Deadlines in both chambers of the General Assembly this week mean it is crunch time in the Capitol (yes, again!) Some bills we are supporting and one we oppose are still being negotiated. This means that they’ve had initial committee votes, but need an amendment approved before getting a floor vote.

With the deadline to move out of one chamber to the other chamber this Friday, their fate is uncertain. Keep an eye out for witness slip alerts.

A full rundown on each bill below, but here’s a quick to-do list. Make calls to both your state rep and state senator! It's best to call both their district and their Springfield office.

✅ SUPPORT HB 2696 : Give the Student Online Personal Protection Act some teeth

The price of a public education in Illinois shouldn’t be a child’s private data! Our student data privacy law, the Student Online Personal Protection Act, has strong requirements to keep kids’ data private and secure, but they aren’t being enforced. Data is being sold by standardized testing companies. Tech companies aren't keeping data secure. And right now the only recourse is Illinois’ Attorney General taking action against these vendors—which hasn't happened since the law passed originally in 2017.

Without enforcement, tech companies don't have any motivation to comply with SOPPA's requirements. So, HB 2696 would give SOPPA some teeth: Families could sue tech vendors who violate the law. Privacy experts say it simply isn’t enough for states to rely only on their AG to enforce privacy laws. Legislation should include what’s known as a “private right of action”, meaning that individuals can file lawsuits when a law is violated.

Moreover, our AG’s office, like so many across the country, has ever more on its plate in responding to attacks from the Trump regime on civil rights and federal support for states. AG Kwame Raoul has said this himself in recent interviews (here and here), and he’s even asking ILGA for a larger budget this year.

Giving families the right to take tech vendors to court themselves just makes legal and fiscal sense. Let’s get this bill passed! Ask your state rep to co-sponsor by calling and emailing them.

❌ OPPOSE SB 1943: Rollback of seclusion and restraint reforms.

Investigative reporting by Pro Publica and the Chicago Tribune starting in 2019, exposed the shocking physical and mental harms inflicted on students—especially those with disabilities—in schools across the state, because school staff were using isolation and physical restraint. In response, disability rights orgs led efforts to pass a law and regulations to eliminate or restrict and regulate these practices.

Now there is a push from school management and others to weaken that law, via SB 1943. More details here. If anything, this law needs to be stronger. Seclusion and restraint don’t lessen behavioral difficulties; they result in physical injury, mental trauma and even death. Schools need to address root causes for students who are struggling, not compound those struggles. (The Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint’s website is a great place to start to learn more about this issue.)

This bill is also being further negotiated before it returns to the Senate Education Committee for another vote. IL-FPS stands with a very long list of orgs including Equip for Equality, Access Living, the National Association of Social Workers - IL Chapter, IL Association of School Social Workers, and the ACLU of IL who oppose the bill as introduced. We’ll keep you in the loop as we see where the bill is headed. For now, ask your state senator to oppose SB 1943 and any weakening of the existing law.

✅ SUPPORT SB 2423: Too Young to Expel!

Our public schools should be nurturing and welcoming environments that educate each child who comes through the doors. Expelling and suspending young children is the opposite of this vision. And it disproportionately affects Black students and students with disabilities.

Suspension and expulsion should be policies of last resort at any age level. As with our opposition to SB 1943, education policy should be geared toward understanding and addressing root causes of difficult, disruptive or dysregulated behavior, not punishing and excluding students.  

SB 2423 aims for that. More info here on the bill, which is an initiative of the IL State Board of Education. Young children could only be suspended for the amount of time it takes to develop a behavior or safety plan. Suspensions longer than three days would require the sign-off of a superintendent or director of an early childhood program. Expulsions would be banned, except for rare circumstances where suspension is required under state and federal law.

This bill was also heard in the Senate Education Committee last week and is waiting on further negotiation before it gets another committee vote. Ask your state senator to sign on as a sponsor. This helps ensure the bill doesn’t get watered down or stall.

Thanks for helping us push for better public schools for all kids!