103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2184

 

Introduced 2/7/2023, by Rep. Adam M. Niemerg

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Freedom of Education Act. Makes findings. Provides that no public school district or public institution of higher education shall direct, require, or otherwise compel a student to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to specified tenets. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law or administrative rule to the contrary, a school board, parent, legal guardian, or student has the right to object to and refuse any unit of instruction or required course of study that directs, requires, or otherwise compels a student to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to any of the specified tenets. Provides that school boards have to review and resolve objections to the school curriculum. Provides a list of ways to remedy objections. Provides that a school board may submit a certified question to the applicable board of elections to approve or disapprove of funding the curriculum. Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no distinction or classification of students may be made on account of race or color; however, nothing in this provision may be construed to prohibit the required collection or reporting of demographic data by public school districts or public institutions of higher education. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.


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STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2184LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Freedom of Education Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly makes the
7following findings:
8        (1) Administrators, educators, support staff, and
9    students in all public elementary and secondary schools
10    and in all public institutions of higher education shall
11    respect the dignity of others, acknowledge the right of
12    others to express differing opinions, and foster and
13    defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry and
14    instruction, freedom of speech, freedom of association,
15    and the pursuit of rational, objective truths.
16        (2) Instructional pedagogies that exacerbate divisions
17    in society on the basis of race, biological sex,
18    ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, or other
19    criteria that are contrary to the unity of the nation are
20    counterproductive to the well-being of this State, its
21    citizens, and its students.
22        (3) Under Article X of the Illinois Constitution, the
23    State shall provide for an efficient system of high

 

 

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1    quality public educational institutions and services. The
2    State has the primary responsibility for financing the
3    system of public education.
4        (4) A high quality educational institution and service
5    is fundamentally undermined when parents cannot trust the
6    quality of education provided to their children. When a
7    parent or legal guardian of a student identifies a
8    curriculum in public schools that the parent or legal
9    guardian believes undermines the ability of the student to
10    succeed and thrive or where an established curriculum is
11    fostering division or is factually inaccurate, that can
12    prevent a school from meeting the State's constitutional
13    goals for education for each student.
14        (5) The curriculum needs of students will necessarily
15    be diverse, and learning standards and guidance set at the
16    State level may be incapable of fully serving student
17    needs within an individual school district.
18        (6) Parents and legal guardians for students need to
19    be further empowered to ensure that they have full access
20    to and transparency regarding the curriculum their
21    students are receiving in the classroom. School boards
22    need to be more responsive regarding curriculum access,
23    transparency, and oversight when a parent, legal guardian,
24    or student has raised concerns regarding the substance of
25    the curriculum being presented in the classroom so that
26    students are able to realize their best potential and so

 

 

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1    that classroom settings are not adopting a curriculum that
2    fosters hate and division among current students or that
3    encourages students to hate or despise their nation.
 
4    Section 10. Prohibitions.
5    (a) No public school district or public institution of
6higher education shall direct, require, or otherwise compel a
7student to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to any of the
8following tenets:
9        (1) That any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or
10    natural origin is inherently superior or inferior.
11        (2) That individuals should be adversely treated on
12    the basis of their sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color,
13    or national origin.
14        (3) That individuals, by virtue of their sex, race,
15    ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin, are
16    inherently responsible for actions committed in the past
17    by other members of the same sex, race, ethnicity,
18    religion, color, or national origin.
19    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or
20administrative rule to the contrary, a school board, parent,
21legal guardian, or student has the right to object to and
22refuse any unit of instruction or required course of study
23that directs, requires, or otherwise compels a student to
24personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to any of the tenets
25identified in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) in

 

 

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1any public school district or public institution of higher
2education.
3    (c) A school board has the duty to ensure that parents,
4legal guardians, students, and members of the public can
5access the public school curriculum in a manner that provides
6clear access, immediacy, and transparency to the curriculum in
7public schools.
8    (d) The school board to which a public school student is
9subject shall have the ultimate obligation to review and
10resolve objections to the curriculum in a manner that is open
11and transparent to the parent, legal guardian, student, and
12instructor and the public. The wishes of parents and legal
13guardians for a student shall take priority wherever and
14whenever possible. To remedy objections, a school board may
15offer, without limitation, the following:
16        (1) That the instructor remove the offending
17    curriculum, provide additional balance or factual basis,
18    or correct any factual bases found to be incorrect or
19    biased.
20        (2) That an alternative curriculum be offered to the
21    student in replacement of the objected-to curriculum.
22        (3) That the objected-to curriculum be excluded from a
23    student's grade or be independently graded.
24        (4) That the objected-to curriculum, or the course as
25    a whole, undergo curriculum review, with the final
26    curriculum and learning standards to be approved by the

 

 

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1    school board.
2        (5) If objections are sufficiently pervasive or
3    numerous for a class that is designed to fulfill local,
4    State, or federal requirements, a directive may be issued
5    that an alternative classroom or course curriculum be
6    prepared that will comply with the legal requirement and
7    that can resolve the objections of the parent, legal
8    guardian, or student.
9        (6) That administrators or faculty members prepare an
10    improvement plan for curriculum quality or justify to the
11    school board the continued use of the objected-to
12    curriculum.
13    (e) No retaliation may occur against a student in
14connection with any curriculum objections raised by the
15student, parent, or legal guardian. Retaliation may include,
16but is not limited to, ostracism in class, singling out a
17student in class, harsher grading, transfer, isolation, or any
18other tactics associated with bullying.
19    (f) A school board shall prepare a policy to ensure
20parental involvement in public school curriculum decisions,
21particularly if contentious issues are to be taught, and to
22ensure that providers of curriculum and those with
23responsibility for curriculum oversight are not abusing their
24positions of trust at the expense of parents and students.
 
25    Section 15. Referendum. Notwithstanding any provision of

 

 

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1law to the contrary, for any public school whose annual
2operational expenses use, in part, non-State funds, the school
3board, by majority vote of the membership of the board or upon
4receipt of a petition submitted to the school board with
5either (i) 250 signatures of individuals who live within the
6school board's district or (ii) a number of signatures that
7exceeds 10% of the total number of students who are attending
8school, as measured by the 10th day attendance numbers of the
9school year preceding the election period, whichever is less,
10may submit to the applicable board of elections a certified
11question to approve or to disapprove the use of taxpayer
12funding for the curriculum at the next election where members
13of the school board are up for election for an elected school
14board or at the next general election if the school board is
15not elected. If taxpayer funds are disapproved for such a
16curriculum, it shall be improper for the school board to use
17any such funds in support of the curriculum or the instructor
18who seeks to present it.
 
19    Section 20. Permissible activity. Notwithstanding any
20provision of law to the contrary, no distinction or
21classification of students may be made on account of race or
22color. However, nothing in this Section may be construed to
23prohibit the required collection or reporting of demographic
24data by public school districts or public institutions of
25higher education. Nothing in this Section may be construed to

 

 

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1prohibit the use of federal dollars for federal programs.
 
2    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
3severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.