103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5113

 

Introduced 2/8/2024, by Rep. Daniel Didech

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 490/197 new
10 ILCS 5/1A-60
105 ILCS 5/26-1  from Ch. 122, par. 26-1

    Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Provides that the fourth Tuesday in September shall be known as High School Voter Registration Day. Amends the Elections Code. In provisions concerning high school voter registration, provides that the one page document explaining the process to register to vote that every high school must provide to students shall be disseminated each year prior to the fourth Tuesday in September. Provides that the one page document prepared by the State Board of Elections must include a direct link to the State's online voter registration portal. Provides that the one page document shall also include sample ballot instructions and instructions for voting in the next election. Provides that a high school may adopt reasonable regulations restricting nonpartisan voter registration activities only if nonpartisan voter registration activities present a disruption to the school day or normal school operations. Provides that the board of each school district operating a high school shall allow each student who is at least 18 years of age, or 17 years of age on or before the date of the next primary election and turns 18 on or before the date of the general or consolidated election, and meets all other requirements of voter registration to register to vote during school hours on the fourth Tuesday in September of each year, or on the next school day if school is not in session on that the fourth Tuesday in September. Amends the School Code to make a conforming change.


LRB103 33373 RJT 63185 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5113LRB103 33373 RJT 63185 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The State Commemorative Dates Act is amended by
5adding Section 197 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 490/197 new)
7    Sec. 197. High School Voter Registration Day. The fourth
8Tuesday in September shall be known as High School Voter
9Registration Day to be observed as provided in Section 1A-60
10of the Election Code.
 
11    Section 10. The Election Code is amended by changing
12Section 1A-60 as follows:
 
13    (10 ILCS 5/1A-60)
14    Sec. 1A-60. High school voter registration.
15    (a) The State Board of Elections shall prepare a one page
16document explaining the process to register to vote to be
17disseminated to high school age students. Every high school
18must provide students with that document, which may be
19disseminated electronically, and shall be disseminated each
20year prior to the fourth Tuesday in September. The document
21must include a direct link to the State's online voter

 

 

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1registration portal. The document shall also include sample
2ballot instructions and instructions for voting in the next
3election.
4    (b) No high school may prohibit nonpartisan voter
5registration activities on its premises. A high school may
6adopt reasonable regulations restricting nonpartisan voter
7registration activities if nonpartisan voter registration
8activities present a disruption to the school day or normal
9school operations.
10    (c) The board of each school district operating a high
11school shall allow each student who is at least 18 years of
12age, or 17 years of age on or before the date of the next
13primary election and turns 18 on or before the date of the
14general or consolidated election, and meets all other
15requirements of voter registration to register to vote during
16school hours on the fourth Tuesday in September of each year or
17on the next available school day if school is not in session on
18the fourth Tuesday in September.
19(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21.)
 
20    Section 15. The School Code is amended by changing Section
2126-1 as follows:
 
22    (105 ILCS 5/26-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
23    Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions. Whoever has
24custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and

 

 

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117 years (unless the child has already graduated from high
2school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or
3(ii) between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17
4years (unless the child has already graduated from high
5school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year shall cause
6such child to attend some public school in the district
7wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session
8during the regular school term, except as provided in Section
910-19.1, and during a required summer school program
10established under Section 10-22.33B; provided, that the
11following children shall not be required to attend the public
12schools:
13        1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school
14    where children are taught the branches of education taught
15    to children of corresponding age and grade in the public
16    schools, and where the instruction of the child in the
17    branches of education is in the English language;
18        2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to
19    attend school, such disability being certified to the
20    county or district truant officer by a competent physician
21    licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in
22    all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under
23    the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced
24    practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant,
25    or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State
26    and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is

 

 

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1    excused for temporary absence for cause by the principal
2    or teacher of the school which the child attends, with
3    absence for cause by illness being required to include the
4    mental or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days
5    for which the child need not provide a medical note, in
6    which case the child shall be given the opportunity to
7    make up any school work missed during the mental or
8    behavioral health absence and, after the second mental
9    health day used, may be referred to the appropriate school
10    support personnel; the exemptions in this paragraph (2) do
11    not apply to any female who is pregnant or the mother of
12    one or more children, except where a female is unable to
13    attend school due to a complication arising from her
14    pregnancy and the existence of such complication is
15    certified to the county or district truant officer by a
16    competent physician;
17        3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed
18    according to the provisions of the law regulating child
19    labor may be excused from attendance at school by the
20    county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
21    the public school which the child should be attending, on
22    certification of the facts by and the recommendation of
23    the school board of the public school district in which
24    the child resides. In districts having part-time
25    continuation schools, children so excused shall attend
26    such schools at least 8 hours each week;

 

 

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1        4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in
2    attendance at confirmation classes;
3        5. Any child absent from a public school on a
4    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
5    the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to
6    participate in any examination, study, or work
7    requirements on a particular day or days or at a
8    particular time of day because of religious reasons,
9    including the observance of a religious holiday or
10    participation in religious instruction, or because the
11    tenets of his religion forbid secular activity on a
12    particular day or days or at a particular time of day. A
13    school board may require the parent or guardian of a child
14    who is to be excused from attending school because of
15    religious reasons to give notice, not exceeding 5 days, of
16    the child's absence to the school principal or other
17    school personnel. Any child excused from attending school
18    under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a
19    written excuse for such absence after returning to school.
20    A district superintendent shall develop and distribute to
21    schools appropriate procedures regarding a student's
22    absence for religious reasons, how schools are notified of
23    a student's impending absence for religious reasons, and
24    the requirements of Section 26-2b of this Code;
25        6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits
26    to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful

 

 

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1    employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and
2    (ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program
3    pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative
4    learning opportunities program established pursuant to
5    Article 13B of this Code;
6        7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a
7    public school on a particular day or days or at a
8    particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps"
9    at a military honors funeral held in this State for a
10    deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this
11    paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's
12    administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the
13    absence and shall provide the school's administration with
14    the date, time, and location of the military honors
15    funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day
16    notification requirement if the student did not receive at
17    least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify
18    the school's administration as soon as possible of the
19    absence. A student whose absence is excused under this
20    paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended
21    school for purposes of calculating the average daily
22    attendance of students in the school district. A student
23    whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be
24    allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed
25    during the absence. If the student satisfactorily
26    completes the school work, the day of absence shall be

 

 

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1    counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may
2    not be penalized for that absence; and
3        8. Any child absent from a public school on a
4    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
5    the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an
6    active duty member of the uniformed services and has been
7    called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately
8    returned from deployment to a combat zone or
9    combat-support postings. Such a student shall be granted 5
10    days of excused absences in any school year and, at the
11    discretion of the school board, additional excused
12    absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian
13    relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or
14    legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant
15    to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal
16    guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments
17    from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused
18    absence and for ensuring that such assignments are
19    completed by the student prior to his or her return to
20    school from such period of excused absence; and .
21        9. Any child attending a high school during school
22    hours on the fourth Tuesday in September of each year, or
23    on the next school day if school is not in session on the
24    fourth Tuesday in September, to register to vote.
25    Any child from a public middle school or high school,
26subject to guidelines established by the State Board of

 

 

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1Education, shall be permitted by a school board one school
2day-long excused absence per school year for the child who is
3absent from school to engage in a civic event. The school board
4may require that the student provide reasonable advance notice
5of the intended absence to the appropriate school
6administrator and require that the student provide
7documentation of participation in a civic event to the
8appropriate school administrator.
9(Source: P.A. 102-266, eff. 1-1-22; 102-321, eff. 1-1-22;
10102-406, eff. 8-19-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-981, eff.
111-1-23.)