Public Act 102-0411
 
SB0564 EnrolledLRB102 13132 CMG 18475 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
24-2 and 27-21 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/24-2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 24-2)
    Sec. 24-2. Holidays.
    (a) Teachers shall not be required to teach on Saturdays,
nor, except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section,
shall teachers or other school employees, other than
noncertificated school employees whose presence is necessary
because of an emergency or for the continued operation and
maintenance of school facilities or property, be required to
work on legal school holidays, which are January 1, New Year's
Day; the third Monday in January, the Birthday of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.; February 12, the Birthday of President
Abraham Lincoln; the first Monday in March (to be known as
Casimir Pulaski's birthday); Good Friday; the day designated
as Memorial Day by federal law; July 4, Independence Day; the
first Monday in September, Labor Day; the second Monday in
October, Columbus Day; November 11, Veterans' Day; the
Thursday in November commonly called Thanksgiving Day; and
December 25, Christmas Day. School boards may grant special
holidays whenever in their judgment such action is advisable.
No deduction shall be made from the time or compensation of a
school employee on account of any legal or special holiday.
    (b) A school board or other entity eligible to apply for
waivers and modifications under Section 2-3.25g of this Code
is authorized to hold school or schedule teachers' institutes,
parent-teacher conferences, or staff development on the third
Monday in January (the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.); February 12 (the Birthday of President Abraham Lincoln);
the first Monday in March (known as Casimir Pulaski's
birthday); the second Monday in October (Columbus Day); and
November 11 (Veterans' Day), provided that:
        (1) the person or persons honored by the holiday are
    recognized through instructional activities conducted on
    that day or, if the day is not used for student attendance,
    on the first school day preceding or following that day;
    and
        (2) the entity that chooses to exercise this authority
    first holds a public hearing about the proposal. The
    entity shall provide notice preceding the public hearing
    to both educators and parents. The notice shall set forth
    the time, date, and place of the hearing, describe the
    proposal, and indicate that the entity will take testimony
    from educators and parents about the proposal.
    (c) Commemorative holidays, which recognize specified
patriotic, civic, cultural or historical persons, activities,
or events, are regular school days. Commemorative holidays
are: January 17 (the birthday of Muhammad Ali), January 28 (to
be known as Christa McAuliffe Day and observed as a
commemoration of space exploration), February 15 (the birthday
of Susan B. Anthony), March 29 (Viet Nam War Veterans' Day),
September 11 (September 11th Day of Remembrance), the school
day immediately preceding Veterans' Day (Korean War Veterans'
Day), October 1 (Recycling Day), October 7 (Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans Remembrance Day), December 7 (Pearl
Harbor Veterans' Day), and any day so appointed by the
President or Governor. School boards may establish
commemorative holidays whenever in their judgment such action
is advisable. School boards shall include instruction relative
to commemorated persons, activities, or events on the
commemorative holiday or at any other time during the school
year and at any point in the curriculum when such instruction
may be deemed appropriate. The State Board of Education shall
prepare and make available to school boards instructional
materials relative to commemorated persons, activities, or
events which may be used by school boards in conjunction with
any instruction provided pursuant to this paragraph.
    (d) City of Chicago School District 299 shall observe
March 4 of each year as a commemorative holiday. This holiday
shall be known as Mayors' Day which shall be a day to
commemorate and be reminded of the past Chief Executive
Officers of the City of Chicago, and in particular the late
Mayor Richard J. Daley and the late Mayor Harold Washington.
If March 4 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Mayors' Day shall be
observed on the following Monday.
    (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of State law to
the contrary, November 3, 2020 shall be a State holiday known
as 2020 General Election Day and shall be observed throughout
the State pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 101st General
Assembly. All government offices, with the exception of
election authorities, shall be closed unless authorized to be
used as a location for election day services or as a polling
place.
(Source: P.A. 101-642, eff. 6-16-20.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/27-21)  (from Ch. 122, par. 27-21)
    Sec. 27-21. History of United States. History of the
United States shall be taught in all public schools and in all
other educational institutions in this State supported or
maintained, in whole or in part, by public funds. The teaching
of history shall have as one of its objectives the imparting to
pupils of a comprehensive idea of our democratic form of
government and the principles for which our government stands
as regards other nations, including the studying of the place
of our government in world-wide movements and the leaders
thereof, with particular stress upon the basic principles and
ideals of our representative form of government. The teaching
of history shall include a study of the role and contributions
of African Americans and other ethnic groups, including, but
not restricted to, Polish, Lithuanian, German, Hungarian,
Irish, Bohemian, Russian, Albanian, Italian, Czech, Slovak,
French, Scots, Hispanics, Asian Americans, etc., in the
history of this country and this State. To reinforce the study
of the role and contributions of Hispanics, such curriculum
shall include the study of the events related to the forceful
removal and illegal deportation of Mexican-American U.S.
citizens during the Great Depression. In public schools only,
the teaching of history shall include a study of the roles and
contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
people in the history of this country and this State. The
teaching of history also shall include a study of the role of
labor unions and their interaction with government in
achieving the goals of a mixed free enterprise system.
Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, the teaching of
history must also include instruction on the history of
Illinois. The teaching of history shall include the
contributions made to society by Americans of different faith
practices, including, but not limited to, Muslim Americans,
Jewish Americans, Christian Americans, Hindu Americans, Sikh
Americans, Buddhist Americans, and any other collective
community of faith that has shaped America. No pupils shall be
graduated from the eighth grade of any public school unless he
or she has received such instruction in the history of the
United States and gives evidence of having a comprehensive
knowledge thereof, which may be administered remotely.
(Source: P.A. 101-227, eff. 7-1-20; 101-341, eff. 1-1-20;
101-643, eff. 6-18-20.)