Public Act 0212 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB3932 Enrolled LRB103 30255 RJT 56683 b

Public Act 103-0212

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

(105 ILCS 110/3)

Sec. 3. Comprehensive Health Education Program. The program established under this Act shall include, but not be limited to, the following major educational areas as a basis for curricula in all elementary and secondary schools in this State: human ecology and health; human growth and development; the emotional, psychological, physiological, hygienic, and social responsibilities of family life, including sexual abstinence until marriage; the prevention and control of disease, including instruction in grades 6 through 12 on the prevention, transmission, and spread of AIDS; age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education in grades pre-kindergarten through 12; public and environmental health; consumer health; safety education and disaster survival; mental health and illness; personal health habits; alcohol and drug use and abuse, including the medical and legal ramifications of alcohol, drug, and tobacco use; abuse during pregnancy; evidence-based and medically accurate information regarding sexual abstinence; tobacco and e-cigarettes and other vapor devices; nutrition; and dental health. The instruction on mental health and illness must evaluate the multiple dimensions of health by reviewing the relationship between physical and mental health so as to enhance student understanding, attitudes, and behaviors that promote health, well-being, and human dignity and must include how and where to find mental health resources and specialized treatment in the State. The program shall also provide course material and instruction to advise pupils of the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act. The program shall include information about cancer, including, without limitation, types of cancer, signs and symptoms, risk factors, the importance of early prevention and detection, and information on where to go for help. Notwithstanding the above educational areas, the following areas may also be included as a basis for curricula in all elementary and secondary schools in this State: basic first aid (including, but not limited to, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the Heimlich maneuver), heart disease, diabetes, stroke, the prevention of child abuse, neglect, and suicide, and teen dating violence in grades 7 through 12. Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, training on how to properly administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (which training must be in accordance with standards of the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization) and how to use an automated external defibrillator shall be included as a basis for curricula in all secondary schools in this State.

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year in grades 9 through 12, the program shall include instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of allergies. Information for the instruction, study, and discussion shall come from information provided by the Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This instruction, study, and discussion shall include, at a minimum:

(1) recognizing the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis;

(2) the steps to take to prevent exposure to allergens; and

(3) safe emergency epinephrine administration.

The school board of each public elementary and secondary school in the State shall encourage all teachers and other school personnel to acquire, develop, and maintain the knowledge and skills necessary to properly administer life-saving techniques, including, without limitation, the Heimlich maneuver and rescue breathing. The training shall be in accordance with standards of the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization. A school board may use the services of non-governmental entities whose personnel have expertise in life-saving techniques to instruct teachers and other school personnel in these techniques. Each school board is encouraged to have in its employ, or on its volunteer staff, at least one person who is certified, by the American Red Cross or by another qualified certifying agency, as qualified to administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In addition, each school board is authorized to allocate appropriate portions of its institute or inservice days to conduct training programs for teachers and other school personnel who have expressed an interest in becoming qualified to administer emergency first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. School boards are urged to encourage their teachers and other school personnel who coach school athletic programs and other extracurricular school activities to acquire, develop, and maintain the knowledge and skills necessary to properly administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in accordance with standards and requirements established by the American Red Cross or another qualified certifying agency. Subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall establish and administer a matching grant program to pay for half of the cost that a school district incurs in training those teachers and other school personnel who express an interest in becoming qualified to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (which training must be in accordance with standards of the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization) or in learning how to use an automated external defibrillator. A school district that applies for a grant must demonstrate that it has funds to pay half of the cost of the training for which matching grant money is sought. The State Board of Education shall award the grants on a first-come, first-serve basis.

No pupil shall be required to take or participate in any class or course on AIDS or family life instruction or to receive training on how to properly administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation or how to use an automated external defibrillator if his or her parent or guardian submits written objection thereto, and refusal to take or participate in the course or program or the training shall not be reason for suspension or expulsion of the pupil.

Curricula developed under programs established in accordance with this Act in the major educational area of alcohol and drug use and abuse shall include classroom instruction in grades 5 through 12. The instruction, which shall include matters relating to both the physical and legal effects and ramifications of drug and substance abuse, shall be integrated into existing curricula; and the State Board of Education shall develop and make available to all elementary and secondary schools in this State instructional materials and guidelines which will assist the schools in incorporating the instruction into their existing curricula. In addition, school districts may offer, as part of existing curricula during the school day or as part of an after school program, support services and instruction for pupils or pupils whose parent, parents, or guardians are chemically dependent.

(Source: P.A. 101-305, eff. 1-1-20; 102-464, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1034, eff. 1-1-23.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2024