Bill Text: IL SB1628 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. In provisions regarding the compulsory school age, provides that a child whose absence is excused for up to 5 days for a mental or behavioral health reason shall be designated as taking a mental health day, which shall be equivalent to a day of compulsory attendance for purposes of reporting and calculating the child's absenteeism rate for the school year. In provisions concerning chronic absenteeism reporting and support, provides that the definition of "student" does not mean a student who is not present at school for up to 5 days for mental or behavioral health reasons.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB1628 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1628-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB1628 Introduced 2/8/2023, by Sen. Robert F. Martwick SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1
105 ILCS 5/26-18
Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. In provisions regarding the compulsory school age, provides that a child whose absence is excused for up to 5 days for a mental or behavioral health reason shall be designated as taking a mental health day, which shall be equivalent to a day of compulsory attendance for purposes of reporting and calculating the child's absenteeism rate for the school year. In provisions concerning chronic absenteeism reporting and support, provides that the definition of "student" does not mean a student who is not present at school for up to 5 days for mental or behavioral health reasons.
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A BILL FOR
SB1628 LRB103 27033 RJT 53401 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 changing Sections
26-1 and 26-18 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions. Whoever has
custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and
17 years (unless the child has already graduated from high
school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or
(ii) between the ages of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17
years (unless the child has already graduated from high
school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year shall cause
such child to attend some public school in the district
wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session
during the regular school term, except as provided in Section
10-19.1, and during a required summer school program
established under Section 10-22.33B; provided, that the
following children shall not be required to attend the public
schools:
1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school
where children are taught the branches of education taught
to children of corresponding age and grade in the public

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schools, and where the instruction of the child in the
branches of education is in the English language;
2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to
attend school, such disability being certified to the
county or district truant officer by a competent physician
licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in
all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under
the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced
practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant,
or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State
and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is
excused for temporary absence for cause by the principal
or teacher of the school which the child attends, with
absence for cause by illness being required to include the
mental or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days
for which the child need not provide a medical note, in
which case the child (i) shall be given the opportunity to
make up any school work missed during the mental or
behavioral health absence, (ii) and, after the second
mental health day used, may be referred to the appropriate
school support personnel, and (iii) shall be designated as
taking a mental health day, which shall be equivalent to a
day of compulsory attendance for purposes of reporting and
calculating the child's absenteeism rate for the school
year; the exemptions in this paragraph 2 (2) do not apply
to any female who is pregnant or the mother of one or more

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children, except where a female is unable to attend school
due to a complication arising from her pregnancy and the
existence of such complication is certified to the county
or district truant officer by a competent physician;
3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed
according to the provisions of the law regulating child
labor may be excused from attendance at school by the
county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
the public school which the child should be attending, on
certification of the facts by and the recommendation of
the school board of the public school district in which
the child resides. In districts having part-time
continuation schools, children so excused shall attend
such schools at least 8 hours each week;
4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in
attendance at confirmation classes;
5. Any child absent from a public school on a
particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to
participate in any examination, study, or work
requirements on a particular day or days or at a
particular time of day because of religious reasons,
including the observance of a religious holiday or
participation in religious instruction, or because the
tenets of his religion forbid secular activity on a
particular day or days or at a particular time of day. A

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school board may require the parent or guardian of a child
who is to be excused from attending school because of
religious reasons to give notice, not exceeding 5 days, of
the child's absence to the school principal or other
school personnel. Any child excused from attending school
under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a
written excuse for such absence after returning to school.
A district superintendent shall develop and distribute to
schools appropriate procedures regarding a student's
absence for religious reasons, how schools are notified of
a student's impending absence for religious reasons, and
the requirements of Section 26-2b of this Code;
6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits
to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful
employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and
(ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program
pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative
learning opportunities program established pursuant to
Article 13B of this Code;
7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a
public school on a particular day or days or at a
particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps"
at a military honors funeral held in this State for a
deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this
paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's
administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the

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absence and shall provide the school's administration with
the date, time, and location of the military honors
funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day
notification requirement if the student did not receive at
least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify
the school's administration as soon as possible of the
absence. A student whose absence is excused under this
paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended
school for purposes of calculating the average daily
attendance of students in the school district. A student
whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be
allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed
during the absence. If the student satisfactorily
completes the school work, the day of absence shall be
counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may
not be penalized for that absence; and
8. Any child absent from a public school on a
particular day or days or at a particular time of day for
the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an
active duty member of the uniformed services and has been
called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately
returned from deployment to a combat zone or
combat-support postings. Such a student shall be granted 5
days of excused absences in any school year and, at the
discretion of the school board, additional excused
absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian

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relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or
legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant
to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal
guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments
from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused
absence and for ensuring that such assignments are
completed by the student prior to his or her return to
school from such period of excused absence.
Any child from a public middle school or high school,
subject to guidelines established by the State Board of
Education, shall be permitted by a school board one school
day-long excused absence per school year for the child who is
absent from school to engage in a civic event. The school board
may require that the student provide reasonable advance notice
of the intended absence to the appropriate school
administrator and require that the student provide
documentation of participation in a civic event to the
appropriate school administrator.
(Source: P.A. 102-266, eff. 1-1-22; 102-321, eff. 1-1-22;
102-406, eff. 8-19-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-981, eff.
1-1-23.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-18)
Sec. 26-18. Chronic absenteeism report and support.
(a) As used in this Section:
"Chronic absence" means absences that total 10% or more of

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school days of the most recent academic school year, including
absences with and without valid cause, as defined in Section
26-2a of this Code, and out-of-school suspensions for an
enrolled student.
"Student" means any enrolled student that is subject to
compulsory attendance under Section 26-1 of this Code but does
not mean a student for whom a documented homebound or hospital
record is on file during the student's absence from school or a
student who is not present at school for up to 5 days for
mental or behavioral health reasons pursuant to paragraph 2 of
Section 26-1 of this Code.
(b) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) The early years are a critical period in
children's learning and development. Every child should be
counted present every day. Every day of school matters.
(2) Being absent too many days from school can make it
difficult for students to stay on-track academically and
maintain the momentum to graduate from high school in
order to be college- or career-ready.
(3) Every day of school attendance matters for all
students and their families. It is crucial, therefore,
that the implications of chronic absence be understood and
reviewed regularly.
(c) Beginning July 1, 2018, every school district, charter
school, or alternative school or any school receiving public
funds shall collect and review its chronic absence data and

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determine what systems of support and resources are needed to
engage chronically absent students and their families to
encourage the habit of daily attendance and promote success.
The review shall include an analysis of chronic absence data
from each attendance center or campus of the school district,
charter school, or alternative school or other school
receiving public funds.
(d) School districts, charter schools, or alternative
schools or any school receiving public funds are encouraged to
provide a system of support to students who are at risk of
reaching or exceeding chronic absence levels with strategies
such as those available through the Illinois Multi-tiered
Systems of Support Network. Schools additionally are
encouraged to make resources available to families such as
those available through the State Board of Education's Family
Engagement Framework to support and engage students and their
families to encourage heightened school engagement and
improved daily school attendance.
(Source: P.A. 100-156, eff. 1-1-18.)