Bill Text: IL HB5501 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. Provides that any child who is (i) 17 years of age or older or (ii) projected to graduate from a high school at the completion of the current school year shall be excused from attendance for no more than one-half of each school day in order to participate in an unpaid apprenticeship program. Provides that the student shall be excused from any mandatory school events during the school day.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB5501 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5501-Introduced.html

---

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5501 Introduced , by Rep. Kevin John Olickal SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/26-1 from Ch. 122, par. 26-1
Amends the Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. Provides that any child who is (i) 17 years of age or older or (ii) projected to graduate from a high school at the completion of the current school year shall be excused from attendance for no more than one-half of each school day in order to participate in an unpaid apprenticeship program. Provides that the student shall be excused from any mandatory school events during the school day.
LRB103 38007 RJT 68139 b
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
HB5501 LRB103 38007 RJT 68139 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

HB5501 - 2 - LRB103 38007 RJT 68139 b
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 shall be given the opportunity to
make up any school work missed during the mental or
behavioral health absence and, after the second mental
health day used, may be referred to the appropriate school
support personnel; 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

HB5501 - 3 - LRB103 38007 RJT 68139 b
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;
3.5. Any child who is (i) 17 years of age or older or
(ii) projected to graduate from a high school at the
completion of the current school year shall be excused
from attendance for no more than one-half of each school
day in order to participate in an unpaid apprenticeship
program. The student shall be excused from any mandatory
school events during the school day;
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,

HB5501 - 4 - LRB103 38007 RJT 68139 b
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
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"

HB5501 - 5 - LRB103 38007 RJT 68139 b
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

HB5501 - 6 - LRB103 38007 RJT 68139 b