Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB2976 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1		-	HB2976 EngrossedLRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b HB2976 Engrossed LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b
2		-	HB2976 Engrossed LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b
	1	+	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2976 Introduced , by Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1 Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. Allows a child to be absent from a public school on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day to attend the ceremonial induction into office of the child's parent or legal guardian, anyone in the child's household, the child's grandparents, siblings, or a close friend of the child as a newly elected government official. Provides that the student and parent or legal guardian are responsible for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior to the period of excused absence and for ensuring that such assignments are completed by the student prior to the student's return to school from that period of excused absence. LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2976 Introduced , by Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1 105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1 Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. Allows a child to be absent from a public school on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day to attend the ceremonial induction into office of the child's parent or legal guardian, anyone in the child's household, the child's grandparents, siblings, or a close friend of the child as a newly elected government official. Provides that the student and parent or legal guardian are responsible for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior to the period of excused absence and for ensuring that such assignments are completed by the student prior to the student's return to school from that period of excused absence. LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b A BILL FOR
	2	+	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2976 Introduced , by Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
	3	+	105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1 105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1
	4	+	105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1
	5	+	Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. Allows a child to be absent from a public school on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day to attend the ceremonial induction into office of the child's parent or legal guardian, anyone in the child's household, the child's grandparents, siblings, or a close friend of the child as a newly elected government official. Provides that the student and parent or legal guardian are responsible for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior to the period of excused absence and for ensuring that such assignments are completed by the student prior to the student's return to school from that period of excused absence.
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	8	+	A BILL FOR
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	10	+	HB2976 LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b
3	11		1 AN ACT concerning education.
4	12		2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
5	13		3 represented in the General Assembly:
6	14		4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
7	15		5 26-1 as follows:
8	16		6 (105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
9		-	7 Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions.
10		-	8 ~~(a) Whoever has~~ custody or control of any child (i)
11		-	9 ~~between the ages of 7 and~~ 17 years (unless the child has
12		-	10 ~~already graduated from high~~ school) for school years before
13		-	11 ~~the 2014-2015 school year or~~ (ii) between the ages of 6 (on or
14		-	12 ~~before September 1) and 17~~ years (unless the child has already
15		-	13 ~~graduated from high~~ school) beginning with the 2014-2015
16		-	14 ~~school year shall cause~~ such child to attend some public
17		-	15 ~~school in the district~~ wherein the child resides the entire
18		-	16 ~~time it is in session~~ during the regular school term, except as
19		-	17 ~~provided in Section~~ 10-19.1, and during a required summer
20		-	18 ~~school program~~ established under Section 10-22.33B; provided,
21		-	19 ~~that the~~ following children shall not be required to attend
22		-	20 ~~the public~~ schools:
	17	+	7 Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions. Whoever has
	18	+	8 custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and
	19	+	9 17 years (unless the child has already graduated from high
	20	+	10 school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or
	21	+	11 (ii) between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17
	22	+	12 years (unless the child has already graduated from high
	23	+	13 school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year shall cause
	24	+	14 such child to attend some public school in the district
	25	+	15 wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session
	26	+	16 during the regular school term, except as provided in Section
	27	+	17 10-19.1, and during a required summer school program
	28	+	18 established under Section 10-22.33B; provided, that the
	29	+	19 following children shall not be required to attend the public
	30	+	20 schools:
23	31		21 1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school
24	32		22 where children are taught the branches of education taught
25	33		23 to children of corresponding age and grade in the public
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	37	+	104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2976 Introduced , by Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
	38	+	105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1 105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1
	39	+	105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1
	40	+	Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. Allows a child to be absent from a public school on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day to attend the ceremonial induction into office of the child's parent or legal guardian, anyone in the child's household, the child's grandparents, siblings, or a close friend of the child as a newly elected government official. Provides that the student and parent or legal guardian are responsible for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior to the period of excused absence and for ensuring that such assignments are completed by the student prior to the student's return to school from that period of excused absence.
	41	+	LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b
	42	+	LRB104 08841 LNS 18896 b
	43	+	A BILL FOR
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	49	+	105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1
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34	68		1 schools, and where the instruction of the child in the
35	69		2 branches of education is in the English language;
36	70		3 2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to
37	71		4 attend school, such disability being certified to the
38	72		5 county or district truant officer by a competent physician
39	73		6 licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in
40	74		7 all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under
41	75		8 the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced
42	76		9 practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant,
43	77		10 or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State
44	78		11 and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is
45	79		12 excused for temporary absence for cause by the principal
46	80		13 or teacher of the school which the child attends, with
47	81		14 absence for cause by illness being required to include the
48	82		15 mental or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days
49	83		16 for which the child need not provide a medical note, in
50	84		17 which case the child shall be given the opportunity to
51	85		18 make up any school work missed during the mental or
52	86		19 behavioral health absence and, after the second mental
53	87		20 health day used, may be referred to the appropriate school
54	88		21 support personnel; the exemptions in this paragraph (2) do
55	89		22 not apply to any female who is pregnant or the mother of
56	90		23 one or more children, except where a female is unable to
57	91		24 attend school due to a complication arising from her
58	92		25 pregnancy and the existence of such complication is
59	93		26 certified to the county or district truant officer by a
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70	104		1 competent physician;
71	105		2 3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed
72	106		3 according to the provisions of the Child Labor Law of 2024
73	107		4 may be excused from attendance at school by the county
74	108		5 superintendent of schools or the superintendent of the
75	109		6 public school which the child should be attending, on
76	110		7 certification of the facts by and the recommendation of
77	111		8 the school board of the public school district in which
78	112		9 the child resides. In districts having part-time
79	113		10 continuation schools, children so excused shall attend
80	114		11 such schools at least 8 hours each week;
81	115		12 4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in
82	116		13 attendance at confirmation classes;
83	117		14 5. Any child absent from a public school on a
84	118		15 particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
85	119		16 the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to
86	120		17 participate in any examination, study, or work
87	121		18 requirements on a particular day or days or at a
88	122		19 particular time of day because of religious reasons,
89	123		20 including the observance of a religious holiday or
90	124		21 participation in religious instruction, or because the
91	125		22 tenets of his religion forbid secular activity on a
92	126		23 particular day or days or at a particular time of day. A
93	127		24 school board may require the parent or guardian of a child
94	128		25 who is to be excused from attending school because of
95	129		26 religious reasons to give notice, not exceeding 5 days, of
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106	140		1 the child's absence to the school principal or other
107	141		2 school personnel. Any child excused from attending school
108	142		3 under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a
109	143		4 written excuse for such absence after returning to school.
