SCH CD-BULLYING ACCOUNTABILITY

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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,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The School Code is amended by adding Section
5
22-112 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
17
subsection (b) of Section 22-110. "Bullying" includes
18
cyberbullying, school bullying, and community bullying.
19

"Bullying offense of major severity" means repeated
20
bullying, assault, or cyberbullying with serious harm.
21

"Community bullying" means bullying occurring in
22
off-campus locations, such as neighborhoods and recreation
23
centers, but still affecting minors in educational settings.

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LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1

"Minor offender" means an individual under 18 years of age
2
who has committed bullying.
3

"Parent or guardian" means the parent or legal guardian
4
responsible for a minor's welfare.
5

"Restorative justice program" means a court-supervised or
6
school-supervised process in which a minor offender engages
7
with the victim, apologizes, and participates in community
8
service or mediation.
9

"School" means a public school, including a charter
10
school.
11

"School bullying" means bullying that occurs on school
12
property, during school activities, or during transportation
13
to or from school.
14

(c) A school shall collaborate with courts, juvenile
15
justice systems, and mental health agencies to implement the
16
requirements of this Section.
17

(d) After an offense of bullying occurs and is reported to
18
a school, the following measures shall be taken to remedy the
19
bullying 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,

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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.

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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

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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

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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
22
education sessions covering bullying, mental health, digital
23
citizenship, and bystander intervention; crisis-intervention
24
teams and access to counselors; and reintegration services for
25
minor offenders, including catch-up courses and community
26
service reflection.

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LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1

(f) Any money provided to a school under this Section from
2
a federal grant shall be used for school-based, anti-bullying
3
initiatives, mental health services, reintegration programs
4
for minor offenders, and peer mentorship. Any funding received
5
under this Section from a federal grant is contingent on
6
compliance with the reporting requirements under subsection
7
(g).
8

(g) The State Board shall annually report to the School
9
Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey of
10
the National Center for Education Statistics any incidents of
11
bullying, the number of hearings relating to incidents of
12
bullying, restorative-justice program outcomes, disciplinary
13
actions, and follow-up metrics, such as attendance, grades,
14
and mental health surveys, by demographics, such as ages and
15
types of schools.
16

(h) The State Board shall annually audit schools that
17
participate in the restorative measures under subsection (d)
18
to determine anti-bullying metrics for the report required
19
under subsection (g).

20

Section 10.
The School Code is amended by changing Section
21
27A-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,

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1
nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
2
school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
3
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
4
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
5

(b) A charter school may be established under this Article
6
by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
7
school or attendance center to charter school status. In all
8
new applications to establish a charter school in a city
9
having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
10
charter school shall be limited to one campus. This limitation
11
does not apply to charter schools existing or approved on or
12
before April 16, 2003.
13

(b-5) (Blank).
14

(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
15
its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
16
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter
17
school shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and
18
the Open Meetings Act. A charter school's board of directors
19
or other governing body must include at least one parent or
20
guardian of a pupil currently enrolled in the charter school
21
who may be selected through the charter school or a charter
22
network election, appointment by the charter school's board of
23
directors or other governing body, or by the charter school's
24
Parent Teacher Organization or its equivalent.
25

(c-5) No later than January 1, 2021 or within the first
26
year of his or her first term, every voting member of a charter

SB4031
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LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1
school's board of directors or other governing body shall
2
complete a minimum of 4 hours of professional development
3
leadership training to ensure that each member has sufficient
4
familiarity with the board's or governing body's role and
5
responsibilities, including financial oversight and
6
accountability of the school, evaluating the principal's and
7
school's performance, adherence to the Freedom of Information
8
Act and the Open Meetings Act, and compliance with education
9
and labor law. In each subsequent year of his or her term, a
10
voting member of a charter school's board of directors or
11
other governing body shall complete a minimum of 2 hours of
12
professional development training in these same areas. The
13
training under this subsection may be provided or certified by
14
a statewide charter school membership association or may be
15
provided or certified by other qualified providers approved by
16
the State Board.
17

(d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular
18
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety
19
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain,
20
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for
21
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or
22
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and
23
school personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety
24
requirement" does not include any course of study or
25
specialized instructional requirement for which the State
26
Board has established goals and learning standards or which is

SB4031
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LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1
designed primarily to impart knowledge and skills for students
2
to master and apply as an outcome of their education.
3

A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular
4
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
5
under the laws of the State of Illinois. The State Board shall
6
promulgate and post on its Internet website a list of
7
non-curricular health and safety requirements that a charter
8
school must meet. The list shall be updated annually no later
9
than September 1. Any charter contract between a charter
10
school and its authorizer must contain a provision that
11
requires the charter school to follow the list of all
12
non-curricular health and safety requirements promulgated by
13
the State Board and any non-curricular health and safety
14
requirements added by the State Board to such list during the
15
term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) precludes
16
an authorizer from including non-curricular health and safety
17
requirements in a charter school contract that are not
18
contained in the list promulgated by the State Board,
19
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the
20
authorizing local school board.
21

(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
22
charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
23
charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
24
instructional materials, and student activities.
25

(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
26
management and operation of its fiscal affairs, including, but

SB4031
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LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
2
charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
3
outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
4
school. The contractor shall not be an employee of the charter
5
school or affiliated with the charter school or its authorizer
6
in any way, other than to audit the charter school's finances.
7
To ensure financial accountability for the use of public
8
funds, on or before December 1 of every year of operation, each
9
charter school shall submit to its authorizer and the State
10
Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form 990 the
11
charter school filed that year with the federal Internal
12
Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for proper
13
financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer may
14
require quarterly financial statements from each charter
15
school.
16

(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
17
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act,
18
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
19
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
20
of English learners, and its charter. A charter school is
21
exempt from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
22
governing public schools and local school board policies;
23
however, 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
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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
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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.

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LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1

(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
2
school district, the governing body of a State college or
3
university or public community college, or any other public or
4
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
5
school building and grounds or any other real property or
6
facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
7
for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
8
maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
9
activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required
10
to perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
11
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this Section, a school
12
district may charge a charter school reasonable rent for the
13
use of the district's buildings, grounds, and facilities. Any
14
services for which a charter school contracts with a school
15
district shall be provided by the district at cost. Any
16
services for which a charter school contracts with a local
17
school board or with the governing body of a State college or
18
university or public community college shall be provided by
19
the public entity at cost.
20

(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
21
by converting an existing school or attendance center to
22
charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
23
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
24
agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
25
costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
26
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be

SB4031
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LRB104 17640 LNS 31071 b
1
subject to negotiation between the charter school and the
2
local school board and shall be set forth in the charter.
3

(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age
4
or grade level.
5

(k) If the charter school is authorized by the State
6
Board, then the charter school is its own local education
7
agency.
8
(Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23;
9
103-472, eff. 8-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-641, eff.
10
7-1-24; 103-806, eff. 1-1-25; 104-288, eff. 1-1-26; 104-391,
11
eff. 8-15-25; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25; revised 9-12-25.)

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