SB3358 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 19776 LNS 33226 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3358

Introduced 2/4/2026, by Sen. Laura Ellman

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/2-3.117

Amends the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education shall develop statewide guidance for school districts and educators on the use of technology-based learning resources in elementary and secondary education. Provides that the State Board of Education shall develop and publish the guidance by July 1, 2027 and provide continuous updates as it deems necessary. Allows the State Superintendent of Education to convene stakeholders for a statewide council to consult on the further development of guidance, resources, and other support for school districts and educators on the use of technology-based learning resources in schools.

A BILL FOR

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 Section 2-3.117 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.117)

Sec. 2-3.117. School Technology Program.

(a) The State Board of Education is authorized to provide technology-based learning resources to school districts to improve educational opportunities and student achievement throughout the State. These resources may include reimbursements for the cost of tuition incurred by a school district for approved online courses accessed through the State Board of Education's Illinois Virtual Course Catalog Program.

(1) A school district shall be eligible for reimbursement for the cost of each virtual class accessed through the Illinois Virtual Course Catalog program and successfully completed by a student of the school district, to the extent appropriated funds are available for such reimbursements.

(2) A school district shall claim reimbursement on forms and through a process prescribed by the State Board of Education.

(a-5) The State Board of Education, in consultation with stakeholders, shall develop statewide guidance for school districts and educators on the use of technology-based learning resources in elementary and secondary education. This guidance shall include, but is not limited to:

(1) explanations and examples of technology-based learning resources that may be used in a classroom, including, but not limited to, Canvas, Blackboard, and Google Classroom;

(2) specific ways technology-based learning resources can be used at the district, school, and classroom levels to inform teaching and learning practices;

(3) how districts and educators can evaluate and address privacy concerns in the usage of technology-based learning resources; and

(4) The impact of technology-based learning resources on student-data privacy, including federal and State law associated with student-data privacy that are important to be aware of when setting policy for the use of technology-based learning resources in schools.

The State Board of Education shall develop and publish this guidance by July 1, 2027 and provide continuous updates as it deems necessary.

The State Superintendent of Education may convene stakeholders for a statewide council to consult on the further development of guidance, resources, and other support for school districts and educators on the use of technology-based learning resources in schools. The council must include individuals with expertise in technology-based learning resources and no fewer than 2 currently practicing classroom teachers. The council shall represent the ethnic, racial, and geographic diversity of this State and include expertise across early childhood and elementary, middle, and high school settings.

(b) The State Board of Education is authorized, to the extent funds are available, to establish a statewide support system for information, professional development, technical assistance, network design consultation, leadership, technology planning consultation, and information exchange; to expand school district connectivity; and to increase the quantity and quality of student and educator access to on-line resources, experts, and communications avenues from moneys appropriated for the purposes of this Section.

(b-5) The State Board of Education may enter into intergovernmental contracts or agreements with other State agencies, public community colleges, public libraries, public and private colleges and universities, museums on public land, and other public agencies in the areas of technology, telecommunications, and information access, under such terms as the parties may agree, provided that those contracts and agreements are in compliance with the Department of Central Management Services' mandate to provide telecommunications services to all State agencies.

(c) (Blank).

(d) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)