School Law Legislative Update: New Laws in Effect in 2025

Happy New Year! Several Illinois laws related to schools became effective January 1, 2025, and our team at Franczek P.C. has compiled them in its new School Law Legislative Update, focused on new laws in effect in 2025. A PDF version of the “School Law Legislative Update: New Laws in Effect in 2025” is available here. The summary is also available below.

For a refresher on other new laws that went into effect for the 2024-2025 school year, please see our past alerts and webinars on various school law updates, including:

• Cook County Township Trustees
• Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave

ADMINISTRATIVE

This Public Act amends the Interscholastic Athletic Organization Act. The Act requires any association or entity that promotes, regulates, or provides for interscholastic athletics or interscholastic athletic competition to adopt the Spirit Rules Book published by the National Federation of State High School Associations or a similar document. This document will serve as the safety standards for student cheerleaders, spirit groups, and their coaches who participate in any school or extracurricular student activity.

This Public Act requires amends the public schools carbon-free assessment programs section of the Public Utilities Act. With respect to each Public Schools Carbon-Free Assessment, the utility is required to create a non-confidential report form that includes recommendations based on the Assessment and that redacts all confidential information. The Public Act amends this section to define “confidential information” to include information or facts exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. It also explicitly states that “confidential information” does not include program offerings, solar opportunities, health and safety certifications, energy efficiency recommendations, information about transportation, and/or other funding offerings. The Public Act also provides that the utility must provide the non-confidential form to the applicable public school.

This Public Act provides that any support provided by a vendor or learning partner approved to support the continuous improvement plan of a School in Comprehensive or Intensive School Improvement Status related to English language arts must be based on the comprehensive literacy plan developed by ISBE.

This Public Act prohibits school personnel, including charter school personnel and non-public school personnel, from engaging in corporal punishment, inflicting corporal punishment, or causing corporal punishment to be inflicted upon any student. The Act defines “corporal punishment” as “a discipline method in which a person deliberately inflicts pain upon a student in response to the student’s unacceptable behavior or inappropriate language, with an aim to halt an offense, prevent its recurrence, or set an example for others,” and excludes from the definition the use of physical restraint under Sections 10-20.33 and 34-18.20 of the School Code. The Act also requires school boards to include the prohibition of corporal punishment in its discipline policy.

BOARD GOVERNANCE

This Public Act provides that a school board member’s required professional development and leadership training must include, among other topics, improving student outcomes.

CURRICULUM

This Public Act states that school districts may provide students with at least 20 minutes of relaxation activities per week for the purpose of enhancing the mental and physical health of students. Such relaxation activities are in addition to, and should not be a substitute for, recess. The Public Act specifies the activities that may be considered “relaxation activities” and provides that a school district may partner with local community-based organizations to provide relaxation activities. Under the Act, relaxation activities may take place in a physical education class, social-emotional learning class, or student-support or advisory class or as a part of another similar class, including a new class.

This Public Act requires all public schools to provide instruction on climate change, beginning the 2026-2027 school year. The Act enumerates the required contents of climate change instruction, including identification of the environmental and ecological impacts of climate change on individuals and communities, and evaluating solutions for addressing and mitigating the impact of climate change. 

ISBE

This Public Act requires ISBE, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, to compile resources relating to indoor air quality in schools, including best practices for assessing and maintaining ventilation systems and information on any potential funding sources that may assist a school in identifying ventilation needs. It also requires ISBE to compile the resources in coordination with relevant stakeholders and publish the resources on its website, updating the resources as necessary.

This Public Act amends the Education of Homeless Children Act to require ISBE to award competitive grants under the Education of Homeless Children and Youth State Grant Program to applicant school districts based on the percentage of students experiencing homelessness in that school district. It also enumerates activities available for grant assistance, including rental assistance, transportation assistance, emergency shelter, housing stability case management, housing locator services, and other collaborative housing strategies. The Public Act also removes from ISBE’s consideration when awarding grants, the extent to which the funds will facilitate enrollment, retention, and educational success of homeless students, and the extent to which the application reflects coordination with local and state agencies and the requirements of McKinney-Vento. Additionally, it provides that ISBE may use up to 25% (formerly 5%) of appropriated funds for administrative costs.

