Education (Teachers)

This House resolution formally congratulates the P.E.O. Illinois Chapter CE on its 100th anniversary, which occurs on December 9, 2026. The bill recognizes the chapter's century-long history of providing scholarships, grants, and educational resources to women and acknowledges the specific contributions of its members, including retired teacher Jan Schoening. It directs that a copy of the resolution be presented to Jan Schoening while honoring all members of the chapter equally.

This bill is a House Resolution that formally congratulates Joanna Goldberg, a teacher at Sherlock Elementary School in Cicero, for being named to the Extraordinary Educators Class of 2026 by Curriculum Associates. The resolution highlights her 17 years of teaching experience and her students' academic achievements, such as meeting MAP goals in 2024, as reasons for the honor. It also states that a copy of the resolution will be presented to her as a symbol of respect and esteem.

Commends Felix Saji, a fourth grade teacher at John V. Leigh School, on being named to the Curriculum Associates 2026 Class of Extraordinary Educators and for his continued extraordinary efforts in and out of the classroom.

This Senate resolution honors the life of Alice M. (Ondrla) Dunn, a teacher and community member from Oak Park who passed away in 2025. The bill formally expresses the Illinois Senate's condolences to her family and friends while acknowledging her contributions to education and her role in her community. It directs that a copy of the resolution be presented to the Dunn family as a gesture of sympathy. This is a commemorative measure with no policy changes or funding implications.

Creates the Student Educational Technologies Rights Act. Provides that it is the policy of the State that a student and the student's parent have the right to: opt out of school-issued personal electronic devices, electronic textbooks, electronic required reading, or electronic or online assignments; request a human teacher review any automated scored grade or scored grade generated by artificial intelligence; and opt out of predictive analytics systems without academic penalty. Amends the School Code. Removes language allowing school districts that collect biometric information from students to adopt specified policies. Prohibits a school district from purchasing or otherwise acquiring biometric systems to use on students. Establishes prohibitions for a school district with respect to biometric systems and biometric information of its students. Sets forth requirements on the destruction of biometric information in the possession of a school district. Makes other changes. Amends the Student Online Personal Protection Act. Prohibits an operator from selling or renting any other person's information collected by the operator for K through 12 school purposes or permitting artificial intelligence to train on covered information unless for K through 12 school purposes or in furtherance of improving operability and functionality of the operator's service. Provides, with exceptions, that an operator's artificial intelligence model shall not train on a student's covered information and retain the training data indefinitely. Makes other and conforming changes.

Supports the principles put forth by Illinois ASCD/PD365 regarding the ethical and effective use of artificial intelligence in K-12 classrooms. Urges the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), in collaboration with school districts, educators, technology experts, and stakeholder organizations, to develop statewide guidelines for the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence in education, including protections for student data, expectations for algorithmic transparency, monitoring for bias, and the incorporation of digital and AI literacy into Illinois curricula to ensure students can thoughtfully and ethically engage with emerging technologies. Encourages investment in educator professional development and equitable access to technology, including broadband infrastructure, one-to-one devices, and AI-enabled tools to ensure that all Illinois educators and students are prepared to use artificial intelligence responsibly, effectively, and fairly across all schools.

Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act. Creates an income tax credit for taxpayers who are employed as an early childhood teacher or an early childhood assistant during the taxable year and who have a federal adjusted gross income for the taxable year of $75,000 or less. Provides that, for taxable years beginning on January 1, 2026 and beginning before January 1, 2027, the amount of the credit is $1,000. Provides that, for subsequent taxable years, the credit amount shall be adjusted by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year. Effective immediately.

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. In a provision regarding endorsements on Professional Educator Licenses, provides for a special education endorsement in the area of deaf-hard of hearing with sign proficiency.

Amends the School Code. Provides that beginning July 1, 2026, each school district shall determine a plan for responding to all incidents of battery committed by students against teachers and other school personnel, which shall include reporting and documentation procedures, student safety plans, behavioral intervention plans, and remedies for injured teachers and school personnel. Effective immediately.

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall create an introductory content area endorsement for computer science that allows individuals with a Professional Educator License to teach introductory computer science courses in grades 5 through 12. Provides that the endorsement shall require no more than 8 credit hours of graduate-level preparation that includes instruction in introductory computer science concepts and computer science pedagogy. Allows an individual with a Professional Educator License seeking the endorsement to substitute a State Board-approved, one-week, professional development program in introductory high school computer science education for 4 credit hours of the graduate-level preparation in introductory computer science concepts. Provides that the one-week, professional development program may count as 4 credit hours of the graduate-level preparation. Allows an individual with an Educator License with Stipulations with a paraprofessional educator endorsement who completes the 8 credit hours of graduate-level preparation to count those credit hours toward completion of the requirements for a Professional Educator License with a computer science endorsement.