Education

Amends the School Code and the Public Higher Education Act. Provides that in fixing the salaries of employees, the school board or the governing board of each public institution of higher education shall pay to employees an hourly rate of not less than: (i) $20 for the 2026-2027 academic year; (ii) $21 for the 2027-2028 academic year; and (iii) $22 for the 2028-2029 academic year. Provides that the minimum hourly rate for each academic year thereafter shall equal the minimum hourly rate for the previous academic year increased by a percentage equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for all items published by the United States Department of Labor for the previous academic year. Effective immediately.

HB 1342 makes Illinois' Invest in Kids tax credit program permanent, allowing Illinois taxpayers to claim credits for donations to approved scholarship organizations. The program provides scholarships to low-income students (from families earning under 300% of the federal poverty level) attending non-public schools in Illinois, covering necessary school costs like tuition and fees. Taxpayers receive a credit equal to their contribution amount, with scholarship grants capped at the school's required costs. The bill permanently amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to implement this education funding mechanism, effective immediately.

Amends the Courses of Study Article of the School Code. Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, requires a school district, if funds are available, to provide a minimum of 3 hours of instruction for students in any of grades 7 through 12 on (i) legal aspects explaining certain laws and penalties, (ii) responding to a police encounter, and (iii) the aftermath. Allows the State Board of Education to prepare and make available to school boards resource materials that may be used as guidelines for the development of the instruction. Effective immediately.

Affirms the importance of adopting a statewide strategy to develop teachers as leaders and to leverage teacher leadership to recruit and retain excellent educators of diverse identities and backgrounds, strengthen school leadership, and support continuous school improvement to improve educational outcomes. Urges the Illinois State Board of Education to (1) prioritize teacher leadership investments in future fiscal years in order to build greater capacity to conduct research and collect data, highlight and share best practices for distributed leadership, offer technical assistance to schools and districts, and provide strategic leadership to support the expansion of teacher leadership across Illinois, (2) to collaborate with educators, districts, educator preparation programs, and other state agencies to build a strategy for the development of a statewide ecosystem that grows, recognizes, supports, and sustains teacher leadership in diverse contexts throughout the State, (3) to include in its strategy multiple pathways to recognize, support, and sustain diverse teacher leadership throughout the State, including through collaborative partnerships, expanded inclusion of teacher voice in educational decision-making, and classroom teacher leadership development programs, and (4) to embed teacher leadership as a fundamental component of the school improvement process. Urges each school district in Illinois to develop systems that provide teachers equitable access to ongoing leadership development and encourage them to take teacher leadership roles.

Declares March 2025 as Illinois Whole Child Month to recognize the value of assuring that each student is challenged, supported, healthy, safe, and engaged. Urges parents, educators, and community members to support a whole child approach to education for each student. Urges every school in Illinois to celebrate Whole Child Month by adopting at least one of the whole child tenets to promote and encourage throughout the month.

Amends the School Code. Requires the Illinois State Board of Education to create the Licensed School Librarian Task Force, which shall meet a minimum of 4 times and shall submit, no later than 12 months after the first convening of the Task Force, a final report to the Governor and the General Assembly containing recommendations, including, but not limited to, recommendations for how to ensure Illinois public elementary and secondary schools consider, budget appropriate resources for, and employ licensed school librarians in future academic years from available State and local resources. Effective immediately.

SB 2599 allocates $7,047,506,738 in state funds for teacher retirement system contributions during fiscal year 2025. The bill specifies funding from multiple state accounts - including the General Fund, Common School Fund, and Education Assistance Fund - to cover existing obligations for public school teachers' retirement benefits and health insurance. It directly affects Illinois public school teachers by ensuring state contributions to their retirement systems as required by current pension laws. The funding takes effect July 1, 2025, and does not create new policies or alter benefit calculations.

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to the monetary award program. Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year through the 2030-2031 academic year, provides that an applicant who is otherwise eligible for grant assistance under the program may receive grant assistance for an additional academic year after receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours if he or she (i) enrolls in a State-approved educator preparation program and (ii) within 5 years after receiving a Professional Educator License, teaches in this State for a minimum of 3 years. Requires repayment if at any time a person fails to meet the requirements. Effective immediately.

Creates the Illinois Curriculum Overview and Alignment Act. Requires, beginning January 1, 2026, the State Board of Education to conduct a comprehensive review of all mandated units of study every 5 years. Sets forth what the review shall include. Provides that the review process shall incorporate feedback from educators and administrators, parents and guardians, students, via surveys or focus groups, and subject matter experts and community organizations. Requires the State Board of Education to publish a public report summarizing findings and recommendations from the curriculum overview. Provides that following each curriculum overview, the State Board of Education shall: (1) develop an action plan to address identified gaps or areas for improvement; (2) provide professional development for educators on updates or changes; and (3) monitor the implementation of curriculum updates and assess their impact on student outcomes. Requires the General Assembly to appropriate funds necessary for the State Board of Education to carry out the requirements of the Act. Effective immediately.

Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Requires the teacher evaluation plan to include a description of the standards described in the Illinois Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards in Part 24 of Title 23 of the Illinois Administrative Code and be aligned to the Illinois Professional Educator Standards.