Bill Text: IL HB2521 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Interscholastic Athletic Organization Act. Provides that the Illinois High School Association shall be responsible for licensing all game officials. Provides that each applicant for licensure is required, as a condition of licensure, to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine if such applicant has been convicted of any disqualifying, specified criminal or drug offenses. Provides that the Illinois State Police shall charge applicants a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the records check. Requires the Illinois High School Association to perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database for each applicant once every 5 years that an applicant remains licensed by the Illinois High School Association. Provides that pending full check clearance, a prospective game official must be supervised at all times by an individual who has received full check clearance.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2025-07-01 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB2521 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB2521-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Interscholastic Athletic Organization Act
is amended by adding Section 1.3 as follows:
(105 ILCS 25/1.3 new)
Sec. 1.3. Criminal history records check.
(a) An association or other entity that has, as one of its
purposes, promoting, sponsoring, regulating, or in any manner
providing for interscholastic athletics or any form of
athletic competition among schools and students within this
State shall require applicants for licensure as an official to
authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check
to determine if such applicants have been convicted of any
disqualifying, enumerated criminal or drug offenses in
subsection (c) or have been convicted, within 7 years of the
application for employment with the school district, of any
other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense
committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws
of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this
State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of
this State.
Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the

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applicant to the association or entity, unless the applicant
has previously authorized the check in a prior year's
application through a school district, regional office of
education, or such an association. The association or entity
may require the applicant to furnish authorization for the
check to the regional superintendent of the educational
service region in which the applicant resides. Upon receipt of
this authorization, the appropriate regional superintendent
shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth,
social security number, fingerprint images, and other
identifiers, as prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to
the Illinois State Police.
The regional superintendent submitting the requisite
information to the Illinois State Police shall promptly notify
the association or entity in which the applicant is seeking
licensure as an official that the check of the applicant has
been requested. The Illinois State Police and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a
fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of
convictions, forever and hereafter, until expunged, to the
executive director for the association or entity that
requested the check. The applicant may be charged a fee not to
exceed the cost of the inquiry.
(b) The association executive or the association
executive's designee shall further perform a check of the
Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex

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Offender Community Notification Law, for each applicant. The
check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database must be conducted
by the association once every 5 years that an applicant
remains licensed by the association.
(c) The association executive or the association
executive's designee shall further perform a check of the
Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender
Against Youth Community Notification Law, for each applicant.
The check of the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
Database must be conducted by the association executive or the
association executive's designee once every 5 years that an
applicant remains licensed by the association.
Pending full clearance of all background check
requirements, the prospective official must be supervised at
all times by an individual who received a qualifying result on
all background check components.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2026.