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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
526-1 and 26-2b as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/26-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
7    Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions. Whoever has
8custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and
917 years (unless the child has already graduated from high
10school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or
11(ii) between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17
12years (unless the child has already graduated from high
13school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year shall cause
14such child to attend some public school in the district
15wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session
16during the regular school term, except as provided in Section
1710-19.1, and during a required summer school program
18established under Section 10-22.33B; provided, that the
19following children shall not be required to attend the public
20schools:
21        1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school
22    where children are taught the branches of education taught
23    to children of corresponding age and grade in the public

 

 

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1    schools, and where the instruction of the child in the
2    branches of education is in the English language;
3        2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to
4    attend school, such disability being certified to the
5    county or district truant officer by a competent physician
6    licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in
7    all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under
8    the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced
9    practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant,
10    or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State
11    and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is
12    excused for temporary absence for cause by the principal
13    or teacher of the school which the child attends; the
14    exemptions in this paragraph (2) do not apply to any
15    female who is pregnant or the mother of one or more
16    children, except where a female is unable to attend school
17    due to a complication arising from her pregnancy and the
18    existence of such complication is certified to the county
19    or district truant officer by a competent physician;
20        3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed
21    according to the provisions of the law regulating child
22    labor may be excused from attendance at school by the
23    county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
24    the public school which the child should be attending, on
25    certification of the facts by and the recommendation of
26    the school board of the public school district in which

 

 

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1    the child resides. In districts having part-time
2    continuation schools, children so excused shall attend
3    such schools at least 8 hours each week;
4        4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in
5    attendance at confirmation classes;
6        5. Any child absent from a public school on a
7    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
8    the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to
9    participate in any examination, study, or work
10    requirements on a particular day or days or at a
11    particular time of day because of religious reasons,
12    including the observance of a religious holiday or
13    participation in religious instruction, or , because the
14    tenets of his religion forbid secular activity on a
15    particular day or days or at a particular time of day. Each
16    school board shall prescribe rules and regulations
17    relative to absences for religious holidays including, but
18    not limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it
19    shall be mandatory to excuse a child; but nothing in this
20    paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit the right of any
21    school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on
22    any other day by reason of the observance of a religious
23    holiday. A school board may require the parent or guardian
24    of a child who is to be excused from attending school
25    because of religious reasons due to the observance of a
26    religious holiday to give notice, not exceeding 5 days, of

 

 

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1    the child's absence to the school principal or other
2    school personnel. Any child excused from attending school
3    under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a
4    written excuse for such absence after returning to school.
5    A district superintendent shall develop and distribute to
6    schools appropriate procedures regarding a student's
7    absence for religious reasons, how schools are notified of
8    a student's impending absence for religious reasons, and
9    the requirements of Section 26-2b of this Code;
10        6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits
11    to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful
12    employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and
13    (ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program
14    pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative
15    learning opportunities program established pursuant to
16    Article 13B of this Code;
17        7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a
18    public school on a particular day or days or at a
19    particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps"
20    at a military honors funeral held in this State for a
21    deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this
22    paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's
23    administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the
24    absence and shall provide the school's administration with
25    the date, time, and location of the military honors
26    funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day

 

 

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1    notification requirement if the student did not receive at
2    least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify
3    the school's administration as soon as possible of the
4    absence. A student whose absence is excused under this
5    paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended
6    school for purposes of calculating the average daily
7    attendance of students in the school district. A student
8    whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be
9    allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed
10    during the absence. If the student satisfactorily
11    completes the school work, the day of absence shall be
12    counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may
13    not be penalized for that absence; and
14        8. Any child absent from a public school on a
15    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
16    the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an
17    active duty member of the uniformed services and has been
18    called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately
19    returned from deployment to a combat zone or
20    combat-support postings. Such a student shall be granted 5
21    days of excused absences in any school year and, at the
22    discretion of the school board, additional excused
23    absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian
24    relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or
25    legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant
26    to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal

 

 

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1    guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments
2    from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused
3    absence and for ensuring that such assignments are
4    completed by the student prior to his or her return to
5    school from such period of excused absence.
6(Source: P.A. 99-173, eff. 7-29-15; 99-804, eff. 1-1-17;
7100-185, eff. 8-18-17; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff.
88-14-18.)
 
9    (105 ILCS 5/26-2b)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2b)
10    Sec. 26-2b. Any child enrolled in a public school who is
11unable, because of the observance of a religious holiday, to
12attend classes on a particular day or days or at a particular
13time of day shall be excused from any examination or any study
14or work assignments on such particular day or days or at such
15particular time of day. It shall be the responsibility of the
16teachers and of the administrative officials of each public
17school to make available to each child who is absent from
18school because of the observance of a religious holiday an
19equivalent opportunity to make up any examination, study or
20work requirements which he has missed because of such absence
21on any particular day or days or at any particular time of day.
22No special fees of any kind shall be charged to the child for
23making available to such child such equivalent opportunity. No
24adverse or prejudicial effects shall result to any child
25because of his availing himself of the provisions of this

 

 

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1Section.
2    The provisions of this Section shall apply only if the
3rules and regulations of the school board promulgated pursuant
4to paragraph 5 of Section 26-1 have been complied with.
5(Source: P.A. 84-212.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.