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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 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 
526-1 as follows:



6 (105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)



7 Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age-Exemptions. Whoever has 
8custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and 
917
years (unless the child has already graduated from high 
10school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or 
11(ii) between the ages
of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17 
12years (unless the child has already graduated from high school) 
13beginning with the 2014-2015 school year
shall cause such child 
14to attend some public school in the district
wherein the child 
15resides the entire time it is in session during the
regular 
16school term, except as provided in Section 10-19.1, and during 
17a
required summer school program established under Section 
1810-22.33B; provided,
that
the following children shall not be 
19required to attend the public schools:

20  1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school 
21 where children
are taught the branches of education taught 
22 to children of corresponding
age and grade in the public 
23 schools, and where the instruction of the child
in the 
 
 
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1 branches of education is in the English language;

2  2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to 
3 attend school, such
disability being certified to the 
4 county or district truant officer by a
competent physician 
5 licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in 
6 all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under 
7 the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced 
8 practice nurse, a licensed physician assistant, or a 
9 Christian Science practitioner residing in this
State and 
10 listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is excused 
11 for
temporary absence for cause by
the principal or teacher 
12 of the school which the child attends; the exemptions
in 
13 this paragraph (2) do not apply to any female who is 
14 pregnant or the
mother of one or more children, except 
15 where a female is unable to attend
school due to a 
16 complication arising from her pregnancy and the existence

17 of such complication is certified to the county or district 
18 truant officer
by a competent physician;

19  3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed 
20 according to the
provisions of the law regulating child 
21 labor may be excused from attendance
at school by the 
22 county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of

23 the public school which the child should be attending, on 
24 certification of
the facts by and the recommendation of the 
25 school board of the public
school district in which the 
26 child resides. In districts having part time
continuation 
 
 
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1 schools, children so excused shall attend such schools at

2 least 8 hours each week;

3  4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in 
4 attendance at
confirmation classes;

5  5. Any child absent from a public school on a 
6 particular day or days
or at a particular time of day for 
7 the reason that he is unable to attend
classes or to 
8 participate in any examination, study or work requirements 
9 on
a particular day or days or at a particular time of day, 
10 because the tenets
of his religion forbid secular activity 
11 on a particular day or days or at a
particular time of day. 
12 Each school board shall prescribe rules and
regulations 
13 relative to absences for religious holidays including, but 
14 not
limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it 
15 shall be mandatory to
excuse a child; but nothing in this 
16 paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit
the right of any 
17 school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on

18 any other day by reason of the observance of a religious 
19 holiday. A school
board may require the parent or guardian 
20 of a child who is to be excused
from attending school due 
21 to the observance of a religious holiday to give
notice, 
22 not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school

23 principal or other school personnel. Any child excused from 
24 attending
school under this paragraph 5 shall not be 
25 required to submit a written
excuse for such absence after 
26 returning to school;
 
 
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1  6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits 
2 to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful 
3 employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and (ii) 
4 is enrolled in a graduation incentives program pursuant to 
5 Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning 
6 opportunities program established pursuant to Article 13B 
7 of this Code; and

8  7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a 
9 public school on a particular day or days or at a 
10 particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps" 
11 at a military honors funeral held in this State for a 
12 deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this 
13 paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's 
14 administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the 
15 absence and shall provide the school's administration with 
16 the date, time, and location of the military
honors 
17 funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day 
18 notification requirement if the student did not receive at 
19 least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify 
20 the school's administration as soon as possible of the 
21 absence. A student whose absence is excused under this 
22 paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended 
23 school for purposes of calculating the average daily 
24 attendance of students in the school district. A student 
25 whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be 
26 allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed 
 
 
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1 during the absence. If the student satisfactorily 
2 completes the school work, the day of absence shall be 
3 counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may 
4 not be penalized for that absence; and .
5  8. Any child absent from a public school on a 
6 particular day or days or at a particular time of day for 
7 the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an 
8 active duty member of the uniformed services and has been 
9 called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately 
10 returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat-support 
11 postings. Such a student shall be granted 5 days of excused 
12 absences in any school year and, at the discretion of the 
13 school board, additional excused absences to visit the 
14 student's parent or legal guardian relative to such leave 
15 or deployment of the parent or legal guardian. In the case 
16 of excused absences pursuant to this paragraph 8, the 
17 student and parent or legal guardian shall be responsible 
18 for obtaining assignments from the student's teacher prior 
19 to any period of excused absence and for ensuring that such 
20 assignments are completed by the student prior to his or 
21 her return to school from such period of excused absence. 
22(Source: P.A. 98-544, eff. 7-1-14; 99-173, eff. 7-29-15; 
2399-804, eff. 1-1-17.)



24 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
25becoming law.