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Illinois Compiled Statutes

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

SCHOOLS
(105 ILCS 5/) School Code.

105 ILCS 5/26A-30

    (105 ILCS 5/26A-30)
    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)
    Sec. 26A-30. Confidentiality.
    (a) Each school district must adopt and ensure that it has and implements a policy to ensure that all information concerning a student's status and related experiences as a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence, or a student who is a named perpetrator of domestic or sexual violence, provided to or otherwise obtained by the school district or its employees or agents pursuant to this Code or otherwise, including a statement of the student or any other documentation, record, or corroborating evidence that the student has requested or obtained assistance, support, or services pursuant to this Code, shall be retained in the strictest of confidence by the school district or its employees or agents and may not be disclosed to any other individual outside of the district, including any other employee, except if such disclosure is (i) permitted by the Illinois School Student Records Act, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, or other applicable State or federal laws, or (ii) requested or consented to, in writing, by the student or the student's parent or guardian if it is safe to obtain written consent from the student's parent or guardian.
    (b) Prior to disclosing information about a student's status as a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence, a school must notify the student and discuss and address any safety concerns related to the disclosure, including instances in which the student indicates or the school or school district or its employees or agents are otherwise aware that the student's health or safety may be at risk if his or her status is disclosed to the student's parent or guardian, except as otherwise permitted by applicable State or federal law, including the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Illinois School Student Records Act, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, and professional ethics policies that govern professional school personnel.
    (c) No student may be required to testify publicly concerning his or her status as a victim of domestic or sexual violence, allegations of domestic or sexual violence, his or her status as a parent or expectant parent, or the student's efforts to enforce any of his or her rights under provisions of this Code relating to students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence.
    (d) In the case of domestic or sexual violence, except as permitted under State or federal law, or to the extent that a school official determines that the school official has an obligation to do so based on safety concerns or threats to the community, including the victim, a school district must not contact the person named to be the perpetrator, the perpetrator's family, or any other person named by the student or named by the student's parent or guardian to be unsafe to contact to verify the violence. A school district must not contact the perpetrator, the perpetrator's family, or any other person named by the student or the student's parent or guardian to be unsafe for any other reason without providing prior written notice to the student's parent or guardian. Nothing in this Section prohibits the school or school district from taking other steps to investigate the violence or from contacting persons not named by the student or the student's parent or guardian as unsafe to contact. Nothing in this Section prohibits the school or school district from taking reasonable steps to protect students. If the reasonable steps taken to protect students involve conduct that is prohibited under this subsection, the school must provide notice to the reporting student, in writing and in a developmentally appropriate communication format, of its intent to contact the parties named to be unsafe.
    (e) This Section shall not apply to notification of parents or guardians if the perpetrator of the alleged sexual misconduct is an employee, agent, or contractor of a school district, charter school, or nonpublic school with direct contact with children or students.
(Source: P.A. 102-466, eff. 7-1-25; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23.)

105 ILCS 5/26A-35

    (105 ILCS 5/26A-35)
    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)
    Sec. 26A-35. Domestic or sexual violence and parenting resource personnel.
    (a) Each school district shall designate or appoint at least one staff person at each school in the district who is employed at least part time at the school and who is a school social worker, school psychologist, school counselor, school nurse, or school administrator trained to address, in a survivor-centered, trauma responsive, culturally responsive, confidential, and sensitive manner, the needs of students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence. The designated or appointed staff person must have all of the following duties:
        (1) To connect students who are parents, expectant
    
parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence to appropriate in-school services or other agencies, programs, or services as needed.
        (2) To coordinate the implementation of the school's
    
and school district's policies, procedures, and protocols in cases involving student allegations of domestic or sexual violence.
        (3) To coordinate the implementation of the school's
    
and school district's policies and procedures as set forth in provisions of this Code concerning students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence.
        (4) To assist students described in paragraph (1) in
    
their efforts to exercise and preserve their rights as set forth in provisions of this Code concerning students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence.
        (5) To assist in providing staff development to
    
