SB 4031

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Full Text of SB4031
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	SB4031 - 104th General Assembly
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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB4031
Introduced 2/6/2026, by Sen. Willie Preston
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/22-112 new
105 ILCS 5/27A-5
Amends the School Code. Sets forth measures to be taken when an offense of bullying occurs and is reported to a public school, including a charter school, depending on the severity of the bullying offense, including hearing requirements, compulsory, school-based, restorative-justice requirements, community service requirements, and counseling requirements for minor offenders; hearing requirements, administrative fee requirements, and education session requirements for parents or guardians of minor offenders; and victim support. Requires the State Board of Education to annually report to the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey of the National Center for Education Statistics any incidents of bullying, the number of hearings relating to incidents of bullying, restorative-justice program outcomes, disciplinary actions, and follow-up metrics by demographics. Requires the State Board to conduct an annual audit of schools that participate in the restorative measures to determine anti-bullying metrics for the report. Makes other changes.
LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
	STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
		SB4031		LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1    AN ACT concerning education.
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
522-112 and changing Section 27A-5 as follows:
6    (105 ILCS 5/22-112 new)
7    Sec. 22-112. Bullying accountability.
8    (a) This Section applies to:
9        (1) minors enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12; 
10    and
11        (2) incidents of bullying that occur at school, at 
12    school-sponsored activities, during transportation to or 
13    from school, or in digital or online contexts if the 
14    bullying interferes with school or victim attendance.
15    (b) As used in this Section:
16    "Bullying" has the meaning given to that term in 
17subsection (b) of Section 22-110. "Bullying" includes 
18cyberbullying, school bullying, and community bullying.
19    "Bullying offense of major severity" means repeated 
20bullying, assault, or cyberbullying with serious harm.
21    "Community bullying" means bullying occurring in 
22off-campus locations, such as neighborhoods and recreation 
23centers, but still affecting minors in educational settings.
		SB4031	- 2 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1    "Minor offender" means an individual under 18 years of age 
2who has committed bullying.
3    "Parent or guardian" means the parent or legal guardian 
4responsible for a minor's welfare.
5    "Restorative justice program" means a court-supervised or 
6school-supervised process in which a minor offender engages 
7with the victim, apologizes, and participates in community 
8service or mediation.
9    "School" means a public school, including a charter 
10school.
11    "School bullying" means bullying that occurs on school 
12property, during school activities, or during transportation 
13to or from school.
14    (c) A school shall collaborate with courts, juvenile 
15justice systems, and mental health agencies to implement the 
16requirements of this Section.
17    (d) After an offense of bullying occurs and is reported to 
18a school, the following measures shall be taken to remedy the 
19bullying offense:
20        (1) For a first bullying offense or a bullying offense 
21    of low severity:
22            (A) a minor offender shall:
23                (i) appear at a juvenile hearing or designated 
24            court within 30 days after the bullying offense is 
25            reported;
26                (ii) participate in a compulsory, 
		SB4031	- 3 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1            school-based, restorative-justice program for 4 
2            weeks;
3                (iii) write a letter of apology to the victim 
4            and create a video delivery of the apology, with 
5            oversight;
6                (iv) perform 10 to 20 hours of community 
7            service at the minor offender's school or in the 
8            minor offender's community; and
9                (v) attend at least one mandatory counseling 
10            session;
11            (B) the parent or guardian of the minor offender 
12        shall:
13                (i) attend the juvenile hearing or court under 
14            item (i) of subparagraph (A) with the minor 
15            offender;
16                (ii) pay an administrative fee of $250 to the 
17            Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention 
18            Fund; and
19                (iii) attend at least one parent or guardian 
20            education session about bullying, mental health, 
21            or digital citizenship; and
22            (C) the victim of the minor offender shall:
23                (i) receive free counseling; and
24                (ii) have the victim's attendance, grades, and 
25            self-reported mental health monitored for 90 days 
26            following the report of the bullying offense.
