Bill Text: IL SB1579 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Courses of Study Article of the School Code. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of pre-Columbian Native American societies and the contemporary life of Native American societies. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the history of Native Americans during and after the American Revolution, including studying their relationships with settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the contributions of Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the geography and culture of West African societies, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and manners in which cultural traditions persevered despite societal oppression. Requires schools to have guidance counselors available during this instruction. Sets forth requirements for these units of instruction regarding instructional material, instructional time, and compliance. Provides that a school may provide these units of instruction through an online program or course.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-07 - Added as Co-Sponsor Sen. Rachel Ventura [SB1579 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1579-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB1579 Introduced 2/8/2023, by Sen. Adriane Johnson SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/27-20.05 new
105 ILCS 5/27-20.4a new
Amends the Courses of Study Article of the School Code. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of pre-Columbian Native American societies and the contemporary life of Native American societies. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the history of Native Americans during and after the American Revolution, including studying their relationships with settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the contributions of Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the geography and culture of West African societies, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and manners in which cultural traditions persevered despite societal oppression. Requires schools to have guidance counselors available during this instruction. Sets forth requirements for these units of instruction regarding instructional material, instructional time, and compliance. Provides that a school may provide these units of instruction through an online program or course.
LRB103 26901 RJT 53265 b
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
SB1579 LRB103 26901 RJT 53265 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Sections
27-20.05 and 27-20.4a as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/27-20.05 new)
Sec. 27-20.05. Study of Native Americans.
(a) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public
elementary school and high school shall include in its
curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of
pre-Columbian Native American societies, including, but not
limited to, the Pueblo, Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian, and
Clovis cultures. This instruction shall further be
supplemented by education concerning the contemporary life of
Native American societies, including, but not limited to, the
Navajo, Cherokee, Lakota-Sioux, Tlingit, and Yupik, and the
cultural traditions and customs of Native American societies,
such as their beliefs, traditions, geography, and language.
The studying of this material shall constitute an affirmation
by students to understand the foundations of the land in which
they live and to restore history previously lost.
(b) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every public
elementary school and high school shall include in its

SB1579 - 2 - LRB103 26901 RJT 53265 b
curriculum a unit of instruction studying the history of
Native Americans during and after the American Revolution,
including studying their relationships with settlers in the
18th and 19th centuries, as well as the contributions of
Native Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and
political development of the United States. These
contributions shall include those made to advance civil rights
both in the Midwest and across the United States in the 19th
and 20th centuries. The study of this material shall
constitute an affirmation by students of their commitment to
respect the dignity of all races and peoples and to forever
eschew every form of discrimination in their lives and
careers.
(c) The State Board of Education shall develop a
curriculum under this Section that is historically accurate
through collaboration with federally recognized Native
American tribes in which any individual who is a verified
member of one of those tribes may collaborate with the State
Board in the development of the curriculum.
(d) The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and
make available to all school boards instructional materials,
including those established by the Public Broadcasting
Service, that may be used as guidelines for development of the
units 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

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satisfying the requirements of this Section.
(e) 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.
(f) A school may meet the requirements of this Section
through an online program or course.
(105 ILCS 5/27-20.4a new)
Sec. 27-20.4a. West African history study.
(a) In addition to the unit of instruction under Section
27-20.4, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, every
public elementary school and high school shall include in its
curriculum a unit of instruction studying the geography and
culture of West African societies, including, but not limited
to, the Igbo, Yoruba, Mende, Wolof, and Hausa. This
instruction shall further be supplemented by education
concerning the trans-Atlantic slave trade and manners in which
cultural traditions persevered despite societal oppression.
(b) The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and
make available to all school boards instructional materials,
including those established by the Public Broadcasting
Service, 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

SB1579 - 4 - LRB103 26901 RJT 53265 b
satisfying the requirements of this Section.
(c) In order to assist students in coping with the trauma
of generational separation and enslavement, all schools must
have guidance counselors available during the instruction
under this Section.
(d) 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.
(e) A school may meet the requirements of this Section
through an online program or course.