Text of IL HB 2184 (2024)

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2184 Introduced , by Rep. Adam M. Niemerg SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: New Act Creates the Freedom of Education Act. Makes findings. Provides that no public school district or public institution of higher education shall direct, require, or otherwise compel a student to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to specified tenets. Provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law or administrative rule to the contrary, a school board, parent, legal guardian, or student has the right to object to and refuse any unit of instruction or required course of study that directs, requires, or otherwise compels a student to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to any of the specified tenets. Provides that school boards have to review and resolve objections to the school curriculum. Provides a list of ways to remedy objections. Provides that a school board may submit a certified question to the applicable board of elections to approve or disapprove of funding the curriculum. Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no distinction or classification of students may be made on account of race or color; however, nothing in this provision may be construed to prohibit the required collection or reporting of demographic data by public school districts or public institutions of higher education. Makes other changes. Effective immediately. LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY A BILL FOR HB2184LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b 1 AN ACT concerning education. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 5Freedom of Education Act. 6 Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly makes the 7following findings: 8 (1) Administrators, educators, support staff, and 9 students in all public elementary and secondary schools 10 and in all public institutions of higher education shall 11 respect the dignity of others, acknowledge the right of 12 others to express differing opinions, and foster and 13 defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry and 14 instruction, freedom of speech, freedom of association, 15 and the pursuit of rational, objective truths. 16 (2) Instructional pedagogies that exacerbate divisions 17 in society on the basis of race, biological sex, 18 ethnicity, religion, color, national origin, or other 19 criteria that are contrary to the unity of the nation are 20 counterproductive to the well-being of this State, its 21 citizens, and its students. 22 (3) Under Article X of the Illinois Constitution, the 23 State shall provide for an efficient system of high HB2184- 2 -LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b 1 quality public educational institutions and services. The 2 State has the primary responsibility for financing the 3 system of public education. 4 (4) A high quality educational institution and service 5 is fundamentally undermined when parents cannot trust the 6 quality of education provided to their children. When a 7 parent or legal guardian of a student identifies a 8 curriculum in public schools that the parent or legal 9 guardian believes undermines the ability of the student to 10 succeed and thrive or where an established curriculum is 11 fostering division or is factually inaccurate, that can 12 prevent a school from meeting the State's constitutional 13 goals for education for each student. 14 (5) The curriculum needs of students will necessarily 15 be diverse, and learning standards and guidance set at the 16 State level may be incapable of fully serving student 17 needs within an individual school district. 18 (6) Parents and legal guardians for students need to 19 be further empowered to ensure that they have full access 20 to and transparency regarding the curriculum their 21 students are receiving in the classroom. School boards 22 need to be more responsive regarding curriculum access, 23 transparency, and oversight when a parent, legal guardian, 24 or student has raised concerns regarding the substance of 25 the curriculum being presented in the classroom so that 26 students are able to realize their best potential and so HB2184- 3 -LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b 1 that classroom settings are not adopting a curriculum that 2 fosters hate and division among current students or that 3 encourages students to hate or despise their nation. 4 Section 10. Prohibitions. 5 (a) No public school district or public institution of 6higher education shall direct, require, or otherwise compel a 7student to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to any of the 8following tenets: 9 (1) That any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or 10 natural origin is inherently superior or inferior. 11 (2) That individuals should be adversely treated on 12 the basis of their sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, 13 or national origin. 14 (3) That individuals, by virtue of their sex, race, 15 ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin, are 16 inherently responsible for actions committed in the past 17 by other members of the same sex, race, ethnicity, 18 religion, color, or national origin. 19 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or 20administrative rule to the contrary, a school board, parent, 21legal guardian, or student has the right to object to and 22refuse any unit of instruction or required course of study 23that directs, requires, or otherwise compels a student to 24personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to any of the tenets 25identified in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) in HB2184- 4 -LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b 1any public school district or public institution of higher 2education. 3 (c) A school board has the duty to ensure that parents, 4legal guardians, students, and members of the public can 5access the public school curriculum in a manner that provides 6clear access, immediacy, and transparency to the curriculum in 7public schools. 8 (d) The school board to which a public school student is 9subject shall have the ultimate obligation to review and 10resolve objections to the curriculum in a manner that is open 11and transparent to the parent, legal guardian, student, and 12instructor and the public. The wishes of parents and legal 13guardians for a student shall take priority wherever and 14whenever possible. To remedy objections, a school board may 15offer, without limitation, the following: 16 (1) That the instructor remove the offending 17 curriculum, provide additional balance or factual basis, 18 or correct any factual bases found to be incorrect or 19 biased. 20 (2) That an alternative curriculum be offered to the 21 student in replacement of the objected-to curriculum. 22 (3) That the objected-to curriculum be excluded from a 23 student's grade or be independently graded. 24 (4) That the objected-to curriculum, or the course as 25 a whole, undergo curriculum review, with the final 26 curriculum and learning standards to be approved by the HB2184- 5 -LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b 1 school board. 2 (5) If objections are sufficiently pervasive or 3 numerous for a class that is designed to fulfill local, 4 State, or federal requirements, a directive may be issued 5 that an alternative classroom or course curriculum be 6 prepared that will comply with the legal requirement and 7 that can resolve the objections of the parent, legal 8 guardian, or student. 9 (6) That administrators or faculty members prepare an 10 improvement plan for curriculum quality or justify to the 11 school board the continued use of the objected-to 12 curriculum. 13 (e) No retaliation may occur against a student in 14connection with any curriculum objections raised by the 15student, parent, or legal guardian. Retaliation may include, 16but is not limited to, ostracism in class, singling out a 17student in class, harsher grading, transfer, isolation, or any 18other tactics associated with bullying. 19 (f) A school board shall prepare a policy to ensure 20parental involvement in public school curriculum decisions, 21particularly if contentious issues are to be taught, and to 22ensure that providers of curriculum and those with 23responsibility for curriculum oversight are not abusing their 24positions of trust at the expense of parents and students. 25 Section 15. Referendum. Notwithstanding any provision of HB2184- 6 -LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b 1law to the contrary, for any public school whose annual 2operational expenses use, in part, non-State funds, the school 3board, by majority vote of the membership of the board or upon 4receipt of a petition submitted to the school board with 5either (i) 250 signatures of individuals who live within the 6school board's district or (ii) a number of signatures that 7exceeds 10% of the total number of students who are attending 8school, as measured by the 10th day attendance numbers of the 9school year preceding the election period, whichever is less, 10may submit to the applicable board of elections a certified 11question to approve or to disapprove the use of taxpayer 12funding for the curriculum at the next election where members 13of the school board are up for election for an elected school 14board or at the next general election if the school board is 15not elected. If taxpayer funds are disapproved for such a 16curriculum, it shall be improper for the school board to use 17any such funds in support of the curriculum or the instructor 18who seeks to present it. 19 Section 20. Permissible activity. Notwithstanding any 20provision of law to the contrary, no distinction or 21classification of students may be made on account of race or 22color. However, nothing in this Section may be construed to 23prohibit the required collection or reporting of demographic 24data by public school districts or public institutions of 25higher education. Nothing in this Section may be construed to HB2184- 7 -LRB103 29588 RJT 55983 b 1prohibit the use of federal dollars for federal programs. 2 Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are 3severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes. 4 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 5becoming law.