		SB4031	- 4 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1        (2) For a second bullying offense or a bullying 
2    offense of moderate severity:
3            (A) a minor offender shall:
4                (i) appear at a juvenile hearing or designated 
5            court within 30 days after the bullying offense is 
6            reported;
7                (ii) participate in a compulsory, 
8            school-based, restorative-justice program for 8 
9            weeks;
10                (iii) perform 30 to 50 hours of community 
11            service at the minor offender's school or in the 
12            minor offender's community;
13                (iv) attend mandatory counseling sessions 
14            every 2 weeks for 3 months; and
15                (v) lose select extracurricular participation, 
16            as determined by the school, for a semester;
17            (B) the parent or guardian of the minor offender 
18        shall:
19                (i) attend the juvenile hearing or court under 
20            item (i) of subparagraph (A) with the minor 
21            offender;
22                (ii) pay an administrative fee of $500 to the 
23            Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention 
24            Fund; and
25                (iii) attend a full day of a parent or 
26            guardian education session about bullying, mental 
		SB4031	- 5 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1            health, or digital citizenship and sign a 
2            behavioral contract with the school regarding the 
3            minor offender's behavior; and
4            (C) the victim of the minor offender shall:
5                (i) receive free counseling and enhanced 
6            support for 6 months; and
7                (ii) create, with the school and the victim's 
8            parent or guardian, a student-safety plan.
9        (3) For a third bullying offense or a bullying offense 
10    of major severity:
11            (A) a minor offender shall:
12                (i) appear at a juvenile hearing or designated 
13            court within 30 days after the bullying offense is 
14            reported, when may result in a court filing and 
15            detention or a supervised program;
16                (ii) participate in a compulsory, 
17            school-based, restorative-justice program for at 
18            least 3 months;
19                (iii) perform at least 100 hours of community 
20            service at the minor offender's school or in the 
21            minor offender's community; and
22                (iv) attend mandatory counseling sessions for 
23            at least 6 months;
24            (B) at the school's discretion, the minor offender 
25        may be expelled from the school and transferred to an 
26        alternative program with a mandatory credits catch-up 
		SB4031	- 6 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1        clause;
2            (C) the parent or guardian of the minor offender 
3        shall:
4                (i) attend the juvenile hearing or court under 
5            item (i) of subparagraph (A) with the minor 
6            offender and any juvenile court date, if 
7            applicable; the parent or guardian has a legal 
8            obligation to bring the minor offender to any 
9            juvenile court date, and if the parent or guardian 
10            fails to do so, the court may hold the parent or 
11            guardian in contempt;
12                (ii) pay an administrative fee of $1,000 to 
13            the Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention 
14            Fund; and
15                (iii) pay for the victim's therapy and any 
16            credit make-up program, if applicable; and
17            (D) the victim of the minor offender shall receive 
18        free counseling, free educational tutoring, free 
19        mentoring, and free wellness-check insurance for at 
20        least 12 months.
21    (e) A school shall provide student and parent or guardian 
22education sessions covering bullying, mental health, digital 
23citizenship, and bystander intervention; crisis-intervention 
24teams and access to counselors; and reintegration services for 
25minor offenders, including catch-up courses and community 
26service reflection.
		SB4031	- 7 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1    (f) Any money provided to a school under this Section from 
2a federal grant shall be used for school-based, anti-bullying 
3initiatives, mental health services, reintegration programs 
4for minor offenders, and peer mentorship. Any funding received 
5under this Section from a federal grant is contingent on 
6compliance with the reporting requirements under subsection 
7(g).
8    (g) The State Board shall annually report to the School 
9Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey of 
10the National Center for Education Statistics any incidents of 
11bullying, the number of hearings relating to incidents of 
12bullying, restorative-justice program outcomes, disciplinary 
13actions, and follow-up metrics, such as attendance, grades, 
14and mental health surveys, by demographics, such as ages and 
15types of schools.
16    (h) The State Board shall annually audit schools that 
17participate in the restorative measures under subsection (d) 
18to determine anti-bullying metrics for the report required 
19under subsection (g).
20    Section 10. The School Code is amended by changing Section
2127A-5 as follows:
22    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
23    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
24    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
		SB4031	- 8 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
2school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
3corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
4authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
5    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
6by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
7school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
8new applications to establish a charter school in a city
9having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
10charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
11does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
12before April 16, 2003.
13    (b-5) (Blank).
14    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
15its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
16provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
17school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
18the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
19or other governing body must include at least one parent or
20guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
21who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
22network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
23directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
24Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
25    (c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
26year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter
		SB4031	- 9 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1school's board of directors or other governing body shall
2complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
3leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
4familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
5responsibilities, including financial oversight and
6accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
7school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
8Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
9and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
10voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
11other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
12professional development training in these same areas. The
13training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
14a statewide charter school membership association or may be
15provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
16the State Board.
