(105 ILCS 5/27-12.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-12.1)

Sec. 27-12.1. Consumer education.

(a) Pupils in the public schools in grades 9 through 12 shall be taught and be required to study courses which include instruction in the area of consumer education, including but not necessarily limited to (i) understanding the basic concepts of financial literacy, including consumer debt and installment purchasing (including credit scoring, managing credit debt, and completing a loan application), budgeting, savings and investing, banking (including balancing a checkbook, opening a deposit account, and the use of interest rates), understanding simple contracts, State and federal income taxes, personal insurance policies, the comparison of prices, higher education student loans, identity-theft security, and homeownership (including the basic process of obtaining a mortgage and the concepts of fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, subprime loans, and predatory lending), and (ii) understanding the roles of consumers interacting with agriculture, business, labor unions and government in formulating and achieving the goals of the mixed free enterprise system. The State Board of Education shall devise or approve the consumer education curriculum for grades 9 through 12 and specify the minimum amount of instruction to be devoted thereto.

(b) (Blank).

(c) The Financial Literacy Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. State funds and private contributions for the promotion of financial literacy shall be deposited into the Financial Literacy Fund. All money in the Financial Literacy Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the State Board of Education to award grants to school districts for the following:

(1) Defraying the costs of financial literacy training for teachers.

(2) Rewarding a school or teacher who wins or achieves results at a certain level of success in a financial literacy competition.

(3) Rewarding a student who wins or achieves results at a certain level of success in a financial literacy competition.

(4) Funding activities, including books, games, field trips, computers, and other activities, related to financial literacy education.

In awarding grants, every effort must be made to ensure that all geographic areas of the State are represented.

(d) A school board may establish a special fund in which to receive public funds and private contributions for the promotion of financial literacy. Money in the fund shall be used for the following:

(1) Defraying the costs of financial literacy training for teachers.

(2) Rewarding a school or teacher who wins or achieves results at a certain level of success in a financial literacy competition.

(3) Rewarding a student who wins or achieves results at a certain level of success in a financial literacy competition.

(4) Funding activities, including books, games, field trips, computers, and other activities, related to financial literacy education.

(e) The State Board of Education, upon the next comprehensive review of the Illinois Learning Standards, is urged to include the basic principles of personal insurance policies and understanding simple contracts.

(Source: P.A. 99-284, eff. 8-5-15.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-13.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-13.1)

Sec. 27-13.1. In every public school there shall be instruction, study and discussion of current problems and needs in the conservation of natural resources, including but not limited to air pollution, water pollution, waste reduction and recycling, the effects of excessive use of pesticides, preservation of wilderness areas, forest management, protection of wildlife and humane care of domestic animals.

(Source: P.A. 86-229.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-13.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-13.2)

Sec. 27-13.2. Required instruction.

(a) In every public school there shall be instruction, study, and discussion of effective methods by which pupils may recognize the danger of and avoid abduction, and in every public school maintaining any of grades kindergarten through 8, there shall be, for such grades, instruction, study, and discussion of effective methods for the prevention and avoidance of drugs and the dangers of opioid and substance abuse. School boards may include such required instruction, study, and discussion in the courses of study regularly taught in the public schools of their respective districts; provided, however, that such instruction shall be given each year to all pupils in grades kindergarten through 8. The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all public and non-public schools instructional materials which may be used by such schools as guidelines for development of a program of instruction under this subsection (a); provided, however, that each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instruction time which shall qualify as a program of instruction which will satisfy the requirements of this subsection (a).

The State Superintendent of Education, in cooperation with the Department of Children and Family Services, shall prepare and disseminate to all public schools and non-public schools, information on instructional materials and programs about child sexual abuse which may be used by such schools for their own or community programs. Such information may also be disseminated by such schools to parents.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, no pupil in any of grades kindergarten through 8 shall be required to take or participate in any class or course providing instruction in recognizing and avoiding sexual abuse if the parent or guardian of the pupil submits written objection thereto; and refusal to take or participate in such class or course after such written objection is made shall not be reason for failing, suspending or expelling such pupil. Each school board intending to offer any such class or course to pupils in any of grades kindergarten through 8 shall give not less than 5 days written notice to the parents or guardians of such pupils before commencing the class or course.

(c) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, in every State-required health course for grades 9 through 12, a school district shall provide instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl. Information for the instruction, study, and discussion of fentanyl shall come from information provided by the National Institutes of Health, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, or the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This instruction, study, and discussion shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) Information on fentanyl itself, including an explanation of the differences between synthetic and nonsynthetic opioids and illicit drugs, the variations of fentanyl itself, and the differences between the legal and illegal uses of fentanyl.