establish a positive and sensitive learning environment for students described in paragraph (1).
    (b) A member of staff who is designated or appointed under subsection (a) must (i) be trained to understand, provide information and referrals, and address issues pertaining to youth who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence, including the theories and dynamics of domestic and sexual violence, the necessity for confidentiality and the law, policy, procedures, and protocols implementing confidentiality, and the notification of the student's parent or guardian regarding the student's status as a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence or the enforcement of the student's rights under this Code if the notice of the student's status or the involvement of the student's parent or guardian may put the health or safety of the student at risk, including the rights of minors to consent to counseling services and psychotherapy under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, or (ii) at a minimum, have participated in an in-service training program under subsection (d) of Section 10-22.39 that includes training on the rights of minors to consent to counseling services and psychotherapy under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code within 12 months prior to his or her designation or appointment.
    (c) A school district must designate or appoint and train all domestic or sexual violence and parenting resource personnel, and the personnel must assist in implementing the duties as described in this Section no later than June 30, 2024, except in those school districts in which there exists a collective bargaining agreement on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and the implementation of this Section would be a violation of that collective bargaining agreement. If implementation of some activities required under this Section is prevented by an existing collective bargaining agreement, a school district must comply with this Section to the fullest extent allowed by the existing collective bargaining agreement no later than June 30, 2024. In those instances in which a collective bargaining agreement that either fully or partially prevents full implementation of this Section expires after June 30, 2024, a school district must designate or appoint and train all domestic and sexual violence and parenting resource personnel, who shall implement the duties described in this Section no later than the effective date of the new collective bargaining agreement that immediately succeeds the collective bargaining agreement in effect on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 102-466, eff. 7-1-25.)

105 ILCS 5/26A-40

    (105 ILCS 5/26A-40)
    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)
    Sec. 26A-40. Support and services.
    (a) To facilitate the full participation of students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence, each school district must provide those students with in-school support services and information regarding nonschool-based support services, and the ability to make up work missed on account of circumstances related to the student's status as a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence. Victims of domestic or sexual violence must have access to those supports and services regardless of when or where the violence for which they are seeking supports and services occurred. All supports and services must be offered for as long as necessary to maintain the mental and physical well-being and safety of the student. Schools may periodically check on students receiving supports and services to determine whether each support and service continues to be necessary to maintain the mental and physical well-being and safety of the student or whether termination is appropriate.
    (b) Supports provided under subsection (a) shall include, but are not limited to (i) the provision of sufficiently private settings to ensure confidentiality and time off from class for meetings with counselors or other service providers, (ii) assisting the student with a student success plan, (iii) transferring a victim of domestic or sexual violence or the student perpetrator to a different classroom or school, if available, (iv) changing a seating assignment, (v) implementing in-school, school grounds, and bus safety procedures, (vi) honoring court orders, including orders of protection and no-contact orders to the fullest extent possible, and (vii) providing any other supports that may facilitate the full participation in the regular education program of students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence.
    (c) If a student who is a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence is a student at risk of academic failure or displays poor academic performance, the student or the student's parent or guardian may request that the school district provide the student with or refer the student to education and support services designed to assist the student in meeting State learning standards. A school district may either provide education or support services directly or may collaborate with public or private State, local, or community-based organizations or agencies that provide these services. A school district must also inform those students about support services of nonschool-based organizations and agencies from which those students typically receive services in the community.
    (d) Any student who is unable, because of circumstances related to the student's status as a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence, to participate in classes on a particular day or days or at the particular time of day must be excused in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Code. Upon student or parent or guardian's request, the teachers and of the school administrative personnel and officials shall make available to each student who is unable to participate because of circumstances related to the student's status as a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence a meaningful opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirement that the student has missed because of the inability to participate on any particular day or days or at any particular time of day. For a student receiving homebound instruction, it is the responsibility of the student and parent to work with the school or school district to meet academic standards for matriculation, as defined by school district policy. Costs assessed by the school district on the student for participation in those activities shall be considered waivable fees for any student whose parent or guardian is unable to afford them, consistent with Section 10-20.13. Each school district must adopt written policies for waiver of those fees in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
    (e) If a school or school district employee or agent becomes aware of or suspects a student's status as a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence, it is the responsibility of the employee or agent of the school or school district to refer the student to the school district's domestic or sexual violence and parenting resource personnel set forth in Section 26A-35. A school district must make respecting a student's privacy, confidentiality, mental and physical health, and safety a paramount concern.
    (f) Each school must honor a student's and a parent's or guardian's decision to obtain education and support services and nonschool-based support services, to terminate the receipt of those education and support services, or nonschool-based support services, or to decline participation in those education and support services, or nonschool-based support services. No student is obligated to use education and support services, or nonschool-based support services. In developing educational support services, the privacy, mental and physical health, and safety of the student shall be of paramount concern. No adverse or prejudicial effects may result to any student because of the student's availing of or declining the provisions of this Section as long as the student is working with the school to meet academic standards for matriculation as defined by school district policy.
    (g) Any support services must be available in any school or by home or hospital instruction to the highest quality and fullest extent possible for the individual setting.
    (h) School-based counseling services, if available, must be offered to students who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence consistent with the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. At least once every school year, each school district must inform, in writing, all school personnel and all students 12 years of age or older of the availability of counseling without parental or guardian consent under Section 3-5A-105 (to be renumbered as Section 3-550 in a revisory bill as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly) of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. This information must also be provided to students immediately after any school personnel becomes aware that a student is a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence.
    (i) All domestic or sexual violence organizations and their staff and any other nonschool organization and its staff shall maintain confidentiality under federal and State laws and their professional ethics policies regardless of when or where information, advice, counseling, or any other interaction with students takes place. A school or school district may not request or require those organizations or individuals to breach confidentiality.
(Source: P.A. 102-466, eff. 7-1-25.)

