State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
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91_HB3254enr

 
HB3254 Enrolled                                LRB9111265EGfg

 1        AN ACT in relation to alternatives to dissection.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  1.   Short  title.  This Act may be cited as the
 5    Dissection Alternatives Act.

 6        Section 5.  Findings and purpose.
 7        (a)  The General Assembly finds  and  declares  that  the
 8    appropriate  use  of dissection in research and education has
 9    contributed a great deal to the advancement  of  medical  and
10    biological   science.   Without  dissection  the  science  of
11    anatomy could not  have  advanced,  and  it  is  the  bedrock
12    supporting  the modern practice of surgery in its many forms.
13    The appropriate use of dissection has brought  many  benefits
14    to  the  people  of  this  State,  and  it  continues to play
15    important roles in medical and veterinary practice, research,
16    and education.
17        (b)  The General Assembly also finds that the  remarkable
18    progress  of  the  last  few decades has produced significant
19    advances in computing and the  graphic  and  representational
20    arts,  and  that  these  developments  have  resulted  in the
21    creation of  many  new  technologies  for  teaching  anatomy,
22    physiology,  and  other  medical and biological sciences.  In
23    certain circumstances these new technologies are  capable  of
24    providing  an  educational experience superior to dissection,
25    and they have often proven to  be  less  expensive  and  more
26    humane.
27        (c)  The  General  Assembly  also  finds  that the use of
28    dissection, when  inappropriate  or  poorly  supervised,  can
29    result in the inhumane treatment and unnecessary suffering of
30    animals.   The inappropriate or careless use of dissection in
31    schools has also in some instances traumatized  students  and
 
HB3254 Enrolled             -2-                LRB9111265EGfg
 1    contributed to a failure to teach proper respect for life and
 2    living creatures.
 3        (d)  It  is  the purpose of this Act to encourage schools
 4    in this State to  make  available  and  use  alternatives  to
 5    dissection  when  those  alternatives are appropriate and can
 6    provide an educational experience that is equal  or  superior
 7    to  the  traditional use of dissection.  It is not in any way
 8    the intention of this Act to discourage the  appropriate  use
 9    of  dissection  in  research  or  when it provides a valuable
10    educational experience to students.

11        Section 10. Definitions.  For the purposes of  this  Act,
12    unless the context otherwise requires:
13        "Student" means a pupil at a public or private elementary
14    or secondary school in Illinois.
15        "Teacher"  means  a person who is teaching at a public or
16    private  elementary  or   secondary   school   in   Illinois,
17    regardless  of  whether  that  teaching  is on a full-time or
18    part-time, temporary or permanent, or regular  or  substitute
19    basis.
20        "Dissection"  includes  cutting,  killing, preserving, or
21    mounting of living  or  dead  animals  or  animal  parts  for
22    scientific   study;   but   does  not  include  the  cutting,
23    preserving, or mounting of (1) meat or other animal  products
24    that   have  been  processed  for  use  as  food  or  in  the
25    preparation of  food  or  (2)  wool,  silk,  glue,  or  other
26    commercial or artistic products derived from animals.

27        Section  15.  Alternative student projects.  A school may
28    excuse a student enrolled in a course in which  students  are
29    ordinarily  expected  to  perform, participate in, or observe
30    dissection  who  objects  for  any  reason   to   performing,
31    participating  in,  or  observing that dissection and instead
32    allow the student to complete an  alternative  project.   The
 
HB3254 Enrolled             -3-                LRB9111265EGfg
 1    alternative  project  should  be  nonpunitive  and  should be
 2    reasonably chosen to provide the student, through means other
 3    than dissection, with knowledge similar to that  expected  to
 4    be  gained  by  other  students  in  the  course who perform,
 5    participate in, or observe the dissection.   The  alternative
 6    project   should   be  consistent  with  any  guidelines  for
 7    alternative projects that have  been  adopted  by  the  State
 8    Board of Education.

 9        Section  20.  Guidelines for notification of students and
10    parents.
11        (a)  The State Board of Education shall develop and  make
12    available   guidelines   that  may  be  used  by  the  public
13    elementary and secondary schools within this  State  to  give
14    appropriate  notice  of  the  following to students and their
15    parents or legal guardians:
16             (1)  Which, if any, of the  courses  taught  at  the
17        school   ordinarily  require  or  allow  the  student  to
18        perform, participate in, or observe dissection.
19             (2)  Whether or not the school  makes  available  to
20        students  the  opportunity  to  complete  an  alternative
21        project.
22        (b)  When offering high school students an opportunity to
23    choose between dissection or an alternative project, teachers
24    should  encourage the students to take into consideration the
25    expectations and requirements of the  colleges  and  graduate
26    programs that they may be interested in attending.

27        Section  25.   Discrimination  prohibited.  A student may
28    not be penalized or discriminated  against  in  any  way  for
29    refusing to perform, participate in, or observe dissection.

30        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
31    becoming law and first applies to the 2000-2001 school year.

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