on the types of 403(b) plans that can be offered and that they must be mutually agreed about by the school district and collective bargaining units. While the bill would allow employees to maintain 403(b) products to which they are currently contributing, with some exceptions, any employees not currently contributing to a 403(b) product would only be able to choose from 403(b) plans that meet these new requirements. Additionally, there were significant concerns with this bill conflicting with a district’s obligations under the Internal Revenue Code, reducing choice, and increased liability for school districts. IASB staff testified on this bill on two occasions. It passed out of committee but was never called to a vote on the Senate floor.  

HB3907 (Stuart) Teacher Plan Time

This bill required that school boards allow all educators to have daily continuous uninterrupted individual classroom planning time of no less than 45 minutes. IASB opposed the original bill and sent out two Calls to Action to IASB members. As a result, this bill was held by the sponsor in the original chamber. IASB staff worked with the sponsor and other school groups to try to find a compromise, including appearing at the House Teacher Shortage Work Group. Ultimately a compromise was not found this session and the bill did not move.  

HB4274 HA2 (Swanson) Tick Removal in School  

This bill requires the Department of Public Health (IDPH) to issue guidelines on how to remove and safely store a tick and publish the guidelines on their website. The bill also outlines specific language used in a letter that school districts would need to send to parents/guardians if a tick was found on their student. If the tick is removed at school, staff must preserve the tick for up to three days so that the parent/guardian may send the tick to a lab for testing. Concerns with the bill included storing the tick and including specific language in statute for the letter to be sent home. Districts need the flexibility to update information quickly to protect their students and staff. Concerns also included that some of the requirements did not align with CDC guidelines. This bill passed out of committee but was not called to a vote on the House floor.

HB5364 (Benton) Military Dependents Remote Learning  

This bill would allow a student who is a child of United States military personnel to be educated through a remote learning program created by a school district during the time they are in temporary housing, prior to living in the school district. In addition, a student shall be allowed to remain enrolled in the school district and be educated through a remote learning program for a period after they leave the school and until they are enrolled in another school district. Concerns include using remote learning for an extended period, which data shows is not a viable method, the cost and difficulty of providing such services, and lack of staff. Additionally, there are currently ways to support the students of military students that could be explored to address this issue. This bill passed out of committee but was not called to a vote on the House floor.

HB5406 HA2 (Yang Rohr) High School Practice Limits

This bill limits practice time to four hours per day and 18 hours per week. It was noted that the NCAA’s practice limits were used as a model for this bill. The amendment requires school boards to adopt a policy regarding athletic practice limits starting with the 2025-26 school year. One of the concerns with the bill was the broad definition used in the legislation for “practice” time and how team-building and other activities would be impacted in the time limitations. Additionally, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has the necessary expertise to create guidelines on this issue that reflect the nuances of the diverse sports impacted. This bill passed out of committee but was not called to a vote on the House floor.

SB3166 (Koehler/Ness) Student Records

The bill amends the Illinois School Student Records Act (ISSRA) and requires certain student records that are currently maintained in a student’s temporary record (five years) to be maintained in the student’s permanent records (60 years). Those student records include, “reports of psychological evaluations, including information on intelligence and personality, academic information obtained through test administration, observation, or interviews, elementary and secondary achievement-level test results, special education records, and records associated with a plan developed under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.” IASB had significant concerns that this bill conflicted with federal law on the long-term storage of records that indicate a student’s disability. This bill passed the Senate but was never called for a vote in the House.

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Other Topics with Outstanding IASB Concerns

IASB Governmental Relations had concerns with the bills listed below. IASB staff met with sponsors and stakeholders to work to address those concerns, but the following bills did not pass both houses this session. Many of these bills will continue to be negotiated over the summer and fall. Some could be reintroduced during veto session, lame duck session, or the 104th General Assembly.

SB3722 (Lightford) Direct Admissions

An initiative of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, SB3722 would create a direct admission program to automatically offer admission to a public university or public community college to qualified high school seniors in this state. The concern with the initiative is data sharing privacy and ensuring parental consent prior to sharing student data with the receiving entities.  

HB5617 and HJR71 (West) Prohibit Native American Name

HB5617 would prohibit a school from using a native name, logo, or mascot and defines "native name, logo, or mascot." If certain conditions are met, this bill would allow for districts to phase-out their mascots by September 1, 2027. IASB met with the sponsor several times to discuss outstanding concerns. This bill was not called in committee and did not proceed this session.

The sponsor also introduced HJR71 which tasks ISBE with studying the number of schools, school districts, and their public school associations that utilize Native American names, logos, and mascots. The resolution directs ISBE to collect findings on what the cost would be for these individual schools and districts to remove and change Native American names, mascots, and logos and report back to the General Assembly by December 31, 2024. IASB staff look forward to receiving the data from the survey and continuing discussions into Spring 2025 legislative session. The resolution passed the House but was not called to a vote in the Senate.

