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Illinois Compiled Statutes

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

SCHOOLS
(105 ILCS 5/) School Code.

105 ILCS 5/27-18

    (105 ILCS 5/27-18) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-18)
    Sec. 27-18. Arbor and bird day. The last Friday in April is designated as "Arbor and Bird Day," to be observed throughout the State as a day for planting trees, shrubs and vines about public grounds, and as a day on which to hold appropriate exercises in the public schools and elsewhere tending to show the value of trees and birds and the necessity for their protection.
(Source: P.A. 92-85, eff. 7-12-01.)

105 ILCS 5/27-19

    (105 ILCS 5/27-19) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-19)
    Sec. 27-19. Leif Erickson day.
    October 9, if a school day, otherwise the school day nearest such date, is designated as Leif Erikson Day. On such day one-half hour may be devoted in the schools to instruction and appropriate exercises relative to and in commemoration of the life and history of Leif Erickson and the principles and ideals he fostered.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)

105 ILCS 5/27-20

    (105 ILCS 5/27-20) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-20)
    Sec. 27-20. American Indian day.
    The fourth Friday of September is designated "American Indian Day," to be observed throughout the State as a day on which to hold appropriate exercises in commemoration of the American Indians.
(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)

105 ILCS 5/27-20.05

    (105 ILCS 5/27-20.05)
    Sec. 27-20.05. 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 27-20.03 or 27-21 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.)

105 ILCS 5/27-20.08

    (105 ILCS 5/27-20.08)
    Sec. 27-20.08. Media literacy.
    (a) In this Section, "media literacy" means the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and communicate using a variety of objective forms, including, but not limited to, print, visual, audio, interactive, and digital texts.
    (b) Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, every public high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction on media literacy. The unit of instruction shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following topics:
        (1) Accessing information: Evaluating multiple media
    
platforms to better understand the general landscape and economics of the platforms, as well as issues regarding the trustworthiness of the source of information.
        (2) Analyzing and evaluating media messages:
    
Deconstructing media representations according to the authors, target audience, techniques, agenda setting, stereotypes, and authenticity to distinguish fact from opinion.
        (3) Creating media: Conveying a coherent message
    
using multimodal practices to a specific target audience. This may include, but is not limited to, writing blogs, composing songs, designing video games, producing podcasts, making videos, or coding a mobile or software application.
        (4) Reflecting on media consumption: Assessing how
    
media affects the consumption of information and how it triggers emotions and behavior.
        (5) Social responsibility and civics: Suggesting a
    
plan of action in the class, school, or community to engage others in a respectful, thoughtful, and inclusive dialogue over a specific issue using facts and reason.
    (c) The State Board of Education shall determine how to prepare and make available instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for educators that may be used for the development of a unit of instruction under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-55, eff. 7-9-21.)

105 ILCS 5/27-20.1

    (105 ILCS 5/27-20.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-20.1)
    Sec. 27-20.1. Illinois Law Week. The first full school week in May is designated "Illinois Law Week". During that week, the public schools may devote appropriate time, instruction, study, and exercises in the procedures of the legislature and the enactment of laws, the courts and the administration of justice, the police and the enforcement of law, citizen responsibilities, and other principles and ideals to promote the importance of government under law in the State.
(Source: P.A. 92-85, eff. 7-12-01.)

105 ILCS 5/27-20.2

    (105 ILCS 5/27-20.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-20.2)
    Sec. 27-20.2. "Just Say No" Day. May 15, 1987, and in each calendar year thereafter, a school day in May designated by official proclamation of the Governor, shall be known as "Just Say No" Day, to be observed throughout the State as a day on which children and teenagers declare and reaffirm their commitment to living a life free of drugs and alcohol abuse, and as a day on which to hold and participate in appropriate special programs, ceremonies and exercises, in the public schools and elsewhere, tending to encourage children to lead a healthy lifestyle, aware and free of the dangers of using drugs and alcohol abuse.
(Source: P.A. 85-386.)

105 ILCS 5/27-20.3

    (105 ILCS 5/27-20.3) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-20.3)
    Sec. 27-20.3. 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.)