Public Act 100-0185
 
HB3507 EnrolledLRB100 05510 MLM 15521 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 Section
26-1 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/26-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
    Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age-Exemptions. Whoever has
custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and
17 years (unless the child has already graduated from high
school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or
(ii) between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17
years (unless the child has already graduated from high school)
beginning with the 2014-2015 school year shall cause such child
to attend some public school in the district wherein the child
resides the entire time it is in session during the regular
school term, except as provided in Section 10-19.1, and during
a required summer school program established under Section
10-22.33B; provided, that the following children shall not be
required to attend the public schools:
        1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school
    where children are taught the branches of education taught
    to children of corresponding age and grade in the public
    schools, and where the instruction of the child in the
    branches of education is in the English language;
        2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to
    attend school, such disability being certified to the
    county or district truant officer by a competent physician
    licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in
    all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under
    the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced
    practice nurse, a licensed physician assistant, or a
    Christian Science practitioner residing in this State and
    listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is excused
    for temporary absence for cause by the principal or teacher
    of the school which the child attends; the exemptions in
    this paragraph (2) do not apply to any female who is
    pregnant or the mother of one or more children, except
    where a female is unable to attend school due to a
    complication arising from her pregnancy and the existence
    of such complication is certified to the county or district
    truant officer by a competent physician;
        3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed
    according to the provisions of the law regulating child
    labor may be excused from attendance at school by the
    county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
    the public school which the child should be attending, on
    certification of the facts by and the recommendation of the
    school board of the public school district in which the
    child resides. In districts having part time continuation
    schools, children so excused shall attend such schools at
    least 8 hours each week;
        4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in
    attendance at confirmation classes;
        5. Any child absent from a public school on a
    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
    the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to
    participate in any examination, study or work requirements
    on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day,
    because the tenets of his religion forbid secular activity
    on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day.
    Each school board shall prescribe rules and regulations
    relative to absences for religious holidays including, but
    not limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it
    shall be mandatory to excuse a child; but nothing in this
    paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit the right of any
    school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on
    any other day by reason of the observance of a religious
    holiday. A school board may require the parent or guardian
    of a child who is to be excused from attending school due
    to the observance of a religious holiday to give notice,
    not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school
    principal or other school personnel. Any child excused from
    attending school under this paragraph 5 shall not be
    required to submit a written excuse for such absence after
    returning to school;
        6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits
    to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful
    employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and (ii)
    is enrolled in a graduation incentives program pursuant to
    Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning
    opportunities program established pursuant to Article 13B
    of this Code; and
        7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a
    public school on a particular day or days or at a
    particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps"
    at a military honors funeral held in this State for a
    deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this
    paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's
    administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the
    absence and shall provide the school's administration with
    the date, time, and location of the military honors
    funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day
    notification requirement if the student did not receive at
    least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify
    the school's administration as soon as possible of the
    absence. A student whose absence is excused under this
    paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended
    school for purposes of calculating the average daily
    attendance of students in the school district. A student
    whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be
    allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed
    during the absence. If the student satisfactorily
    completes the school work, the day of absence shall be
    counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may
    not be penalized for that absence; and .
        8. Any child absent from a public school on a
    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
    the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an
    active duty member of the uniformed services and has been
    called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately
    returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat-support
    postings. Such a student shall be granted 5 days of excused
    absences in any school year and, at the discretion of the
    school board, additional excused absences to visit the
    student's parent or legal guardian relative to such leave
    or deployment of the parent or legal guardian. In the case
    of excused absences pursuant to this paragraph 8, the
    student and parent or legal guardian shall be responsible
    for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior
    to any period of excused absence and for ensuring that such
    assignments are completed by the student prior to his or
    her return to school from such period of excused absence.
(Source: P.A. 98-544, eff. 7-1-14; 99-173, eff. 7-29-15;
99-804, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.