105 ILCS 5/ School Code.

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    (105 ILCS 5/prec. Sec. 27-505 heading)
HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES
(Source: P.A. 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-505) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-21)
    Sec. 27-505. History of the United States.
    (a) History of the United States shall be taught in all public schools and in all other educational institutions in this State supported or maintained, in whole or in part, by public funds.
    The teaching of history shall have as one of its objectives the imparting to pupils of a comprehensive idea of our democratic form of government and the principles for which our government stands as regards other nations, including the studying of the place of our government in world-wide movements and the leaders thereof, with particular stress upon the basic principles and ideals of our representative form of government.
    The teaching of history shall include a study of the role and contributions of African Americans and other ethnic groups, including, but not restricted to, Native Americans, Polish, Lithuanian, German, Hungarian, Irish, Bohemian, Russian, Albanian, Italian, Czech, Slovak, French, Scots, Hispanics, Asian Americans, etc., in the history of this country and this State. To reinforce the study of the role and contributions of Hispanics, such curriculum shall include the study of the events related to the forceful removal and illegal deportation of Mexican-American U.S. citizens during the Great Depression.
    The teaching of history shall also include teaching about Native American nations' sovereignty and self-determination, both historically and in the present day, with a focus on urban Native Americans.
    In public schools only, the teaching of history shall include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this State.
    The teaching of history also shall include a study of the role of labor unions and their interaction with government in achieving the goals of a mixed free enterprise system.
    Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, the teaching of history must also include instruction on the history of Illinois.
    The teaching of history shall include the contributions made to society by Americans of different faith practices, including, but not limited to, Native Americans, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, Christian Americans, Hindu Americans, Sikh Americans, Buddhist Americans, and any other collective community of faith that has shaped America.
    (b) No pupils shall be graduated from the eighth grade of any public school unless the pupils have received instruction in the history of the United States as provided in this Section and give evidence of having a comprehensive knowledge thereof, which may be administered remotely.
    (c) Instructional materials that include the addition of content related to Native Americans shall be prepared by the State Superintendent of Education and made available to all school boards on the State Board of Education's Internet website no later than July 1, 2024. These instructional materials may be used by school boards as guidelines for the development of instruction under this Section; however, each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instructional time for satisfying the requirements of this Section. Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this Section, a school or other educational institution is not required to teach and a pupil is not required to learn the additional content related to Native Americans until instructional materials are made available on the State Board's Internet website.     
    Instructional materials related to Native Americans shall be developed in consultation with members of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative who are members of a federally recognized tribe, are documented descendants of Indigenous communities, or are other persons recognized as contributing community members by the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative and who currently reside in this State.
(Source: P.A. 103-422, eff. 8-4-23; 103-564, eff. 11-17-23; 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-510)
    Sec. 27-510. Patriotism, principles of representative government, and elementary civics education.
    (a) American patriotism and the principles of representative government, as enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the proper use and display of the American flag shall be taught in all public schools and other educational institutions supported or maintained in whole or in part by public funds. No student may receive a certificate of graduation without passing a satisfactory examination upon such subjects, which may be administered remotely. This instruction may be taught alongside the curriculum in the one semester of civics education for students in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade under subsection (b) of this Section.
    (b) Every public elementary school shall include at least one semester of civics education in its 6th, 7th, or 8th grade curriculum. This instruction shall help young people acquire and learn to use the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible citizens throughout their lives. The course content shall be in accordance with the Illinois Learning Standards for Social Science and shall include discussion on current societal issues, service learning, simulations of the democratic process, and instruction on the method of voting at elections by means of the Australian Ballot system.
    (c) The Pledge of Allegiance shall be recited each school day by pupils in elementary and secondary educational institutions supported or maintained in whole or in part by public funds.
(Source: P.A. 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-515) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-4)
    Sec. 27-515. Time requirement for civics studies. Not less than one hour of each school week, or an amount of time equal to one hour per school week through the school year, shall be devoted to the study of the subjects mentioned in Section 27-510 of this Code in the seventh and eighth grades or their equivalent.
    This Section does not prevent the study of such subjects in any of the lower grades in such schools or institutions.
(Source: P.A. 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-520) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-20.05)
    Sec. 27-520. Native American history study.
    (a) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school social studies course pertaining to American history or government shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of the Native American experience and Native American history within the Midwest and this State since time immemorial. These events shall include the contributions of Native Americans in government and the arts, humanities, and sciences, as well as the contributions of Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of their own nations and of the United States. The unit of instruction must describe large urban Native American populations in this State, including the history and experiences of contemporary Native Americans living in this State. Instruction in grades 6 through 12 shall include the study of the genocide of and discrimination against Native Americans, as well as tribal sovereignty, treaties made between tribal nations and the United States, and the circumstances around forced Native American relocation. This unit of instruction may be integrated as part of the unit of instruction required under Section 27-505 or 27-525 of this Code.
    (b) The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials and professional development opportunities that may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of instruction under this Section. However, each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction satisfying the requirements of this Section.
    (c) The regional superintendent of schools shall monitor a school district's compliance with this Section's curricular requirements during the regional superintendent's annual compliance visit and make recommendations for improvement, including professional development.
