Illinois
NOTE: If contacted by the Regional Superintendent or
truant officers homeschoolers should verify, preferably with a written letter of
compliance, that you are in compliance with Section 26-1 because you teach the required
branches of education in the English language.
Sec. 27-1. Areas
of education taught -
The State of Illinois, having the
responsibility of defining requirements for elementary and secondary education,
establishes that the primary purpose of schooling is the transmission of knowledge and
culture through which children learn in areas necessary to their continuing development
and entry into the world of work. Such areas include the language arts, mathematics, the
biological, physical and social sciences, the fine arts and physical development and
health.
ARTICLE 26. PUPILS--COMPULSORY
ATTENDANCE
(105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age-Exemptions. Whoever has custody or
control of any child between the ages of 7 and 17 years (unless the child has already
graduated from high school) shall cause such child to attend some public school in the
district wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session during the regular
school term, except as provided in Section 10-19.1, and during a required summer school
program established under Section 10-22.33B; provided, that the following children shall
not be required to attend the public schools:
1. Any child attending a private or a parochial
school where children are taught the branches of education taught
to children of corresponding age and grade in the public schools, and where the
instruction of the child in the branches of education is in the English language;
2. Any child who is physically or mentally
unable to
attend school, such disability being certified to the county or
district truant officer by a competent physician licensed in Illinois to practice medicine
and surgery in all its branches, an advanced practice nurse who has a written
collaborative agreement with a collaborating physician that authorizes the advanced
practice nurse to perform health examinations, a physician assistant who has been
delegated the authority to perform health examinations by his or her supervising
physician, or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State and listed in the
Christian Science Journal; or who is excused for temporary absence for cause by the
principal or teacher of the school which the child attends; the exemptions in this
paragraph (2) do not apply to any female who is pregnant or the mother of one or more
children, except where a female is unable to attend school due to a complication arising
from her pregnancy and the existence of such complication is certified to the county or
district truant officer by a competent physician;
3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed
according to the provisions of the law regulating child labor may
be excused from attendance at school by the county superintendent of schools or the
superintendent of the public school which the child should be attending, on certification
of the facts by and the recommendation of the school board of the public school district
in which the child resides. In districts having part time continuation schools, children
so excused shall attend such schools at least 8 hours each week;
4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age
while
in attendance at confirmation classes;
5. Any child absent from a public school on a
particular day or days or at a particular time of day for the
reason that he is unable to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study or
work requirements on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day, because the
tenets of his religion forbid secular activity on a particular day or days or at a
particular time of day. Each school board shall prescribe rules and regulations relative
to absences for religious holidays including, but not limited to, a list of religious
holidays on which it shall be mandatory to excuse a child; but nothing in this paragraph 5
shall be construed to limit the right of any school board, at its discretion, to excuse an
absence on any other day by reason of the observance of a religious holiday. A school
board may require the parent or guardian of a child who is to be excused from attending
school due to the observance of a religious holiday to give notice, not exceeding 5 days,
of the child's absence to the school principal or other school personnel. Any child
excused from attending school under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a
written excuse for such absence after returning to school; and
6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i)
submits to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful
employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and (ii) is enrolled in a graduation
incentives program pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning
opportunities program established pursuant to Article 13B of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 93-858, eff. 1-1-05; 94-350, eff. 7-28-05.)
(105 ILCS 5/26-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2)
Sec. 26-2. Enrolled pupils below 7 or over 17.
(a) Any person having custody or control of a child who is below the
age of 7 years or is 17 years of age or above and who is enrolled in any of grades 1
through 12 in the public school shall cause him to attend the public school in the
district wherein he resides when it is in session during the regular school term, unless
he is excused under paragraph 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 of Section 26-1.
(b) A school district shall deny reenrollment in its secondary schools
to any child 19 years of age or above who has dropped out of school and who could not,
because of age and lack of credits, attend classes during the normal school year and
graduate before his or her twenty-first birthday. A district may, however, enroll the
child in a graduation incentives program under Section 26-16 of this Code or an
alternative learning opportunities program established under Article 13B. No child shall
be denied reenrollment for the above reasons unless the school district first offers the
child due process as required in cases of expulsion under Section 10-22.6. If a child is
denied reenrollment after being provided with due process, the school district must
provide counseling to that child and must direct that child to alternative educational
programs, including adult education programs, that lead to graduation or receipt of a GED
diploma.
(c) A school or school district may deny enrollment to a student 17
years of age or older for one semester for failure to meet minimum academic standards if
all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The student achieved a grade point average
of
less than "D" (or its equivalent) in the semester
immediately prior to the current semester.
(2) The student and the student's parent or
guardian
are given written notice warning that the student is failing
academically and is subject to denial from enrollment for one semester unless a
"D" average (or its equivalent) or better is attained in the current semester.
(3) The parent or guardian is provided with the
right
to appeal the notice, as determined by the State Board of
Education in accordance with due process.
(4) The student is provided with an academic
improvement plan and academic remediation services.
(5) The student fails to achieve a
"D" average (or
its equivalent) or better in the current semester.
A school or school district may deny enrollment to a student 17 years
of age or older for one semester for failure to meet minimum attendance standards if all
of the following conditions are met:
(1) The student was absent without valid cause
for
20% or more of the attendance days in the semester immediately
prior to the current semester.
(2) The student and the student's parent or
guardian
are given written notice warning that the student is subject to
denial from enrollment for one semester unless the student is absent without valid cause
less than 20% of the attendance days in the current semester.
(3) The student's parent or guardian is
provided with
the right to appeal the notice, as determined by the State Board
of Education in accordance with due process.
(4) The student is provided with attendance
remediation services, including without limitation assessment,
counseling, and support services.
(5) The student is absent without valid cause
for 20%
or more of the attendance days in the current semester.
A school or school district may not deny enrollment to a student (or
reenrollment to a dropout) who is at least 17 years of age or older but below 19 years for
more than one consecutive semester for failure to meet academic or attendance standards.
(d) No child may be denied enrollment or reenrollment under this
Section in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
(e) In this subsection (e), "reenrolled student" means a
dropout who has reenrolled full-time in a public school. Each school district shall
identify, track, and report on the educational progress and outcomes of reenrolled
students as a subset of the district's required reporting on all enrollments. A reenrolled
student who again drops out must not be counted again against a district's dropout rate
performance measure. The State Board of Education shall set performance standards for
programs serving reenrolled students.
(f) The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules necessary to
implement the changes to this Section made by Public Act 93-803.
(Source: P.A. 92-42, eff. 1-1-02; 93-803, eff. 7-23-04; 93-858, eff. 1-1-05; 93-1079, eff.
1-21-05.)
Illinois Administrative Code CH 1, S. 252.25 subsection (g)
"D.) A student enrolled in a home school who wishes to enroll in driver education offered by a public school district or nonpublic school shall present, and each such entity shall accept as verification of the student's eligibility, a signed, notarized statement stipulating:
i) that the student is enrolled in a home school;
ii) that he or she is eligible pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; and
iii) that the signature presented is that of the individual who administers the school attended by the student."
Added at 18 Ill. Reg. 16307, effective October 25, 1994.