103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5416

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Christopher "C.D." Davidsmeyer

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/26-1  from Ch. 122, par. 26-1

    Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. Provides that a school, school board, or school district shall require a medical note for an absence to be excused only after 9 unexcused absences. Provides that if a student's medical note states that the student should be excused for a specific period of time or if the illness stated in the medical note has a recommended isolation period issued by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then a school, school board, or school district shall excuse all days listed in the note or for the amount of days of the recommended isolation period set by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB5416LRB103 38646 RJT 68783 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 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
526-1 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/26-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
7    Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions. Whoever has
8custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and
917 years (unless the child has already graduated from high
10school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or
11(ii) between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17
12years (unless the child has already graduated from high
13school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year shall cause
14such child to attend some public school in the district
15wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session
16during the regular school term, except as provided in Section
1710-19.1, and during a required summer school program
18established under Section 10-22.33B; provided, that the
19following children shall not be required to attend the public
20schools:
21        1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school
22    where children are taught the branches of education taught
23    to children of corresponding age and grade in the public

 

 

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1    schools, and where the instruction of the child in the
2    branches of education is in the English language;
3        2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to
4    attend school, such disability being certified to the
5    county or district truant officer by a competent physician
6    licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in
7    all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under
8    the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced
9    practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant,
10    or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State
11    and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is
12    excused for temporary absence for cause by the principal
13    or teacher of the school which the child attends, with
14    absence for cause by illness being required to include the
15    mental or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days
16    for which the child need not provide a medical note, in
17    which case the child shall be given the opportunity to
18    make up any school work missed during the mental or
19    behavioral health absence and, after the second mental
20    health day used, may be referred to the appropriate school
21    support personnel; the exemptions in this paragraph (2) do
22    not apply to any female who is pregnant or the mother of
23    one or more children, except where a female is unable to
24    attend school due to a complication arising from her
25    pregnancy and the existence of such complication is
26    certified to the county or district truant officer by a

 

 

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1    competent physician;
2        3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed
3    according to the provisions of the law regulating child
4    labor may be excused from attendance at school by the
5    county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
6    the public school which the child should be attending, on
7    certification of the facts by and the recommendation of
8    the school board of the public school district in which
9    the child resides. In districts having part-time
10    continuation schools, children so excused shall attend
11    such schools at least 8 hours each week;
12        4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in
13    attendance at confirmation classes;
14        5. Any child absent from a public school on a
15    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
16    the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to
17    participate in any examination, study, or work
18    requirements on a particular day or days or at a
19    particular time of day because of religious reasons,
20    including the observance of a religious holiday or
21    participation in religious instruction, or because the
22    tenets of his religion forbid secular activity on a
23    particular day or days or at a particular time of day. A
24    school board may require the parent or guardian of a child
25    who is to be excused from attending school because of
26    religious reasons to give notice, not exceeding 5 days, of

 

 

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1    the child's absence to the school principal or other
2    school personnel. Any child excused from attending school
3    under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a
4    written excuse for such absence after returning to school.
5    A district superintendent shall develop and distribute to
6    schools appropriate procedures regarding a student's
7    absence for religious reasons, how schools are notified of
8    a student's impending absence for religious reasons, and
9    the requirements of Section 26-2b of this Code;
10        6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits
11    to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful
12    employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and
13    (ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program
14    pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative
15    learning opportunities program established pursuant to
16    Article 13B of this Code;
17        7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a
18    public school on a particular day or days or at a
19    particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps"
20    at a military honors funeral held in this State for a
21    deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this
22    paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's
23    administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the
24    absence and shall provide the school's administration with
25    the date, time, and location of the military honors
26    funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day

 

 

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1    notification requirement if the student did not receive at
2    least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify
3    the school's administration as soon as possible of the
4    absence. A student whose absence is excused under this
5    paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended
6    school for purposes of calculating the average daily
7    attendance of students in the school district. A student
8    whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be
9    allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed
10    during the absence. If the student satisfactorily
11    completes the school work, the day of absence shall be
12    counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may
13    not be penalized for that absence; and
14        8. Any child absent from a public school on a
15    particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
16    the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an
17    active duty member of the uniformed services and has been
18    called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately
19    returned from deployment to a combat zone or
20    combat-support postings. Such a student shall be granted 5
21    days of excused absences in any school year and, at the
22    discretion of the school board, additional excused
23    absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian
24    relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or
25    legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant
26    to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal

 

 

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1    guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments
2    from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused
3    absence and for ensuring that such assignments are
4    completed by the student prior to his or her return to
5    school from such period of excused absence.
6    Any child from a public middle school or high school,
7subject to guidelines established by the State Board of
8Education, shall be permitted by a school board one school
9day-long excused absence per school year for the child who is
10absent from school to engage in a civic event. The school board
11may require that the student provide reasonable advance notice
12of the intended absence to the appropriate school
13administrator and require that the student provide
14documentation of participation in a civic event to the
15appropriate school administrator.
16    A school, school board, or school district shall require a
17medical note for an absence to be excused only after 9
18unexcused absences. If a student's medical note states that
19the student should be excused for a specific period of time or
20if the illness stated in the medical note has a recommended
21isolation period issued by the United States Centers for
22Disease Control and Prevention, then a school, school board,
23or school district shall excuse all days listed in the note or
24for the amount of days of the recommended isolation period set
25by the United States Centers for Disease Control and
26Prevention.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 102-266, eff. 1-1-22; 102-321, eff. 1-1-22;
2102-406, eff. 8-19-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-981, eff.
31-1-23.)