(Source: P.A. 103-422, eff. 8-4-23; 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-525) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-20.3)
    Sec. 27-525. Holocaust and Genocide Study.
    (a) Every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of the Nazi atrocities of 1933 to 1945. This period in world history is known as the Holocaust, during which 6,000,000 Jews and millions of non-Jews were exterminated. One of the universal lessons of the Holocaust is that national, ethnic, racial, or religious hatred can overtake any nation or society, leading to calamitous consequences. To reinforce that lesson, such curriculum shall include an additional unit of instruction studying other acts of genocide across the globe. This unit shall include, but not be limited to, the Native American genocide in North America, the Armenian Genocide, the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine, and more recent atrocities in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Sudan. The studying of this material is a reaffirmation of the commitment of free peoples from all nations to never again permit the occurrence of another Holocaust and a recognition that crimes of genocide continue to be perpetrated across the globe as they have been in the past and to deter indifference to crimes against humanity and human suffering wherever they may occur.
    (b) The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials which may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of instruction under this Section; provided, however, that each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instruction time which shall qualify as a unit of instruction satisfying the requirements of this Section.
    Instructional materials that include the addition of content related to the Native American genocide in North America shall be prepared and made available to all school boards on the State Board of Education's Internet website no later than July 1, 2024. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Section, a school is not required to teach the additional content related to the Native American genocide in North America until instructional materials are made available on the State Board's Internet website.
    Instructional materials related to the Native American genocide in North America shall be developed in consultation with members of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative who are members of a federally recognized tribe, are documented descendants of Indigenous communities, or are other persons recognized as contributing community members by the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative and who currently reside in this State or their designees.
(Source: P.A. 103-422, eff. 8-4-23; 103-564, eff. 11-17-23; 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-530) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-20.4)
    Sec. 27-530. Black History study. Every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Black History, including the history of the pre-enslavement of Black people from 3,000 BCE to AD 1619, the African slave trade, slavery in America, the study of the reasons why Black people came to be enslaved, the vestiges of slavery in this country, and the study of the American civil rights renaissance. These events shall include not only the contributions made by individual African-Americans in government and in the arts, humanities and sciences to the economic, cultural and political development of the United States and Africa, but also the socio-economic struggle which African-Americans experienced collectively in striving to achieve fair and equal treatment under the laws of this nation. The studying of this material shall constitute an affirmation by students of their commitment to respect the dignity of all races and peoples and to forever eschew every form of discrimination in their lives and careers.
    The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials, including those established by the Amistad Commission, which may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of instruction under this Section; provided, however, that each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instruction time which shall qualify as a unit of instruction satisfying the requirements of this Section.
    A school may meet the requirements of this Section through an online program or course.
(Source: P.A. 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-535) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-20.5)
    Sec. 27-535. Study of the History of Women. Every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of the history of women in America. These events shall include not only the contributions made by individual women in government, the arts, sciences, education, and in the economic, cultural, and political development of Illinois and of the United States, but shall also include a study of women's struggles to gain the right to vote and to be treated equally as they strive to earn and occupy positions of merit in our society.
    The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials that may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of instruction under this Section. Each school board shall determine the minimum amount of instructional time that shall qualify as a unit of instruction satisfying the requirements of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-540) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-20.8)
    Sec. 27-540. Asian American history study.
    (a) Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Asian American history, including the history of Asian Americans in Illinois and the Midwest, as well as the contributions of Asian Americans toward advancing civil rights from the 19th century onward. These events shall include the contributions made by individual Asian Americans in government and the arts, humanities, and sciences, as well as the contributions of Asian American communities to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. The studying of this material shall constitute an affirmation by students of their commitment to respect the dignity of all races and peoples and to forever eschew every form of discrimination in their lives and careers.
    (b) The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials, including those established by the Public Broadcasting Service, that may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of instruction under this Section. However, each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction satisfying the requirements of this Section.
    (c) The regional superintendent of schools shall monitor a school district's compliance with this Section's curricular requirements during his or her annual compliance visit.
    (d) A school may meet the requirements of this Section through an online program or course.
(Source: P.A. 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)

    (105 ILCS 5/27-545) (was 105 ILCS 5/27-23.8)
    Sec. 27-545. Disability history and awareness.
    (a) A school district shall provide instruction on disability history, people with disabilities, and the disability rights movement. Instruction may be included in those courses that the school district chooses. This instruction must be founded on the principle that all students, including students with disabilities, have the right to exercise self-determination. When possible, individuals with disabilities should be incorporated into the development and delivery of this instruction. This instruction may be supplemented by knowledgeable guest speakers from the disability community. A school board may collaborate with community-based organizations, such as centers for independent living, parent training and information centers, and other consumer-driven groups, and disability membership organizations in creating this instruction.
    (b) The State Board of Education may prepare and make available to all school boards resource materials that may be used as guidelines for the development of instruction for disability history and awareness under this Section.
    (c) Each school board shall determine the minimum amount of instructional time required under this Section.
    (d) The regional superintendent of schools shall monitor a school district's compliance with this Section's curricular requirement during his or her annual compliance visit.
(Source: P.A. 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)