104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB2381
 
Introduced , by Rep. Laura Faver Dias
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/10-16a
    Amends the School Boards Article of the School Code. Includes LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the topics covered in the required 4-hour training for every voting member of a school board of a school district. Lists information that must be included in the LGBTQ+ inclusivity training. Requires the State Board of Education to develop a training program in collaboration with individuals or organizations that affirm LGBTQ+ people and have recognized expertise in supporting LGBTQ+ young people or adopt a training program previously developed by such individuals or organizations.


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STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY

 
 
A BILL FOR
 
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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. Findings and purpose.
5    (a) The General Assembly finds that:
6        (1) research confirms that there are negative effects 
7 associated with a lack of a healthy and inclusive learning 
8 environment;
9        (2) the Trevor Project's National Survey on LGBTQ+ 
10 Youth Mental Health in 2019 showed that LGBTQ+ youth who 
11 reported having at least one accepting adult in their 
12 lives were 40% less likely to report a suicide attempt in 
13 the past year;
14        (3) by giving school board members the necessary tools 
15 and insight on understanding their LGBTQ+ students better, 
16 policies can be implemented by the school board that 
17 protect those students and make them more comfortable in 
18 school; and
19        (4) it is of the utmost importance that students feel 
20 comfortable and safe and are protected in their learning 
21 environment, which sets students up for success.
22    (b) It is the purpose of this Act to create an 
23understanding of the challenges LGBTQ+ individuals face and to 
24clarify language and terminology. This recognition of the 
 
 
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1issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community in schools would aid 
2school board members with addressing those issues and 
3bettering students as the school board members would be more 
4aware of the challenges faced by different groups in their 
5community.

6    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 
710-16a as follows:

8    (105 ILCS 5/10-16a)
9    (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 103-771)
10    Sec. 10-16a. School board member's leadership training.
11    (a) This Section applies to all school board members 
12serving pursuant to Section 10-10 of this Code who have been 
13elected after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 
1497th General Assembly or appointed to fill a vacancy of at 
15least one year's duration after the effective date of this 
16amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly.
17    (a-5) In this Section, "trauma" has the meaning ascribed 
18to that term in subsection (b) of Section 3-11 of this Code. 
19    (b) Every voting member of a school board of a school 
20district elected or appointed for a term beginning after the 
21effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General 
22Assembly, within a year after the effective date of this 
23amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly or the first year 
24of his or her first term, shall complete a minimum of 4 hours 
 
 
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1of professional development leadership training covering 
2topics in education and labor law, financial oversight and 
3accountability, fiduciary responsibilities of a school board 
4member, and, beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, 
5trauma-informed practices for students and staff. The school 
6district shall maintain on its Internet website, if any, the 
7names of all voting members of the school board who have 
8successfully completed the training.
9    (b-5) The training regarding trauma-informed practices for 
10students and staff required by this Section must include 
11information that is relevant to and within the scope of the 
12duties of a school board member. Such information may include, 
13but is not limited to:
14        (1) the recognition of and care for trauma in students 
15 and staff;
16        (2) the relationship between staff wellness and 
17 student learning;
18        (3) the effect of trauma on student behavior and 
19 learning;
20        (4) the prevalence of trauma among students, including 
21 the prevalence of trauma among student populations at 
22 higher risk of experiencing trauma;
23        (5) the effects of implicit or explicit bias on 
24 recognizing trauma among various student groups in 
25 connection with race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual 
26 orientation, socio-economic status, and other relevant 
 
 
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1 factors; and
2        (6) effective district and school practices that are 
3 shown to:
4            (A) prevent and mitigate the negative effect of 
5 trauma on student behavior and learning; and
6            (B) support the emotional wellness of staff. 
7    (c) The training on financial oversight, accountability, 
8fiduciary responsibilities, and, beginning with the 2023-24 
9school year, trauma-informed practices for students and staff 
10may be provided by an association established under this Code 
11for the purpose of training school board members or by other 
12qualified providers approved by the State Board of Education, 
13in consultation with an association so established.
14    (d) The State Board of Education may adopt rules that are 
15necessary for the administration of the provisions of this 
16Section. 
17(Source: P.A. 102-638, eff. 1-1-23; 103-413, eff. 1-1-24.)

