Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
The School Code [105 ILCS 5 ]
establishes differing requirements for the coursework that high schools must
offer, the courses students must take, and the courses students must pass in
order to graduate.
a) Instructional
Offerings. Each district shall provide a comprehensive curriculum that includes
at least the following offerings. The time allotment, unless specified by the
School Code or applicable rules, is the option of the local school district.
1) Language Arts
2) Science
3) Mathematics
4) History of the United States
5) Foreign Language
6) Music
7) Art
8) Career and Technical Education -
Orientation and Preparation
9)
Health Education (see the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health
Education Act)
10) Physical
Education (see Section 27-6 of the School Code)
11) Consumer Education (see Section 27-12.1
of the School Code)
12)
Conservation of Natural Resources (see Section 27-13.1 of the School
Code)
13) Driver and Safety
Education (see the Driver Education Act [105 ILCS
5/27-24 through
27 -24.10] and 23 Ill. Adm. Code
252)
14) Media Literacy (see
Section 27-20.08 of the School Code)
b) Required Participation
1) Each student shall be required to take one
semester or the equivalent, i.e., at least 18 weeks, of health education during
the secondary school experience.
2)
Appropriate activity related to physical education shall be required as
provided for by Section 27-6 of the School Code. The schedule shall compare
favorably with other courses in the curriculum. Safety education as it relates
to the physical education program should be incorporated. See Section
1.425 for additional
requirements that apply to the provision of physical education
instruction.
3) Each student shall
be required to take consumer education for 50 minutes per day for a period of
nine weeks in any of grades 9-12.
4) Each student shall be required to take a
course covering American patriotism and the principles of
representative government, as enunciated in the American Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America and the
Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the proper use and display of the
American flag for not less than one hour per week, or the equivalent.
(See Sections 27-3 and 27-4 of the School Code.)
5) Each student shall be required to complete
one semester in civics, which shall focus on government institutions,
the discussion of current and controversial issues, service learning, and
simulations of the democratic process. Beginning with pupils entering the 9th
grade in the 2021-2022 school year, one semester, or part of one semester, may
include a financial literacy course. (See Section 27-22(e)(5) of the
School Code.)
6) Each student
entering the 9th grade in the 2022-2023 school year
and 2023-2024 school year must complete one year of a course that includes
intensive instruction in computer literacy, which may be English,
social studies, or any other subject and may be counted toward the fulfillment
of other graduation requirements (Section 27-22(e)(3.5) of the School
Code).
c) Specific
Requirements for Graduation. A "unit" is the credit accrued for a year's study
or its equivalent. A student may be permitted to retake a course that has been
already successfully completed (for example, to earn a better grade). However,
credit may not be awarded more than once for completion of the same course, and
the same course may not be counted more than once toward fulfillment of the
State requirements for graduation.
1) Each
student shall be required to have accrued at least 16 units in grades 9-12 if
graduating from a four-year school or 12 units in grades 10-12 if graduating
from a three-year high school. In either case, one unit shall be in American
History or American History and Government. (See Section 27-22 of the School
Code.) No student shall receive certification of graduation without
passing an examination on the subjects discussed in subsection
(b)(4).
2) Pursuant to Section
27-22 of the School Code, all students, except students with disabilities whose
course of study is determined by an individualized education program, must
successfully complete certain courses, depending upon the school year in which
they enter grade 9 and subject to the exceptions provided in Section
1.445, as a prerequisite to
receiving a high school diploma.
3)
Credits earned by students before entry into grade 9 as authorized by Section
27-22.10 of the School Code may be used to fulfill any of the requirements of
subsection (c)(2).
4) Financial Aid
A) Pursuant to Section 22-85 of the School
Code,
as a prerequisite to receiving a high school diploma from a
public high school, the parent or guardian of each student or, if a student is
at least 18 years of age or legally emancipated, the student must comply with
either of the following:i)
File a Free Application for Federal Student Aid with the United States
Department of Education or, if applicable, an application for State financial
aid.
ii)
On a form
created by the State Board of Education, file a waiver with the student's
school district indicating that the parent or guardian or, if applicable, the
student understands what the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and
application for State financial aid are and has chosen not to file an
application.
B)
A school district must award a high school diploma to a student who is
unable to meet the requirements of this paragraph due to extenuating
circumstances, as determined by the school district, if (i) the student has met
all other graduation requirements under the School Code and (ii) the principal
attests that the school district has made a good faith effort to assist the
student or, if applicable, the student's parent or guardian in
filing an application or a waiver.
d) School districts shall have on file in the
local district office a description of all course offerings that may comply
with the requirements of the law. A course will be accepted as meeting the
relevant requirement for graduation if its description shows that its principal
instructional activity is the development and application of knowledge and
skills related to the applicable requirement.
1) "Writing-Intensive" Courses
The course description for a "writing-intensive" course will
be accepted for purposes of Section 27-22 of the School Code if:
A) a goal of the course is to use the writing
that students do relative to the subject matter being presented as a vehicle
for improving their writing skills;
B) writing assignments will be an integral
part of the course's content across the time span covered by the
course;
C) the written products
students are required to prepare to receive credit for the course and the
feedback students receive are such that:
i)
students' writing proficiency is evaluated against expectations that are
appropriate to early or late high school and encompass all of the writing
standards for those grades enumerated in the Illinois Learning Standards for
English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Sciences, and
Technical Subjects (see Appendix D); and
ii) students receive information from the
evaluation of their written products that will permit them to improve their
writing skills in terms of correct usage; well-organized composition;
communication of ideas for a variety of purposes; and locating, organizing,
evaluating, and using information;
D) The writing-intensive study provided in at
least one writing-intensive course is designed to address and integrate the
elements of the writing process and to refine or apply research
skills.
2) Foreign
Language Courses
The description for any foreign language course shall
indicate whether the school district will award a State Seal of Biliteracy in
accordance with the requirements of 23 Ill. Adm. Code 680 and Section 2-3.159
of the School Code and state the qualifications for receipt of the seal.
3) Advanced Placement Computer
Science Course
The description for an Advanced Placement Computer Science
course shall indicate that the course is equivalent to a high school
mathematics course and qualifies as a mathematics-based, quantitative
course for purposes of the fulfillment of State graduation requirements in
mathematics. (See Section 27-22(f-5) of the School Code.)
e) It is the responsibility of the
school district's administration to provide parents and guardians with timely
and periodic information concerning graduation requirements for all students,
particularly in cases where a student's eligibility for graduation may be in
question.
f) Additional
requirements for graduation may be adopted by local boards of
education.