Sen. Robert F. Martwick

Filed: 3/13/2020

 

 


 

 


 
10100SB2473sam002LRB101 17205 CMG 71112 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2473

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2473 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
526-1 and 26-2a 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 school)
13beginning with the 2014-2015 school year shall cause such child
14to attend some public school in the district wherein the child
15resides the entire time it is in session during the regular
16school term, except as provided in Section 10-19.1, and during

 

 

10100SB2473sam002- 2 -LRB101 17205 CMG 71112 a

1a required summer school program established under Section
210-22.33B; provided, that the following children shall not be
3required to attend the public schools:
4        1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school
5    where children are taught the branches of education taught
6    to children of corresponding age and grade in the public
7    schools, and where the instruction of the child in the
8    branches of education is in the English language;
9        2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to
10    attend school, such disability being certified to the
11    county or district truant officer by a competent physician
12    licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in
13    all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under
14    the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced
15    practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant,
16    or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State
17    and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is
18    excused for temporary absence for cause by the principal or
19    teacher of the school which the child attends, with absence
20    for cause by illness being required to include the mental
21    or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days for
22    which the child need not provide a medical note, in which
23    case the child shall be given the opportunity to make up
24    any school work missed during the mental or behavioral
25    health absence; the exemptions in this paragraph (2) do not
26    apply to any female who is pregnant or the mother of one or

 

 

10100SB2473sam002- 3 -LRB101 17205 CMG 71112 a

1    more children, except where a female is unable to attend
2    school due to a complication arising from her pregnancy and
3    the existence of such complication is certified to the
4    county or district truant officer by a competent physician;
5        3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed
6    according to the provisions of the law regulating child
7    labor may be excused from attendance at school by the
8    county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
9    the public school which the child should be attending, on
10    certification of the facts by and the recommendation of the
11    school board of the public school district in which the
12    child resides. In districts having part-time continuation
13    schools, children so excused shall attend such schools at
14    least 8 hours each week;
15        4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in
16    attendance at confirmation classes;
17        5. Any child absent from a public school on a
18    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
19    the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to
20    participate in any examination, study or work requirements
21    on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day,
22    because the tenets of his religion forbid secular activity
23    on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day.
24    Each school board shall prescribe rules and regulations
25    relative to absences for religious holidays including, but
26    not limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it

 

 

10100SB2473sam002- 4 -LRB101 17205 CMG 71112 a

1    shall be mandatory to excuse a child; but nothing in this
2    paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit the right of any
3    school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on
4    any other day by reason of the observance of a religious
5    holiday. A school board may require the parent or guardian
6    of a child who is to be excused from attending school due
7    to the observance of a religious holiday to give notice,
8    not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school
9    principal or other school personnel. Any child excused from
10    attending school under this paragraph 5 shall not be
11    required to submit a written excuse for such absence after
12    returning to school;
13        6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits
14    to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful
15    employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and (ii)
16    is enrolled in a graduation incentives program pursuant to
17    Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning
18    opportunities program established pursuant to Article 13B
19    of this Code;
20        7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a
21    public school on a particular day or days or at a
22    particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps"
23    at a military honors funeral held in this State for a
24    deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this
25    paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's
26    administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the

 

 

10100SB2473sam002- 5 -LRB101 17205 CMG 71112 a

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

 

 

10100SB2473sam002- 6 -LRB101 17205 CMG 71112 a

1    or deployment of the parent or legal guardian. In the case
2    of excused absences pursuant to this paragraph 8, the
3    student and parent or legal guardian shall be responsible
4    for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior
5    to any period of excused absence and for ensuring that such
6    assignments are completed by the student prior to his or
7    her return to school from such period of excused absence.
8(Source: P.A. 99-173, eff. 7-29-15; 99-804, eff. 1-1-17;
9100-185, eff. 8-18-17; 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-863, eff.
108-14-18.)
 
11    (105 ILCS 5/26-2a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2a)
12    Sec. 26-2a. A "truant" is defined as a child who is subject
13to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid
14cause, as defined under this Section, from such attendance for
15more than 1% but less than 5% of the past 180 school days.
16    "Valid cause" for absence shall be illness, including the
17mental or behavioral health of the student, observance of a
18religious holiday, death in the immediate family, or family
19emergency, and shall include such other situations beyond the
20control of the student, as determined by the board of education
21in each district, or such other circumstances which cause
22reasonable concern to the parent for the mental, emotional, or
23physical health or safety of the student.
24    "Chronic or habitual truant" shall be defined as a child
25who is subject to compulsory school attendance and who is

 

 

10100SB2473sam002- 7 -LRB101 17205 CMG 71112 a

1absent without valid cause from such attendance for 5% or more
2of the previous 180 regular attendance days.
3    "Truant minor" is defined as a chronic truant to whom
4supportive services, including prevention, diagnostic,
5intervention and remedial services, alternative programs and
6other school and community resources have been provided and
7have failed to result in the cessation of chronic truancy, or
8have been offered and refused.
9    A "dropout" is defined as any child enrolled in grades 9
10through 12 whose name has been removed from the district
11enrollment roster for any reason other than the student's
12death, extended illness, removal for medical non-compliance,
13expulsion, aging out, graduation, or completion of a program of
14studies and who has not transferred to another public or
15private school and is not known to be home-schooled by his or
16her parents or guardians or continuing school in another
17country.
18    "Religion" for the purposes of this Article, includes all
19aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as
20belief.
21(Source: P.A. 100-810, eff. 1-1-19; 100-918, eff. 8-17-18;
22101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)".