18    (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-771)
19    Sec. 10-16a. School board member's training.
20    (a) This Section applies to all school board members 
21serving pursuant to Section 10-10 of this Code.
22    (a-5) In this Section, "trauma" has the meaning ascribed 
23to that term in subsection (b) of Section 3-11 of this Code. 
24    (b) Every voting member of a school board of a school 
25district, within the first year of his or her first term, shall 
 
 
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1complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development and 
2leadership training covering topics in education and labor 
3law, financial oversight and accountability, fiduciary 
4responsibilities of a school board member, trauma-informed 
5practices for students and staff, and, improving student 
6outcomes, and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The school district shall 
7maintain on its Internet website, if any, the names of all 
8voting members of the school board who have successfully 
9completed the training.
10    (b-5) The training regarding trauma-informed practices for 
11students and staff required by this Section must include 
12information that is relevant to and within the scope of the 
13duties of a school board member. Such information may include, 
14but is not limited to:
15        (1) the recognition of and care for trauma in students 
16 and staff;
17        (2) the relationship between staff wellness and 
18 student learning;
19        (3) the effect of trauma on student behavior and 
20 learning;
21        (4) the prevalence of trauma among students, including 
22 the prevalence of trauma among student populations at 
23 higher risk of experiencing trauma;
24        (5) the effects of implicit or explicit bias on 
25 recognizing trauma among various student groups in 
26 connection with race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual 
 
 
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1 orientation, socio-economic status, and other relevant 
2 factors; and
3        (6) effective district and school practices that are 
4 shown to:
5            (A) prevent and mitigate the negative effect of 
6 trauma on student behavior and learning; and
7            (B) support the emotional wellness of staff. 
8    (b-10) The training regarding improving student outcomes 
9required by this Section must include information that is 
10relevant to and within the scope of the duties of a school 
11board member. 
12    (b-15) The training regarding LGBTQ+ inclusivity required 
13by this Section must include information that is relevant to 
14and within the scope of the duties of a school board member. 
15Such information shall include, but not be limited to:
16        (1) understanding the difference between sex, gender, 
17 gender identity, and sexual orientation;
18        (2) understanding sexual orientation and gender 
19 identity development in children and adolescents;
20        (3) understanding the rights of LGBTQ+ students and of 
21 Illinois policies related to creating an affirming school 
22 environment, including, but not limited to, State laws 
23 such as the Illinois Human Rights Act, administrative 
24 rules, and any relevant guidance approved by the State 
25 Board of Education;
26        (4) knowledge of diverse family structures;
 
 
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1        (5) nondiscriminatory education on the basis of 
2 gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual 
3 orientation;
4        (6) understanding the struggles and lived experiences 
5 of LGBTQ+ youth in schools;
6        (7) the contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals in the 
7 fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, 
8 history, social sciences, arts, and humanities; and
9        (8) the effects and risks of outing a student's gender 
10 identity or sexual orientation.    
11    (c) The training on financial oversight, accountability, 
12fiduciary responsibilities, trauma-informed practices for 
13students and staff, and improving student outcomes, and LGBTQ+ 
14inclusivity shall be provided by a statewide association 
15established under this Code for the purpose of training school 
16board members or by other qualified providers approved by the 
17State Board of Education, in consultation with an association 
18so established.
19    For the training regarding LGBTQ+ inclusivity, the State 
20Board of Education shall either develop a training program in 
21collaboration with individuals or organizations that affirm 
22LGBTQ+ people and have recognized expertise in supporting 
23LGBTQ+ young people or adopt a training program previously 
24developed by such individuals or organizations. Thereafter, 
25the State Board of Education shall periodically review and 
26update, as necessary, the training regarding LGBTQ+ 
 
 
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1inclusivity, in collaboration with individuals or 
2organizations that affirm LGBTQ+ people and have recognized 
3expertise in supporting LGBTQ+ young people.    
4    (d) The State Board of Education may adopt rules that are 
5necessary for the administration of the provisions of this 
6Section. 
7(Source: P.A. 102-638, eff. 1-1-23; 103-413, eff. 1-1-24; 
8103-771, eff. 6-1-25; revised 10-21-24.)

9    Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes 
10changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text 
11that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section 
12represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does 
13not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes 
14made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other 
15Public Act.