Public Act 102-0266
 
HB0576 EnrolledLRB102 12693 CMG 18032 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 Sections 
26-1 and 26-2a as follows:
 


    (105 ILCS 5/26-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)



    Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions. Whoever has 
custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and 
17

years (unless the child has already graduated from high 
school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or 
(ii) between the ages
of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17 
years (unless the child has already graduated from high 
school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year
shall cause 
such child to attend some public school in the district

wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session 
during the
regular school term, except as provided in Section 
10-19.1, and during a
required summer school program 
established under Section 10-22.33B; provided,
that
the 
following children shall not be required to attend the public 
schools:

        1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school 
    where children
are taught the branches of education taught 
    to children of corresponding
age and grade in the public 
    schools, and where the instruction of the child
in the 
    branches of education is in the English language;

        2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to 
    attend school, such
disability being certified to the 
    county or district truant officer by a
competent physician 
    licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in 
    all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under 
    the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced 
    practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant, 
    or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this
State 
    and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is 
    excused for
temporary absence for cause by
the principal 
    or teacher of the school which the child attends, with 
    absence for cause by illness being required to include the 
    mental or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days 
    for which the child need not provide a medical note, in 
    which case the child shall be given the opportunity to 
    make up any school work missed during the mental or 
    behavioral health absence and, after the second mental 
    health day used, may be referred to the appropriate school 
    support personnel; the exemptions
in this paragraph (2) do 
    not apply to any female who is pregnant or the
mother of 
    one or more children, except where a female is unable to 
    attend
school due to a complication arising from her 
    pregnancy and the existence
of such complication is 
    certified to the county or district truant officer
by a 
    competent physician;

        3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed 
    according to the
provisions of the law regulating child 
    labor may be excused from attendance
at school by the 
    county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of

    the public school which the child should be attending, on 
    certification of
the facts by and the recommendation of 
    the school board of the public
school district in which 
    the child resides. In districts having part-time

    continuation schools, children so excused shall attend 
    such schools at
least 8 hours each week;

        4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in 
    attendance at
confirmation classes;

        5. Any child absent from a public school on a 
    particular day or days
or at a particular time of day for 
    the reason that he is unable to attend
classes or to 
    participate in any examination, study or work requirements 
    on
a particular day or days or at a particular time of day, 
    because the tenets
of his religion forbid secular activity 
    on a particular day or days or at a
particular time of day.  
    Each school board shall prescribe rules and
regulations 
    relative to absences for religious holidays including, but 
    not
limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it 
    shall be mandatory to
excuse a child; but nothing in this 
    paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit
the right of any 
    school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on

    any other day by reason of the observance of a religious 
    holiday.  A school
board may require the parent or guardian 
    of a child who is to be excused
from attending school due 
    to the observance of a religious holiday to give
notice, 
    not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school

    principal or other school personnel.  Any child excused 
    from attending
school under this paragraph 5 shall not be 
    required to submit a written
excuse for such absence after 
    returning to school;
        6.  Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits 
    to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful 
    employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and 
    (ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program 
    pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative 
    learning opportunities program established pursuant to 
    Article 13B of this Code;

        7.  A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a 
    public school on a particular day or days or at a 
    particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps" 
    at a military honors funeral held in this State for a 
    deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this 
    paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's 
    administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the 
    absence and shall provide the school's administration with 
    the date, time, and location of the military
honors 
    funeral.  The school's administration may waive this 2-day 
    notification requirement if the student did not receive at 
    least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify 
    the school's administration as soon as possible of the 
    absence.   A student whose absence is excused under this 
    paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended 
    school for purposes of calculating the average daily 
    attendance of students in the school district. A student 
    whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be 
    allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed 
    during the absence.  If the student satisfactorily 
    completes the school work, the day of absence shall be 
    counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may 
    not be penalized for that absence; and
        8.  Any child absent from a public school on a 
    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for 
    the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an 
    active duty member of the uniformed services and has been 
    called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately 
    returned from deployment to a combat zone or 
    combat-support postings.  Such a student shall be granted 5 
    days of excused absences in any school year and, at the 
    discretion of the school board, additional excused 
    absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian 
    relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or 
    legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant 
    to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal 
    guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments 
    from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused 
    absence and for ensuring that such assignments are 
    completed by the student prior to his or her return to 
    school from such period of excused absence. 
(Source: P.A. 99-173, eff. 7-29-15; 99-804, eff. 1-1-17; 
100-185, eff. 8-18-17; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff. 
8-14-18.)

 
    (105 ILCS 5/26-2a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2a)
    Sec. 26-2a. A "truant" is defined as a child who is subject 
to compulsory school
attendance and who is absent without 
valid cause, as defined under this Section, from such 
attendance for more than 1% but less than 5% of the past 180 
school days.
    "Valid cause" for absence shall be illness, including the 
mental or behavioral health of the student, observance of a 
religious
holiday, death in the immediate family,
or family 
emergency, and shall include such other situations beyond the 
control
of the student, as determined by the board of 
education in each district,
or such other circumstances which 
cause reasonable concern to the parent
for the mental, 
emotional, or physical health or safety of the student.
    "Chronic or habitual truant" shall be defined as a child 
who is subject to compulsory
school attendance and who is 
absent without valid cause from such attendance
for 5% or more 
of the previous 180 regular attendance days.
    "Truant minor" is defined as a chronic truant to whom 
supportive
services, including prevention, diagnostic, 
intervention and remedial
services, alternative programs and 
other school and community resources
have been provided and 
have failed to result in the cessation of chronic
truancy, or 
have been offered and refused.
    A "dropout" is defined as any child enrolled in grades 9 
through 12 whose
name has been removed from the district 
enrollment roster for any reason
other than the student's 
death, extended illness, removal for medical non-compliance, 
expulsion, aging out, graduation, or completion of a
program 
of studies and who has not transferred to another public or 
private school and is not known to be home-schooled by his or 
her parents or guardians or continuing school in another 
country.
    "Religion" for the purposes of this Article, includes all 
aspects of
religious observance and practice, as well as 
belief.
(Source: P.A. 100-810, eff. 1-1-19; 100-918, eff. 8-17-18; 
101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)