HB0064eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
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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 Right
5to Privacy in the School Setting Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Elementary or secondary school" means a public elementary
8or secondary school or school district or a nonpublic school
9recognized by the State Board of Education.
10    "Post-secondary school" means an institution of higher
11learning as defined in the Higher Education Student Assistance
12Act.
13    "Social networking website" means an Internet-based
14service that allows individuals to do the following:
15        (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a
16    bounded system created by the service;
17        (2) create a list of other users with whom they share a
18    connection within the system; and
19        (3) view and navigate their list of connections and
20    those made by others within the system.
21"Social networking website" does not include electronic mail.
 
22    Section 10. Prohibited inquiry.

 

 

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1    (a) It is unlawful for a post-secondary school to request
2or require a student or his or her parent or guardian to
3provide a password or other related account information in
4order to gain access to the student's account or profile on a
5social networking website or to demand access in any manner to
6a student's account or profile on a social networking website.
7    (b) Nothing in this Section limits a post-secondary
8school's right to do the following:
9        (1) promulgate and maintain lawful school policies
10    governing the use of the post-secondary school's
11    electronic equipment, including policies regarding
12    Internet use, social networking website use, and
13    electronic mail use; and
14        (2) monitor usage of the post-secondary school's
15    electronic equipment and the post-secondary school's
16    electronic mail without requesting or requiring a student
17    to provide a password or other related account information
18    in order to gain access to the student's account or profile
19    on a social networking website.
20    (c) Nothing in this Section prohibits a post-secondary
21school from obtaining information about a student that is in
22the public domain or that is otherwise obtained in compliance
23with this Act.
24    (d) This Section does not apply when a post-secondary
25school has reasonable cause to believe that a student's account
26on a social networking website contains evidence that the

 

 

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1student has violated a school disciplinary rule or policy.
 
2    Section 15. Notification. An elementary or secondary
3school must provide notification to the student and his or her
4parent or guardian that the elementary or secondary school may
5request or require a student to provide a password or other
6related account information in order to gain access to the
7student's account or profile on a social networking website if
8the elementary or secondary school has reasonable cause to
9believe that the student's account on a social networking
10website contains evidence that the student has violated a
11school disciplinary rule or policy. The notification must be
12published in the elementary or secondary school's disciplinary
13rules, policies, or handbook or communicated by similar means.
 
14    Section 20. Penalty. A post-secondary school or an agent
15of a post-secondary school who violates this Act is guilty of a
16petty offense.