Bill Text: IL SB2968 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Data Governance and Organization to Support Equity and Racial Justice Act. Provides that, when the State Board of Education and specified Departments report demographic data, they shall use the same classifications as the Governor's Office of Equity, or other classifications as designated by the Governor, to develop a common set of racial and ethnic classifications for use by the Board and Department. Provides that the demographic classifications established shall be reviewed and updated as necessary every 5 years. Provides for exemptions from this reporting requirement. Provides that the Governor's Office of Equity shall establish a project implementation team to oversee the implementation of the Act. Provides that the Governor's Office of Equity or other entity as the Governor may designate shall work in conjunction with the Department of Innovation and Technology to identify and provide advice on common technological processes and procedures. Makes other changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-19 - Rule 2-10 Committee Deadline Established As May 3, 2024 [SB2968 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2968-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2968 Introduced 1/31/2024, by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
20 ILCS 65/20-15
Amends the Data Governance and Organization to Support Equity and Racial Justice Act. Provides that, when the State Board of Education and specified Departments report demographic data, they shall use the same classifications as the Governor's Office of Equity, or other classifications as designated by the Governor, to develop a common set of racial and ethnic classifications for use by the Board and Department. Provides that the demographic classifications established shall be reviewed and updated as necessary every 5 years. Provides for exemptions from this reporting requirement. Provides that the Governor's Office of Equity shall establish a project implementation team to oversee the implementation of the Act. Provides that the Governor's Office of Equity or other entity as the Governor may designate shall work in conjunction with the Department of Innovation and Technology to identify and provide advice on common technological processes and procedures. Makes other changes.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Data Governance and Organization to Support
Equity and Racial Justice Act is amended by changing Section
20-15 as follows:
(20 ILCS 65/20-15)
Sec. 20-15. Data governance and organization to support
equity and racial justice.
(a) By September 30 of each year On or before July 1, 2022
and each July 1 thereafter, the Board and the Department shall
issue a report, for the prior State fiscal year, that sets out
statistical data related to on the racial, ethnic, age, sex,
disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
primary or preferred language demographics of program
participants for each major program administered by the Board
or the Department, except as provided in subsection (a-5).
Except as provided in subsection (b), when reporting the data
required under this Section, the Board or the Department shall
use for each program the same racial, and ethnic, age, sex,
disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
primary or preferred language demographic classifications
established by the Governor's Office of Equity, or other

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classifications as designated by the Governor, to develop a
common set or racial and ethnic classifications for use by the
Board and Department. classifications for each program, which
shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) American Indian and Alaska Native alone.
(2) Asian alone.
(3) Black or African American alone.
(4) Hispanic or Latino of any race.
(5) Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone.
(6) White alone.
(7) Middle Eastern or North African.
(8) Some other race alone.
(9) Two or more races.
The demographic classifications established by the
Governor's Office of Equity or other classifications as
designated by the Governor shall be reviewed and shall be
updated, if necessary, every 5 years after the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. The
demographic classifications may be reviewed and updated at
other times as directed by the Governor. The Board and the
Department may further define, by rule, the racial and ethnic
classifications, including, if necessary, a classification of
"No Race Specified".
(a-5) In relation to major program participants, the Board
shall not be required to collect personally identifiable
information and report statistical data on the categories of

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sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity unless required
for federal reporting. The Board shall make available reports
on its Internet website, posted where other mandated reports
are posted, of statistical data on sex, sexual orientation,
and gender identity demographics through anonymous surveys or
other methods as age and developmentally appropriate.
(b) If a program administered by the Board or the
Department is funded in whole or in part by federal funds and
is subject to federal reporting requirements that include the
collection and public reporting of statistical data on the
racial and ethnic, age, sex, disability status, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or primary or preferred language
demographic classifications, then the program is exempt from
the demographic collection requirements demographics of
program participants, the Department may maintain the same
racial and ethnic classifications used under the federal
requirements if such classifications differ from the
classifications listed in subsection (a) only for those
classifications that are federally reportable.
(b-5) If a program administered by the Board or the
Department serves and collects data from individuals younger
than 18 years old, the program is exempt from the sexual
orientation and gender identity demographic collection
requirements described in subsection (a). Nothing in this
Section shall prohibit the Board or Department from collecting
data on sexual orientation or gender identity of persons

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younger than 18 years old if the data is collected
anonymously, is necessary to make determinations on
eligibility for the program, or is required by the program to
provide services.
(b-6) If a program administered by the Board or the
Department serves and collects data from individuals younger
than 18 years old or adults who are receiving services due to
having been victims of domestic violence, are receiving
services from the Department of Children and Family Services,
or are under investigation by the Department of Children and
Family Services, the program is exempt from the sexual
orientation and gender identity demographic collection
requirements described in subsection (a). Nothing in this
Section shall prohibit the Board or Department from collecting
data on sexual orientation or gender of the persons described
in this subsection if the data is collected anonymously, is
necessary to make determinations on eligibility for the
program, or is required by the program to provide services.
(b-7) The Governor's Office of Equity shall establish a
project implementation team to oversee the implementation of
this Act consisting of one representative from each of the
following:
(1) the Governor's Office;
(2) the Department of Innovation and Technology; and
(3) the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.
(c) The Department of Innovation and Technology, in

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conjunction with the Governor's Office of Equity or other
entity as the Governor may designate, shall assist the Board
and the Department by identifying and providing advice on
establishing common technological processes and procedures for
the Board and the Department to:
(1) Catalogue relevant demographic Catalog data and
share described resultant metadata.
(2) Identify similar fields in data sets datasets.
(3) Manage data requests.
(4) Share data.
(5) Collect data.
(6) Improve and clean data.
(7) Match data across the Board and Departments.
(8) Develop research and analytic agendas.
(9) Report on program participation disaggregated by
race and ethnicity.
(10) Evaluate equitable outcomes for underserved
populations in Illinois.
(11) Define common roles for data management.
(12) Ensure that all major programs can report
disaggregated data by race, ethnicity, age, sex,
disability status, sexual orientation, and gender
identity, and primary or preferred language.
The Board and the Department shall use the common
technological processes and procedures established by the
Department of Innovation and Technology.

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(d) If the Board or the Department is unable to begin
reporting the data required by subsection (a) by September 30
immediately following the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 103rd General Assembly July 1, 2022, the Board or
the Department shall state the reasons for the delay under the
reporting requirements of subsection (e). If the Board or
Department is unable to report all data required by subsection
(a) by the succeeding September 30, the Board or the
Department shall provide all available data and shall state
the reasons for the delay in reporting the remaining data. By
September 30, 2026, the Board or the Department shall file a
report containing the data required by subsection (a).
(e) By no later than March 31, 2022, the Board and the
Department shall provide a progress report to the General
Assembly to disclose: (i) the programs and data sets datasets
that have been cataloged for which race, ethnicity, age, sex,
disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
primary or preferred language have been standardized; and (ii)
to the extent possible, the data sets datasets and programs
that are outstanding for each agency and the data sets
datasets that are planned for the upcoming year. On or before
March 31, 2023, and, again, on or before March 31, 2024 each
year thereafter, the Board and the Department shall provide an
updated report to the General Assembly. Beginning in calendar
year 2025, the Board and the Department shall provide an
updated progress report to the General Assembly on or before

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