110	144		5 A district superintendent shall develop and distribute to
111	145		6 schools appropriate procedures regarding a student's
112	146		7 absence for religious reasons, how schools are notified of
113	147		8 a student's impending absence for religious reasons, and
114	148		9 the requirements of Section 26-2b of this Code;
115	149		10 6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits
116	150		11 to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful
117	151		12 employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and
118	152		13 (ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program
119	153		14 pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative
120	154		15 learning opportunities program established pursuant to
121	155		16 Article 13B of this Code;
122	156		17 7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a
123	157		18 public school on a particular day or days or at a
124	158		19 particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps"
125	159		20 at a military honors funeral held in this State for a
126	160		21 deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this
127	161		22 paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's
128	162		23 administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the
129	163		24 absence and shall provide the school's administration with
130	164		25 the date, time, and location of the military honors
131	165		26 funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day
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142	176		1 notification requirement if the student did not receive at
143	177		2 least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify
144	178		3 the school's administration as soon as possible of the
145	179		4 absence. A student whose absence is excused under this
146	180		5 paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended
147	181		6 school for purposes of calculating the average daily
148	182		7 attendance of students in the school district. A student
149	183		8 whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be
150	184		9 allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed
151	185		10 during the absence. If the student satisfactorily
152	186		11 completes the school work, the day of absence shall be
153	187		12 counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may
154	188		13 not be penalized for that absence; and
155	189		14 8. Any child absent from a public school on a
156	190		15 particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
157	191		16 the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an
158	192		17 active duty member of the uniformed services and has been
159	193		18 called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately
160	194		19 returned from deployment to a combat zone or
161	195		20 combat-support postings. Such a student shall be granted 5
162	196		21 days of excused absences in any school year and, at the
163	197		22 discretion of the school board, additional excused
164	198		23 absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian
165	199		24 relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or
166	200		25 legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant
167	201		26 to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal
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178	212		1 guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments
179	213		2 from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused
180	214		3 absence and for ensuring that such assignments are
181	215		4 completed by the student prior to his or her return to
182		-	5 school from such period of excused absence.
183		-	6 (b) As used in this subsection (b), "civic event" means an
184		-	7 event sponsored by a nonprofit organization or governmental
185		-	8 entity that is open to the public. "Civic event" includes, but
186		-	9 is not limited to, an inauguration or an artistic or cultural
187		-	10 performance or educational gathering that supports the mission
188		-	11 of the sponsoring nonprofit organization. The State Board of
189		-	12 Education may adopt rules to further define "civic event". Any
190		-	13 child from a public middle school or high school, subject to
191		-	14 guidelines established by the State Board of Education, shall
192		-	15 be permitted by a school board one school day-long excused
193		-	16 absence per school year for the child who is absent from school
194		-	17 to engage in a civic event. The school board may require that
195		-	18 the student provide reasonable advance notice of the intended
196		-	19 absence to the appropriate school administrator and require
197		-	20 that the student provide documentation of participation in a
198		-	21 civic event to the appropriate school administrator.
199		-	22 (Source: P.A. 102-266, eff. 1-1-22; 102-321, eff. 1-1-22;
200		-	23 102-406, eff. 8-19-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-981, eff.
201		-	24 1-1-23; 103-721, eff. 1-1-25.)
	216	+	5 school from such period of excused absence; and .
	217	+	6 9. Any child absent from a public school on a
	218	+	7 particular day or days or at a particular time of day to
	219	+	8 attend the ceremonial induction into office of the child's
	220	+	9 parent or legal guardian, anyone in the child's household,
	221	+	10 the child's grandparents, siblings, or a close friend of
	222	+	11 the child as a newly elected government official. In the
	223	+	12 case of an excused absence pursuant to this paragraph 9,
	224	+	13 the student and parent or legal guardian are responsible
	225	+	14 for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior
	226	+	15 to any period of excused absence and for ensuring that
	227	+	16 such assignments are completed by the student prior to the
	228	+	17 student's return to school from that period of excused
	229	+	18 absence.
	230	+	19 Any child from a public middle school or high school,
	231	+	20 subject to guidelines established by the State Board of
	232	+	21 Education, shall be permitted by a school board one school
	233	+	22 day-long excused absence per school year for the child who is
	234	+	23 absent from school to engage in a civic event. The school board
	235	+	24 may require that the student provide reasonable advance notice
	236	+	25 of the intended absence to the appropriate school
	237	+	26 administrator and require that the student provide
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