17    (d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
18health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
19requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
20preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
21students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
22prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
23school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
24requirement" does not include any course of study or
25specialized instructional requirement for which the State
26Board has established goals and learning standards or which is
		SB4031	- 10 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
2to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
3    A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
4health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
5under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
6promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
7non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
8school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
9than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
10school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
11requires the charter school to follow the list of all
12non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
13the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
14requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
15term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
16an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
17requirements in a charter school contract that are not
18contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
19including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
20authorizing local school board.
21    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
22charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
23charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
24instructional materials, and student activities.
25    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
26management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but
		SB4031	- 11 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
2charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
3outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
4school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
5school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
6in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
7To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
8funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
9charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
10Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
11charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
12Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
13financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
14require quarterly financial statements from each charter
15school.
16    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
17this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
18all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
19schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
20of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
21exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
22governing public schools and local school board policies;
23however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
24        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code
25    regarding criminal history records checks and checks of
26    the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
		SB4031	- 12 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1    and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of applicants
2    for employment;
3        (2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 22-100, 24-24, 34-19,
4    and 34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of students;
5        (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
6    Tort Immunity Act;
7        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
8    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
9    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
10        (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
11        (5.5) subsection (b) of Section 10-23.12 and
12    subsection (b) of Section 34-18.6 of this Code;
13        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
14        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school
15    report cards;
16        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
17        (9) Section 22-110 of this Code regarding bullying
18    prevention;
19        (10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student
20    discipline reporting;
21        (11) Sections 22-80 and 22-105 of this Code;
22        (12) Sections 10-20.60 and 34-18.53 of this Code;
23        (13) Sections 10-20.63 and 34-18.56 of this Code;
24        (14) Sections 22-90 and 26-18 of this Code;
25        (15) Section 22-30 of this Code;
26        (16) Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code;
		SB4031	- 13 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1        (17) the Seizure Smart School Act;
2        (18) Section 2-3.64a-10 of this Code;
3        (19) Sections 10-20.73 and 34-21.9 of this Code;
4        (20) Section 10-22.25b of this Code;
5        (21) Section 27-1015 of this Code;
6        (22) Section 27-1010 of this Code;
7        (23) Section 34-18.8 of this Code;
8        (24) Article 26A of this Code;
9        (25) Section 2-3.188 of this Code;
10        (26) Section 22-85.5 of this Code;
11        (27) subsections (d-10), (d-15), and (d-20) of Section
12    10-20.56 of this Code;
13        (28) Sections 10-20.83 and 34-18.78 of this Code;
14        (29) Section 10-20.13 of this Code;
15        (30) (blank);
16        (31) Section 34-21.6 of this Code;
17        (32) Section 22-85.10 of this Code;
18        (33) Section 2-3.196 of this Code;
19        (34) Section 22-95 of this Code;
20        (35) Section 34-18.62 of this Code;
21        (36) the Illinois Human Rights Act;
22        (37) Section 2-3.204 of this Code; [and]
23        (38) Section 22-106 [22-105] of this Code; and [.]
24        (39) Section 22-112 of this Code.
25    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection
26(g) is declaratory of existing law.
		SB4031	- 14 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
2school district, the governing body of a State college or
3university or public community college, or any other public or
4for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
5school building and grounds or any other real property or
6facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
7for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
8maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
9activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
10to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
11Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
12district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
13use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
14services for which a charter school contracts with a school
15district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
16services for which a charter school contracts with a local
17school board or with the governing body of a State college or
18university or public community college shall be provided by
19the public entity at cost.
20    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
21by converting an existing school or attendance center to
22charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
23deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
24agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
25costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
26facilities that are used by the charter school shall be
		SB4031	- 15 -	LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
2local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
3    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
4or grade level.
5    (k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
6Board, then the charter school is its own local education
7agency.
8(Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23;
9103-472, eff. 8-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-641, eff.
107-1-24; 103-806, eff. 1-1-25; 104-288, eff. 1-1-26; 104-391,
11eff. 8-15-25; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25; revised 9-12-25.)