Public Act 0460 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3527 Enrolled LRB099 07342 NHT 27454 b

Public Act 099-0460

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Right to Privacy in the School Setting Act is amended by changing Sections 10 and 15 as follows:

(105 ILCS 75/10)

Sec. 10. Prohibited inquiry.

(a) It is unlawful for a post-secondary school to request or require a student or his or her parent or guardian to provide a password or other related account information in order to gain access to the student's account or profile on a social networking website or to demand access in any manner to a student's account or profile on a social networking website.

(b) Nothing in this Section limits a post-secondary school's right to do the following:

(1) promulgate and maintain lawful school policies governing the use of the post-secondary school's electronic equipment, including policies regarding Internet use, social networking website use, and electronic mail use; and

(2) monitor usage of the post-secondary school's electronic equipment and the post-secondary school's electronic mail without requesting or requiring a student to provide a password or other related account information in order to gain access to the student's account or profile on a social networking website.

(c) Nothing in this Section prohibits a post-secondary school from obtaining information about a student that is in the public domain or that is otherwise obtained in compliance with this Act.

(d) This Section does not prohibit a post-secondary school from conducting an investigation or requiring a student to cooperate in an investigation if there is specific information about activity on the student's account on a social networking website that violates a school disciplinary rule or policy. In the course of an investigation, the student may be required to share the content that is reported in order to make a factual determination. does not apply when a post-secondary school has reasonable cause to believe that a student's account on a social networking website contains evidence that the student has violated a school disciplinary rule or policy.

(Source: P.A. 98-129, eff. 1-1-14.)

(105 ILCS 75/15)

Sec. 15. Notification. An elementary or secondary school must provide notification to the student and his or her parent or guardian that the elementary or secondary school may not request or require a student to provide a password or other related account information in order to gain access to the student's account or profile on a social networking website if the elementary or secondary school has reasonable cause to believe that the student's account on a social networking website contains evidence that the student has violated a school disciplinary rule or policy. An elementary or secondary school must provide notification to the student and his or her parent or guardian that the elementary or secondary school may conduct an investigation or require a student to cooperate in an investigation if there is specific information about activity on the student's account on a social networking website that violates a school disciplinary rule or policy. In the course of an investigation, the student may be required to share the content that is reported in order to make a factual determination. Notification under this Section The notification must be published in the elementary or secondary school's disciplinary rules, policies, or handbook or communicated by similar means.

(Source: P.A. 98-129, eff. 1-1-14.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.