Public Act 100-0185

HB3507 Enrolled LRB100 05510 MLM 15521 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 Section

26-1 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

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 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; the exemptions in

this paragraph (2) do not apply to any female who is

pregnant or the mother of one or more 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 the tenets of his religion forbid secular activity

on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day.

Each school board shall prescribe rules and regulations

relative to absences for religious holidays including, but

not limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it

shall be mandatory to excuse a child; but nothing in this

paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit the right of any

school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on

any other day by reason of the observance of a religious

holiday. A school board may require the parent or guardian

of a child who is to be excused from attending school due

to the observance of a religious holiday 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;

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; and

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

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 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.

(Source: P.A. 98-544, eff. 7-1-14; 99-173, eff. 7-29-15;

99-804, eff. 1-1-17.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

becoming law.