LSC Community Democracy - SB 3729 [Fact Sheet] This bill will change 18 Appointed Local School Councils, which only have an advisory role, into fully empowered LSCs with binding decision-making powers.

Biometric Information in Schools - SB 1239 This bill would substantially strengthen the existing school code's restrictions on the collection of biometric information in schools, including prohibiting districts from purchasing or otherwise acquiring biometric systems to use on students and also prohibiting any collection or storage of biometric information or entering into agreements with contractors to do the same. Biometric data that schools previously held will be destroyed. 

Clean Air for Healthy Equitable Schools - HB 4739/SB 3110 [Fact Sheet] This bill would equip all public school classrooms with an air quality monitor, subject to federal appropriations. It is an initiative of Illinois Stakeholders for Air Quality in Schools.

Paid Compensation for Chicago Board of Ed - HB 4518 This bill would permit the Chicago Board of Education to vote to pay its board members. Read more about the need for this here.

Strengthen SOPPA - HB 2696 [Fact Sheet] This bill would give families the right to sue tech companies and other school vendors who violate the Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA) instead of relying only on the IL Attorney General, who has taken no action to enforce the law's ban on data sales against state standardized testing contractors. Write to ask your state senator to sponsor this bill here.

Student Educational Technologies Rights Act - SB 3735 This bill would establish several new rights for students with respect to educational technology including the option of requesting a non-tech substitute for any digital technology. It also includes the language of SB 1239 to ban collection of biometric information in schools, and it would update SOPPA to include restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence in schools. Read more about the need for this legislation here.

Artificial Intelligence in Schools - SB 416 This bill contains a small portion of SB 3735. It would begin to address some of the issues with AI use in schools, including prohibiting use of AI for assigning grades and scores and requiring school district approval of any use of artificial intelligence models with respect to students and also school districts to publish a list of all such uses. We support this bill as an initial step to addressing and regulating use of AI in Illinois' public schools, but only as an initial step, as clearly far more needs to be put into the School Code to protect human-centered education in our schools.

Bill we oppose

Participate in federal voucher program - SB 3776 [Fact Sheet] This bill will permanently opt Illinois into the federal voucher program. 

Biometric Information in Schools - SB 415 This bill is not sufficiently protective of students biometric information, and will give school districts far too much leeway, possibly broader than what is currently in statute now, to determine whether collection of biometric information is justified. Both SFA1 and SFA2 are problematic. We are hopeful that if this bill makes it out of the Senate, it will be significantly amended in the House.