More than 180 new laws went into effect on January 1st, and you’ll undoubtedly want to know about some of them. These laws range from new driving regulations to educational reforms to smoke detector requirements, among others.
A full list is located at the end of this article.
Here is a summary of some of the significant adjustments to be made in 2023:
New Laws For Schools
Student Confidential Reporting Act
(5 ILCS 860/) Student Confidential Reporting Act The Illinois State Police, in consultation with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, State Board of Education, Department of Human Services, and Department of Children and Family Services shall, to the extent that funds are appropriated for that purpose, establish a program for receiving reports and other information from the public regarding potential self-harm or potential harm or criminal acts directed at school students, school employees, or schools in this State. The Illinois State Police shall establish the program in accordance with this Act.
The program shall include a Safe2Help Illinois helpline for operators to receive reports and information from the general public as described in subsection (a). The helpline shall be available for use 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
(105 ILCS 5/27-24.9) Driver education standards. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of State, an association representing teachers of driver education, students, education practitioners, including, but not limited to, teachers in colleges of education, administrators, and regional superintendents of schools, shall adopt rigorous learning standards for the classroom and laboratory phases of driver education for novice teen drivers under the age of 18 years, including, but not limited to, the Novice Teen Driver Education and Training Administrative Standards developed and written by the Association of National Stakeholders in Traffic Safety Education in affiliation with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The national learning standards may be adapted to meet Illinois licensing and educational requirements, including classroom and behind-the-wheel hours and the cognitive, physiological, and psychological aspects of the safe operation of a motor vehicle and equipment of motor vehicles. As the national standards are updated, the Board shall update these learning standards.
Comprehensive Health Education Program
SB 04028 The “Comprehensive Health Education Program” in Illinois requires schools to provide information on where and how students can access mental health care services.
The measure also creates a mental health council to figure out how to help students fifind a mental health provider, how to access the mental health system, and puts lessons and teachings about mental health into school curriculums.
HB 03296 Requires by July 1, 2025 a school district that enrolls students in any of grades 6 through 12 shall adopt and commence implementation of career exploration and career development activities in accordance with (rather than shall adopt and implement) a postsecondary and career expectations framework for each of grades 6 through 12 served by the district that substantially aligns to the model framework adopted by State agencies. Makes conforming changes. Provides that the career exploration and career development activities offered in alignment with the postsecondary and career expectations framework shall prepare students enrolled in grades 6 through 12 to make informed plans and decisions about their future education and career goals, including possible participation in a career and technical education pathway, by providing students with opportunities to explore a wide variety of high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand career fields. Allows a school board of a school district to opt out of implementation if the board adopts a specified set of findings (rather than through a finding that the board has in place alternative systems for college and career readiness and that such systems are more likely to successfully prepare students for college and career expectation).
HB 05193 Adds safe gun storage to the required topics for safety education instruction that may be conducted by public school boards and all boards in charge of educational institutions.
SB 03793 The law adds community service to the list of penalties for failing to stop for a school bus that is displaying its signals while picking up or dropping off students.
HB 05488 Provides that any child from a public school, subject to guidelines established by the State Board of Education, shall be permitted by a school board at least one school day-long excused absence per school year for any middle school or high school student for a child that is absent from school to engage in a civic event. A school board may require that the student provide advance notice of the intended absence and require that the student provide documentation of participation in a civic event.
HB 05506 Allows partnership agreements between Community College districts and School districts to allow high school students to enroll in a dual credit course for high school credit and collect demographic data.
Trauma-Informed School Board Training
SB 02109 Establishes requirements for training of superintendents and each member of a school board to take part in an State Board of Education-approved course of study regarding the adoption and administration of Trauma-Informed school standards.
New Employment Laws
SB3616 Provides that the amendatory Act may be referred to as the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act. Provides that “race” includes traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists. Provides that, with respect to certain places of public accommodation, the Department of Human Rights has jurisdiction over the denial or refusal of the full and equal enjoyment of (rather than the denial of access to) facilities, goods, or services.
Minimum wage increased from $12/hour to $13 per hour on Jan. 1, 2023.
However, the law warns that “these workers must still earn the minimum wage after getting gratuities, or the employer is forced to make up the difference.” The amount will rise to $7.80 for employees who frequently receive tips.
Workers under 18 who work fewer than 650 hours a year will also earn a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour beginning Jan. 1.
This increase is another step towards a $15/hour minimum wage in 2025.
Family Bereavement Leave Act
Employees can take up to 10 days of unpaid bereavement leave starting on January 1, 2023, to undertake the following:
-Attend the funeral of a covered family member.
-Make arrangements necessitated by the death of a covered family member.
-Grieve the death of a covered family member.
Be absent from work due to a following event:
-An unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination or of an assisted reproductive technology procedure.
-A failed adoption match or an adoption that is not finalized because it is contested by another party.
-A failed surrogacy agreement.
-A diagnosis that negatively affects pregnancy or fertility.
-A stillbirth.
The employee must return from bereavement leave within 60 days of the day they received notice of the qualifying event mentioned above. Unless giving notice is not reasonable and practical, an employee must give the employer at least 48 hours’ notice before taking bereavement leave.
New Home Safety Laws
The Smoke Detector Act changed smoke detector requirements on January 1, requiring all smoke detectors have a “self-contained, non-removable, long term battery.”
The modification was accepted in 2017, but didn’t go into effect until January 1, 2023.
The Act applies to “residents who are still utilizing alarms with detachable batteries or alarms that are not hardwired,” according to the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, which collaborated with the General Assembly to approve the amendment.
However, there are a few outliers.
The bill states that devices that are “electronically connected to designated alarm systems” and that make use of a low-power radio frequency wireless communication signal, Wi-Fi, or any other wireless local networking capabilities are exempt from the battery requirements.
Additionally, “dwelling units and hotels within municipalities with a population over 1,000,000 inhabitants” will not be affected by the change.
Officials advise leaving battery-powered smoke alarms in homes built after 1988 until they have been in use for more than ten years, unless they malfunction or don’t respond to tests.
After January 1, 2023, people who break the legislation have 90 days to replace their smoke detectors or face a fine of up to $100, which can be levied for every 30 days until the infraction is fixed, up to $1,500.
New Vehicle Laws
HB 03772 Provides people whose cars were stolen are not be liable for violations, fees, fines or penalties when caught on red light cameras or speed cameras.