105 ILCS 5/26A-45

    (105 ILCS 5/26A-45)
    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)
    Sec. 26A-45. Verification.
    (a) For purposes of students asserting their rights under provisions relating to domestic or sexual violence in Sections 10-21.3a, 10-22.6, 10-22.6a, 26-2a, 26A-40, and 34-18.24, a school district may require verification of the claim. The student or the student's parents or guardians shall choose which form of verification to submit to the school district. A school district may only require one form of verification, unless the student is requesting a transfer to another school, in which case the school district may require 2 forms of verification. All forms of verification received by a school district under this subsection (a) must be kept in a confidential temporary file, in accordance with the Illinois School Student Records Act. Any one of the following shall be an acceptable form of verification of a student's claim of domestic or sexual violence:
        (1) A written statement from the student or anyone
    
who has knowledge of the circumstances that support the student's claim. This may be in the form of a complaint.
        (2) A police report, governmental agency record, or
    
court record.
        (3) A statement or other documentation from a
    
domestic or sexual violence organization or any other organization from which the student sought services or advice.
        (4) Documentation from a lawyer, clergy person,
    
medical professional, or other professional from whom the student sought services or advice related to domestic or sexual violence.
        (5) Any other evidence, such as physical evidence of
    
violence, which supports the claim.
    (b) A student or a student's parent or guardian who has provided acceptable verification that the student is or has been a victim of domestic or sexual violence may not be required to provide any additional verification if the student's efforts to assert rights under this Code stem from a claim involving the same perpetrator or the same incident of violence. No school or school district shall request or require additional documentation.
    (c) The person named to be the perpetrator, the perpetrator's family, or any other person named by the student or the student's parent or guardian to be unsafe to contact may not be contacted to verify the violence, except to the extent that the district determines that it has an obligation to do so based on federal or State law or safety concerns for the school community, including such concerns for the victim. Prior to making contact, a school must notify the student and his or his parent or guardian in writing and in a developmentally appropriate manner, and discuss and address any safety concerns related to making such contact.
(Source: P.A. 102-466, eff. 7-1-25.)

105 ILCS 5/26A-50

    (105 ILCS 5/26A-50)
    (This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date)
    Sec. 26A-50. Prohibited practices. No school or school district may take any adverse action against a student who is a parent, expectant parent, or victim of domestic or sexual violence because the student or his or her parent or guardian (i) exercises or attempts to exercise his or her rights under this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, (ii) opposes practices that the student or his or her parent or guardian believes to be in violation of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, or (iii) supports the exercise of the rights of another under this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Exercising rights under this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly includes, but is not limited to, filing a complaint with the school district as set forth in this Code or in any manner requesting, availing himself or herself of, or declining any of the provisions of this Code, including, but not limited to, supports and services.
(Source: P.A. 102-466, eff. 7-1-25.)