Bill Text: IL HB3037 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Right to Play Act. Provides that a student who is a member of a school athletic activity may participate in a nonschool athletic activity that is of the same sport as the school athletic activity during the season in which the student participates in the school athletic activity without losing eligibility to participate in the school athletic activity, provided that the student may not participate in both the nonschool athletic activity and a school athletic practice or competition for the same sport on the same day.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-26 - Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Kevin Schmidt [HB3037 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB3037-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB3037 Introduced , by Rep. Janet Yang Rohr SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
105 ILCS 5/27A-5
Creates the Right to Play Act. Provides that a student who is a member of a school athletic activity may participate in a nonschool athletic activity that is of the same sport as the school athletic activity during the season in which the student participates in the school athletic activity without losing eligibility to participate in the school athletic activity, provided that the student may not participate in both the nonschool athletic activity and a school athletic practice or competition for the same sport on the same day.
LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
A BILL FOR
HB3037 LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Right
to Play Act.
Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Nonschool athletic activity" means an organized athletic
activity that is not sponsored by or associated with a school
and in which participants are:
(1) engaged in an athletic game or competition against
another team, club, or entity; or
(2) in practice or preparation for an athletic game or
competition against another team, club, or entity.
"Participate" means to:
(1) try out for an athletic activity;
(2) practice for an athletic activity;
(3) be a member of an athletic activity; or
(4) play for an athletic activity.
"School" means:
(1) a public school, charter school, or school
district; or
(2) a nonpublic school.
"School athletic activity" means an organized athletic

HB3037 - 2 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
activity that is sponsored by or associated with a school and
in which participants are:
(1) engaged in an athletic game or competition against
another team, club, or entity; or
(2) in practice or preparation for an athletic game or
competition against another team, club, or activity.
"Season" means the official period of time during which a
school athletic activity is played, including a playoff game.
Section 10. Right to play. A student who is a member of a
school athletic activity may participate in a nonschool
athletic activity that is of the same sport as the school
athletic activity during the season in which the student
participates in the school athletic activity without losing
eligibility to participate in the school athletic activity.
However, the student may not participate in both the nonschool
athletic activity and a school athletic practice or
competition for the same sport on the same day.
Section 90. The School Code is amended by changing Section
27A-5 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 102-466)
Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,

HB3037 - 3 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
(b) A charter school may be established under this Article
by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
new applications to establish a charter school in a city
having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
before April 16, 2003.
(b-5) (Blank).
(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
or other governing body must include at least one parent or
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
(c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter

HB3037 - 4 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
school's board of directors or other governing body shall
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
responsibilities, including financial oversight and
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
professional development training in these same areas. The
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
a statewide charter school membership association or may be
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
the State Board.
(d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
requirement" does not include any course of study or
specialized instructional requirement for which the State
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is

HB3037 - 5 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
requires the charter school to follow the list of all
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
requirements in a charter school contract that are not
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
authorizing local school board.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
instructional materials, and student activities.
(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but

HB3037 - 6 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
require quarterly financial statements from each charter
school.
(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
governing public schools and local school board policies;
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer

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and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
for employment;
(2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 22-100, 24-24, 34-19,
and 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
(3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
Tort Immunity Act;
(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
(5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
(5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
(6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
(7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
report cards;
(8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
(9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
prevention;
(10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
discipline reporting;
(11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
(12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
(13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
(14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
(15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
(16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;

HB3037 - 8 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
(17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
(18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
(19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
(20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
(21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
(22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
(23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
(25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
(26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
(27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
10-20.56 of this Code;
(28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
(29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
(30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
(31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code;
(32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
(33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
(34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
(35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code;
(36) the Illinois Human Rights Act; and
(37) Section 2-3.204 of this Code ; and .
(38) the Right to Play Act.
The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
(g) is declaratory of existing law.
(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
school district, the governing body of a State college or

HB3037 - 9 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
university or public community college, or any other public or
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
school building and grounds or any other real property or
facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a school
district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a local
school board or with the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college shall be provided by
the public entity at cost.
(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
by converting an existing school or attendance center to
charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.

HB3037 - 10 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
or grade level.
(k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
Board, then the charter school is its own local education
agency.
(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-522, eff.
8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676, eff. 12-3-21;
102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23; 102-805, eff.
1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175,
eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24;
103-641, eff. 7-1-24; 103-806, eff. 1-1-25; revised 10-9-24.)
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 102-466)
Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
(b) A charter school may be established under this Article
by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
new applications to establish a charter school in a city
having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation

HB3037 - 11 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
before April 16, 2003.
(b-5) (Blank).
(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
or other governing body must include at least one parent or
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
(c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
school's board of directors or other governing body shall
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
responsibilities, including financial oversight and
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or

HB3037 - 12 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
professional development training in these same areas. The
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
a statewide charter school membership association or may be
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
the State Board.
(d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
requirement" does not include any course of study or
specialized instructional requirement for which the State
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that

HB3037 - 13 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
requires the charter school to follow the list of all
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
requirements in a charter school contract that are not
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
authorizing local school board.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
instructional materials, and student activities.
(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the

HB3037 - 14 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
require quarterly financial statements from each charter
school.
(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
governing public schools and local school board policies;
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
for employment;
(2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 22-100, 24-24, 34-19,
and 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
(3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
Tort Immunity Act;
(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
(5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;

HB3037 - 15 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
(5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
(6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
(7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
report cards;
(8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
(9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
prevention;
(10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
discipline reporting;
(11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code;
(12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
(13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
(14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
(15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
(16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
(17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
(18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
(19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
(20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
(21) Section 27-9.1a of this Code;
(22) Section 27-9.1b of this Code;
(23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
(24) Article 26A of this Code;
(25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
(26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;

HB3037 - 16 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
(27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
10-20.56 of this Code;
(28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
(29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
(30) Section 28-19.2 of this Code;
(31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code;
(32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
(33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
(34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
(35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code;
(36) the Illinois Human Rights Act; and
(37) Section 2-3.204 of this Code; and .
(38) the Right to Play Act.
The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
(g) is declaratory of existing law.
(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
school district, the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college, or any other public or
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
school building and grounds or any other real property or
facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school

HB3037 - 17 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a school
district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
services for which a charter school contracts with a local
school board or with the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college shall be provided by
the public entity at cost.
(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
by converting an existing school or attendance center to
charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
or grade level.
(k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
Board, then the charter school is its own local education
agency.
(Source: P.A. 102-51, eff. 7-9-21; 102-157, eff. 7-1-22;
102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-445, eff. 8-20-21; 102-466, eff.
7-1-25; 102-522, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-676,
eff. 12-3-21; 102-697, eff. 4-5-22; 102-702, eff. 7-1-23;

HB3037 - 18 - LRB104 12006 LNS 22101 b
102-805, eff. 1-1-23; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-154, eff.
6-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23; 103-472, eff. 8-1-24; 103-605,
eff. 7-1-24; 103-641, eff. 7-1-24; 103-806, eff. 1-1-25;
revised 11-26-24.)
Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes
changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text
that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section
represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does
not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes
made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other
Public Act.