Delivered via email: February 6, 2026
Both the House and the Senate are off next week, but both chambers return together the week of February 17 for the Governor’s Budget and State of the State Address on Wednesday, February 18. Given the recent legislative discussions around Tier 2 pension reform, it is anticipated that Governor Pritzker will address this issue at his address.
Senator Preston’s bill (SB2728) requires each public school to implement a mobile panic alert system by the 2026-2027 school year. While the bill requires ISBE to establish a grant program for the purpose of reimbursing districts, the program is subject to appropriation and districts would still be required to purchase and implement the mobile panic alert system without any assurance of the grant program being funded or reimbursement.
Senator Hastings’ bill (SB2948) takes a more measured approach and does not mandate that districts purchase these systems but would require districts to consider the use of mobile panic alert systems in the development of their school emergency and crisis response plans. ISBE would also be required to develop standards for these systems and establish a grant program.
In order to ensure that IASB members can monitor all bills the Governmental Relations team is tracking, legislation has been broken down into 10 different topics:
Boards of Education
Insurance
OMA and FOIA
Personnel
Regional Office of Education
School Finance
School Safety and Health
State Board of Education
Students
Taxation
Your IASB Governmental Relations staff will continue to monitor all bills and keep you informed as bills start to move through the legislative process.
This Week at the Capitol
The Senate returned to the Capitol this week for two days, cancelling the third scheduled session day and adjourning until February 17. Once again there was little floor or committee action. However, this past week the Senate Assignments Committee began to release Assignments Reports, an important step in the legislative process. Although hundreds of bills are filed and sent to the Senate Assignments Committee each session, not all bills make it out of Assignments. Bills that do are then posted and could be heard at the next Committee meeting. When Assignments Reports are released, those bills take on a heightened importance for the IASB Governmental Relations team and the boards of education in Illinois.Both the House and the Senate are off next week, but both chambers return together the week of February 17 for the Governor’s Budget and State of the State Address on Wednesday, February 18. Given the recent legislative discussions around Tier 2 pension reform, it is anticipated that Governor Pritzker will address this issue at his address.
Curricular Mandates
IASB had hoped that the introduction of new curricular mandates would pause given recent legislative efforts to reduce mandates and establish the Mandate Reduction Council. Such a pause has not been the case, and multiple curricular mandate bills have already been introduced this session. Four Senate bills that have been assigned to Committee include:- Latina and Latino History (SB2270, Villanueva) – Requires that, beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, every public elementary and high school include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying Latina and Latino History. There are two similar bills filed in the House, as well as a bill that would require teaching of Italian American History. Last session, a bill requiring Arab American History passed the House and is now in the Senate.
- Etiquette Education (SB2832, Collins) – Requires that beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, all students in Pre-K through grade 12 receive etiquette education each year and sets forth the instruction to be received in each grade.
- Cursive Writing (SB2676, Preston) – This bill would require schools to teach cursive in grades 3 through 5. Currently districts are only required to teach one unit of instruction in cursive writing and it can be taught in any grade up to grade 5, so this bill would restrict the timing of the instruction and require an additional two years of cursive instruction.
- Active-Transportation Safety (SB2966, Guzman) – Requires districts to teach students in grades K-8 age-appropriate active-transportation safety instruction, including pedestrian, bicycle, and electric-assisted bicycle safety.
Mobile Panic Alert Systems
Requiring mobile panic alert systems was an issue heavily negotiated in the House last session, but did not move. Two bills have been filed in the Senate, each with a different approach.Senator Preston’s bill (SB2728) requires each public school to implement a mobile panic alert system by the 2026-2027 school year. While the bill requires ISBE to establish a grant program for the purpose of reimbursing districts, the program is subject to appropriation and districts would still be required to purchase and implement the mobile panic alert system without any assurance of the grant program being funded or reimbursement.
Senator Hastings’ bill (SB2948) takes a more measured approach and does not mandate that districts purchase these systems but would require districts to consider the use of mobile panic alert systems in the development of their school emergency and crisis response plans. ISBE would also be required to develop standards for these systems and establish a grant program.
Other Bills of Interest
- AI in Teacher Evaluations (SB2909, Belt) – This bill puts parameters in place on how AI can be used in teacher evaluations.
- Notice to Remedy (SB2914, Cappel) – This bill was introduced last year and IASB had significant concerns with the limitations that it put on the Notice to Remedy. A Notice to Remedy is a formal written warning issued by a school board which provides a chance for the teacher to correct behavior before termination. Among other things, this bill would require districts to remove the Notice to Remedy from the teacher’s personnel file after four years. Given the seriousness of the behaviors that give rise to the issuance of a Notice to Remedy, IASB has significant concerns with the changes.
IASB Advocacy Day
IASB Advocacy Day is coming up quickly on March 24! During this exciting day, you will have the opportunity to hear from and meet with legislators and policymakers to discuss key issues impacting your district and public education. The deadline to sign up for the event is February 27. If you want to come down the day before, there is a limited hotel block available at the President Abraham Lincoln Springfield Hotel. For more information about this event and to register, visit the IASB Events Calendar.Advocacy Ambassadors
The next Advocacy Ambassadors meeting is on February 20 at noon. At this meeting, the Governmental Relations team will be sharing a federal and state legislative update, along with gathering your feedback on new advocacy resources. Join this great group of members working to advocate for public education. Sign up today to get access to member only webinars and resources.Legislative Tracking List
The IASB Governmental Relations team tracks all legislation that may impact K-12 public education and makes regular updates to that list. As a reminder, although a bill may be filed, many factors influence whether it makes its way through the legislative process. Some of those factors include whether the bill gets assigned by leadership to a committee, the extent of any opposition, and the priorities of the sponsor.In order to ensure that IASB members can monitor all bills the Governmental Relations team is tracking, legislation has been broken down into 10 different topics:
Boards of Education
Insurance
OMA and FOIA
Personnel
Regional Office of Education
School Finance
School Safety and Health
State Board of Education
Students
Taxation
Your IASB Governmental Relations staff will continue to monitor all bills and keep you informed as bills start to move through the legislative process.