This Public Act amends the Data Governance and Organization to Support Equity and Racial Justice Act. It requires the Illinois Department of Human Services (“DHS”) to establish rules regarding demographic classifications for each reporting category, including race and ethnicity, age, sex, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and primary or preferred language. The Public Act requires ISBE and DHS to file reports, setting out de-identified statistical data of program participants for each major program administered by each entity by October 31, 2025. The Act also provides that if the program administered by ISBE or DHS serves and collects data regarding individuals younger than 18 years old, the program is exempt from the sexual orientation and gender identity demographic collection requirements.

This Public Act amends the School Code to require ISBE to adopt rules to provide students attending schools that do not offer State Global Scholar Certification the opportunity to earn State Global Scholar Certification remotely beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. The Act requires that the rules include a list of all courses and course codes derived from ISBE’s State Course Catalog and Illinois Virtual Course Catalog that are designated as and qualify as globally focused coursework. In addition, school districts and non-public schools are required to designate on a student’s transcript and diploma that a student has earned State Global Scholar Certification if an online course provider determines the student meets all criteria for such certification. Upon a student’s request, a school district or non-public school is also required to provide evidence that the student completed at least six globally focused courses required to earn State Global Scholar Certification for the student to submit to the provider of the online course.

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

This Public Act updates the Equal Pay Act to prohibit an employer with 15 or more employees from failing to include the pay scale and benefits for a position in any specific job posting. The Act defines “pay scale and benefits” to mean “the wage or salary, or the wage or salary range, and a general description of the benefits and other compensation, including but not limited to, bonuses, stock options, or other incentives the employer reasonably expects in good faith to offer for the position.” Under the Act, employers can rely on factors such as the previous range for the position, the actual range of others holding equivalent positions, or the budgeted amount for the position in making “good faith” determinations of pay scale and benefits. Employers can meet posting requirements by posting relevant and current benefits descriptions in a public location on an employer’s website. According to the Act, employers must either post or make all promotion opportunities known to all current employees no later than 14 calendar days after the employer makes an external job posting for the position, with some exceptions. The posting requirements only apply to jobs that (1) will be performed, at least in part, in Illinois; or (2) will be performed outside of Illinois if the hired employee will report to a supervisor or work site in Illinois.

The Act does not prohibit employers from asking candidates about their wage or salary expectations regarding the job for which they are applying. There are also recordkeeping requirements under the Act. Employers must preserve records that document the pay scale and benefits for each position and the job posting for each position for at least 5 years. Finally, the Act outlines the penalties for failing to comply with the requirements, prohibits retaliation, and addresses how the Illinois Department of Labor will address violations under the Act.

The Public Act amends the Illinois School Code by requiring that all in-service training programs for teachers, administrators, and school personnel include the definitions of trauma, trauma-responsive learning environments, and whole child, as set forth in the School Code. The Act also provides that school district employees who are trained to respond to trauma will be immune from civil liability as it pertains to use of a trauma kit unless the action constitutes willful or wanton misconduct. The Act removes provisions that previously required a school board to conduct in-service training for all school district employees on methods to respond to trauma and removes the in-service training requirement to train teachers, administrators, and school personnel on chronic health conditions of students.

This Public Act requires school districts to distribute to all teachers, administrators and other school personnel as determined by school officials with information regarding emergency procedures and life-saving techniques, such as the Heimlich maneuver, hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of the school’s AED. The Act also requires school districts and private schools to develop and distribute a cardiac emergency response plan in accordance with guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association, along with other nationally-recognized and evidence-based standards addressing incidents involving a sudden cardiac arrest or similar life-threatening emergency while at school or a school-sponsored event. The Act outlines specific requirements that may be included in the plan including, but not limited to, procedures to follow in the event of a cardiac emergency at school, a list of all AEDs present at school and at athletic events, and information on the use of AEDs. The Act also requires the procedures regarding the school district’s or private school’s cardiac emergency response plan to be included in the annual review meeting.

This Public Act amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to prohibit any individual convicted of obscene depiction of a purported child from receiving a school bus driver permit. The Public Act defines the actions constituting “obscene depiction” and the elements of the charge.

This Public Act amends the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act to clarify that the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act does not prohibit (i) the performance of speech-language pathology assistant services by graduates who have obtained specified degrees or (ii) the performance of any speech-language pathology service by a speech-language pathology assistant or candidate for licensure as a speech-language pathology assistant (rather than only a speech-language pathology assistant), if such service is performed under the supervision and full responsibility of a licensed speech-language pathologist. The Act also makes changes concerning the qualifications of speech-language pathology assistants and the curriculum requirements for speech-language pathology assistant programs.