SB3511 (Simmons) Censorship

This bill provides that an entity or an entity's staff with oversight over the books, instructional materials, or curriculum used in a public school may not refuse to approve or prohibit the use of books, instructional materials, or a curriculum, including, but not limited to, memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies, based upon the depiction of matters of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, sexual and reproductive health, gender identity, religion, or human rights activism.  It created a penalty for a school district that violates the Act. IASB had numerous conversations with the sponsor to discuss concerns and the bill was not called in committee and did not proceed this session.

SB3773 (A. Johnson) Student School Board Member

This bill requires a school district or unit district with a high school to have at least one student school board member to be a member of the board of school Directors from a high school with the district. The bill provides that the student board member shall have all the privileges of membership, except that the student board member shall only have the right to cast an advisory vote, the right to make and second motions, and to attend executive sessions. While student engagement is important, protecting school district employees and student privacy during closed session discussions is paramount. School board members are elected officials and students should not have the same access to executive session materials. IASB staff and board members met with the sponsor to express concerns and this bill was not called in committee.

SB2696 (Morrison) School Bus Seat Belts

This mandate requires all newly purchased school buses to be equipped with three-point seat belts for each passenger beginning January 1, 2028. The sponsor held a subject matter hearing on this bill, but it did not advance this session.

HB4577 (Mason) School Account Unpaid  

This bill states that no public high school of a school district may punish or penalize a student because of an unpaid balance on the student’s school account. Currently, the State Board of Education reports over $9 million in unpaid fees for FY 2023 and extending the inability of districts to collect fees will only exacerbate the issue. ISBE will research the issue further to explore the fiscal impact of this bill. This bill passed out of committee but was never called to the House floor for a vote.

HB5430 (W. Davis/N. Harris) Resident District

The original bill was intended to ensure payment to a specific facility in Illinois that provides medical and education services for students with medically complex issues. While an amendment addressed ISBE’s reimbursement concerns, it greatly expanded the legislation to include all special education facilities and created new concerns with how students should be provided services and educated when their parent moves out of state. Given the numerous concerns and potential unintended consequences, conversations with the sponsor will continue over the summer. The bill passed out of the House but was not called for a vote in the Senate.

HB1375 (Tarver/Lightford) Financial Literacy

This bill provides that financial literacy and consumer education be required teaching for grades 9-12. The material should be in line with the Illinois Social Science Learning Standards for Economics and Financial Literacy or other relevant career and technical education learning standards. IASB opposed the original bill which would have required Financial Literacy be a stand-alone course and must be taken in grades 11 or 12 (not 9 or 10). IASB staff worked with the sponsor and ISBE on a compromise and Senate Amendment 1 removed our opposition. However, due to various factors, the bill was never called for concurrence in the House.   

HB5434 HA2 (J. Davis) Enrollment Confirmation  

This bill would require a student to remain on attendance rolls of a school district until a cause for disenrollment is given and confirmed with documentation. IASB worked with the sponsor and ISBE on an amendment to ensure that this bill aligns with current board policies and best practices.  

HB1246 (Reick) Learning Material Report  

This bill mandated that by July 15 of each year school boards shall report on their school district's website, a list of the learning materials and activities used for student instruction during the previous school year. IASB staff met with the sponsor and other education groups to explain the burden of this legislation upon school staff. This bill did not advance this session.

HB5009 (Croke) School Employee Holiday Pay  

This bill would require paid holidays for school employees in addition to an educational support personnel employee's regular schedule. IASB met with the sponsor to discuss concerns with the fiscal impact of this bill and that this is currently addressed through the collective bargaining process.

HB5478 (Ford) Report Students to Law Enforcement

This bill would require school districts to report the number of student referrals to law enforcement in a manner determined by the State Board of Education. This bill also prohibits school personnel from issuing a monetary fine, fee, or municipal ticket for school-based behavior as a disciplinary consequence. IASB has negotiated this bill extensively, but still has concerns with the current language.

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Bills of Note  

The following bills have been amended to remove IASB’s opposition. However, they did not pass both houses this session but remain highly discussed issues that could reemerge.

HB457 (Villivalam/Olickal) Halal/Kosher Meals    

This bill is subject to appropriation and requires the State Board of Education to enter into a master contract to provide religious meals to school districts. The initiative was passed by both Houses in the Spring of 2023, but due to concerns expressed by ISBE, was vetoed by the Governor. It was then amended to remove ISBE’s opposition and passed out of the Senate during veto session. After several months, it resurfaced and was assigned to committee in the final days of session in 2024. It passed out of committee but was not called for a vote on the House floor.   

HB4896 (Mussman/Johnson) Faith’s Law

This legislation was a follow up to Public Act 102-0702, Faith’s law, that passed in 2021. The bill addresses issues with school district implementation, including allowing ROEs to complete the employment history review and limiting the employment history review of applicant to jobs where the applicant had direct contact with children or students.

SB458 (Walker/Mussman) Isolation and Physical Restraint

This bill is a follow-up to Public Act 102-0339, Isolation and Physical Restraint, that passed in 2021. It extends the annual reporting requirements for school districts, special education nonpublic schools, and special education cooperatives through August 1, 2027 (currently set to expire in 2024). This would allow additional data to be collected on the progress made toward achieving the goals and benchmarks concerning the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint. The bill passed the Senate but was not called for a vote in the House.