(2) The side effects and the risk factors of using fentanyl, along with information comparing the lethal amounts of fentanyl to other drugs. Information on the risk factors may include, but is not limited to:

(A) the lethal dose of fentanyl;

(B) how often fentanyl is placed in drugs without a person's knowledge;

(C) an explanation of what fentanyl does to a person's body and the severity of fentanyl's addictive properties; and

(D) how the consumption of fentanyl can lead to hypoxia, as well as an explanation of what hypoxia precisely does to a person's body.

(3) Details about the process of lacing fentanyl in other drugs and why drugs get laced with fentanyl.

(4) Details about how to detect fentanyl in drugs and how to save someone from an overdose of fentanyl, which shall include:

(A) how to buy and use fentanyl test strips;

(B) how to buy and use naloxone, either through a nasal spray or an injection; and

(C) how to detect if someone is overdosing on fentanyl.

Students shall be assessed on the instruction required under this subsection (c). The assessment may include, but is not limited to:

(1) the differences between synthetic and nonsynthetic drugs;

(2) hypoxia;

(3) the effects of fentanyl on a person's body;

(4) the lethal dose of fentanyl; and

(5) how to detect and prevent overdoses.

The instruction required under this subsection (c) shall be taught by a licensed educator, school nurse, or school counselor.

(Source: P.A. 102-195, eff. 7-30-21; 103-365, eff. 1-1-24.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-13.3)

Sec. 27-13.3. Internet safety education curriculum.

(a) The purpose of this Section is to inform and protect students from inappropriate or illegal communications and solicitation and to encourage school districts to provide education about Internet threats and risks, including without limitation child predators, fraud, and other dangers.

(b) The General Assembly finds and declares the following:

(1) it is the policy of this State to protect consumers and Illinois residents from deceptive and unsafe communications that result in harassment, exploitation, or physical harm;

(2) children have easy access to the Internet at home, school, and public places;

(3) the Internet is used by sexual predators and other criminals to make initial contact with children and other vulnerable residents in Illinois; and

(4) education is an effective method for preventing children from falling prey to online predators, identity theft, and other dangers.

(c) Each school may adopt an age-appropriate curriculum for Internet safety instruction of students in grades kindergarten through 12. However, beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, a school district must incorporate into the school curriculum a component on Internet safety to be taught at least once each school year to students in grades 3 through 12. The school board shall determine the scope and duration of this unit of instruction. The age-appropriate unit of instruction may be incorporated into the current courses of study regularly taught in the district's schools, as determined by the school board, and it is recommended that the unit of instruction include the following topics:

(1) Safe and responsible use of social networking websites, chat rooms, electronic mail, bulletin boards, instant messaging, and other means of communication on the Internet.

(2) Recognizing, avoiding, and reporting online solicitations of students, their classmates, and their friends by sexual predators.

(3) Risks of transmitting personal information on the Internet.

(4) Recognizing and avoiding unsolicited or deceptive communications received online.

(5) Recognizing and reporting online harassment and cyber-bullying.

(6) Reporting illegal activities and communications on the Internet.

(7) Copyright laws on written materials, photographs, music, and video.

(d) Curricula devised in accordance with subsection (c) of this Section may be submitted for review to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

(e) The State Board of Education shall make available resource materials for educating children regarding child online safety and may take into consideration the curriculum on this subject developed by other states, as well as any other curricular materials suggested by education experts, child psychologists, or technology companies that work on child online safety issues. Materials may include without limitation safe online communications, privacy protection, cyber-bullying, viewing inappropriate material, file sharing, and the importance of open communication with responsible adults. The State Board of Education shall make these resource materials available on its Internet website.

(Source: P.A. 95-509, eff. 8-28-07; 95-869, eff. 1-1-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-14) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-14)

Sec. 27-14. Experiments upon animals.

No experiment upon any living animal for the purpose of demonstration in any study shall be made in any public school. No animal provided by, or killed in the presence of any pupil of a public school shall be used for dissection in such school, and in no case shall dogs or cats be killed for such purposes. Dissection of dead animals, or parts thereof, shall be confined to the classroom and shall not be practiced in the presence of any pupil not engaged in the study to be illustrated thereby.

(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-15) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-15)

Sec. 27-15. Moral and humane education - In institute programs. The superintendent of each region and city shall include once each year moral and humane education in the program of the teachers' institute which is held under his supervision.

(Source: P.A. 79-597.)