The Cook County Paid Leave Ordinance requires employers in Cook County, including school districts, to annually provide employees a minimum of 40 hours of paid leave “for any reason of the employee’s choosing,” accruing at a rate of at least 1 hour paid leave for every 40 hours worked. The Ordinance applies broadly to nearly all employees in Cook County, including domestic workers, though it excludes certain higher education and federal railroad employees. “Employee” is defined in the Act as an individual who performs compensated work while physically present within the geographic boundaries of Cook County. Such work must constitute at least 50% of the employee’s total compensated work for the employee to receive paid leave benefits under the Ordinance. The Ordinance applies equally to full-time, part-time, seasonal, short-term, and other categories of workers. The Ordinance is subject to the opt-out authority of the local municipality(s) where the employer is located.

SCHOOL BUSINESS

This Public Act creates the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Implementation Act which adds, deletes, and makes changes to various statutory provisions as needed to implement the State budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Among other changes, the Act prohibits the cancellation of service retirement pensions in cases where the pensioner is re-employed as a teacher or administrator on a temporary, non-annual, or hourly basis, as long as the pensioner does not work more than 140 days in any school year during school years between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2027 (previously July 1, 2024), or 120 days in any school year after July 1, 2027 (previously July 1, 2024). The Act also includes State-authorized charter schools in the section allowing reimbursement for transporting resident pupils to another school district’s vocational program. The Act further describes how such reimbursement for transportation costs will be apportioned for State-authorized charter schools. In addition, the Act allows funds in the Fund for Illinois’ Future to be appropriated for grants to public and private schools for costs associated with violence prevention, community development, educational programs, social services, community programs, and operational expenses.

The Act also requires ISBE to collect and annually publish information about whether schools operating school breakfast programs are operating breakfast after the bell programs and, if so, what breakfast after the bell model the school operates. It also requires ISBE to award grants up to $7,000 per school site on a competitive basis for initiating breakfast after the bell programs and enumerates how such grant funding may be used and how ISBE will designate grant award recipients.

This Public Act amends the evidence-based funding provision of the School Code to require that annual spending plans be integrated into annual school district budgets. Additionally, annual spending plans must indicate which stakeholder groups the school district engaged with to inform its annual spending plans. School districts that fail to submit a budget to ISBE will be provided with a separate planning template developed by ISBE. The Public Act also directs ISBE to create an evidence-based funding spending tool to make data for each school district available on ISBE’s website by December 31, 2025.

This Public Act amends the Department of Revenue Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois to create a property tax system study to evaluate the property tax system. The study may also examine whether the existing property tax levy, assessment, appeal, and collection process is reasonable and fair. The study will also review, in part, the current property tax homestead exemptions, preferential assessments or incentives, and the State’s reliance on property taxes. As part of the study, the Department of Revenue is authorized to consult with institutions of higher education and units of local government.

SPECIAL EDUCATION

This Public Act amends the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code. The Act provides that ISBE shall maintain and operate, or contract for the operation, of a permanent statewide residential education facility (instead of statewide service center) known as the Philip J. Rock Center and School for the Deafblind. The Act provides that to be eligible for services at the school, students must be between the ages of 3 and 21, unless a student’s 22^nd birthday occurs during the school year, in which case the student is eligible for such services through the end of the school year. Subject to appropriation, the school may provide additional services to eligible deafblind individuals of all ages. The Act states that priority of services must be given to students referred to the school who qualify as individuals with concomitant hearing and visual impairments or who are eligible for special education services under the category of deafblind.

STUDENT HEALTH & SAFETY

This Public Act amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act by removing the requirement that mandated reports be confirmed in writing to the appropriate Child Protective Service Unit within 48 hours of any initial report. The Act also requires the Department of Children and Family Services (“DCFS”) to expunge records of an overturned finding and requires schools to purge any expunged finding report from a student’s record, in accordance with the Illinois School Student Records Act.

This Public Act amends the residency provisions of the School Code to prohibit charging tuition to a non-resident student who has been removed from their parent or guardian by DCFS as part of the student’s safety plan, if the student’s new residence is located in a school district other than the student’s former school district and DCFS determines it is in the best interests of the student to remain in the former school district.

This Public Act amends the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. The Act repeals a requirement for the Department of Public Health to provide to school districts with educational materials on meningococcal disease and meningococcal vaccines.

This Public Act requires all school district attendance centers to have at least one AED available during the school day and during school-sponsored extracurricular activities on school grounds.