Illinois Education Laws for 2026: Immigrant Rights and AI Rules Take Effect Jan. 1
Illinois' latest education measures put two issues front and center: protecting noncitizen students and setting ground rules for artificial intelligence in classrooms. Most provisions take effect Jan. 1, with additional dates phased in through July. Counsel for districts, community colleges, and education vendors will want policy updates queued up now.
Below is what changes, where the risk sits, and what to update first.
K-12: Protections for Noncitizen Students (HB 3247)
Schools may not exclude or discourage students from enrolling or participating in programs based on immigration or citizenship status-of the student or their parents/guardians. Schools are prohibited from requesting or collecting citizenship/immigration information unless required by state or federal law, and from disclosing such information to any person or entity, including immigration and law enforcement, unless federal law compels it.
Starting July 1, violations can be pursued in civil court for actual damages.
Practical steps for counsel
- Update enrollment, residency, and program eligibility policies to remove any requests for immigration status unless a specific statute requires it.
- Revise student records and data request procedures to block disclosure of immigration/citizenship information absent a clear federal law mandate.
- Train front office, registrars, counselors, and SROs on do-not-ask and do-not-disclose rules; document attendance.
- Refresh vendor DPAs and SIS data maps to flag and restrict fields that could reveal status.
- Stand up a rapid review protocol for any inquiry from immigration or law enforcement.
"In the face of federal threats to our schools and students, our communities came together and organized to demand that our state leaders stand up for education for all Illinois children," said Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, after final passage.
Scholarships: Eligibility Regardless of Status (HB 460)
Illinois already extends state financial aid (e.g., MAP grants) based on residency, not citizenship. The new law broadens that approach to include publicly funded scholarships administered by local units of government. In short: locally funded programs can't condition eligibility on citizenship or immigration status.
Practical steps for counsel
- Audit local scholarship criteria, applications, and communications; remove citizenship-related filters.
- Standardize eligibility to rely on Illinois residency where applicable, and cite the new statute in program terms.
- Add a complaint and appeal channel in case denials were based on status.
Community Colleges: Human Instructors Required; AI as a Tool Only (HB 1859)
Courses must be taught by qualified human faculty. Colleges may not use AI as the sole source of instruction. Faculty can use AI as a teaching tool-think lesson planning, simulations, or formative feedback-so long as a human instructor remains primary.
"Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that can enhance both students' and teachers' capability to learn and teach, but it cannot replace an instructor," said Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, the bill's lead House sponsor.
Practical steps for counsel
- Amend academic policies, syllabi templates, and LMS governance to confirm human-led instruction in every section.
- Define permitted AI use cases and prohibited ones (e.g., no AI-only "faculty" bots, no fully automated grading without oversight).
- Update faculty workload, accreditation, and job descriptions to reflect the human-instruction requirement.
K-12: Statewide AI Guidance Coming from ISBE (SB 1920)
The Illinois State Board of Education will publish statewide guidance on AI in K-12 by July 1. Expect plain-language explanations of AI, classroom use cases that preserve essential human relationships, privacy impacts, responsible-use instruction for students, and cautions around unintentional bias affecting special populations.
Practical steps for counsel
- Prepare a district-level AI policy now with a placeholder section referencing ISBE guidance upon release.
- Map student data flows for any AI tools-inputs, outputs, model training, retention-and align with FERPA and state privacy law.
- Build bias evaluation and accessibility checks into procurement and pilot approvals.
Other Measures Affecting Schools
Early High School Credits for Grades 7-8 (HB 3039)
Districts may award high school credit to seventh and eighth graders who enroll in high school courses and pass both the course and the end-of-course exam showing high school-level proficiency.
- Set local criteria and testing protocols; update transcripts and GPA rules.
- Align with seat-time and competency requirements to avoid audit issues.
IEP Meetings: Right to a Third-Party Advocate (HB 1366)
Districts must notify parents/guardians of students with disabilities that they may bring a third-party advocate to IEP meetings.
- Embed the notice in IEP meeting invitations and procedural safeguards.
- Train special education teams on advocate participation, confidentiality, and meeting management.
Effective Dates at a Glance
- Jan. 1: HB 3247 nondiscrimination and data restrictions in effect; HB 460 scholarship eligibility; HB 1859 human-instructor rule; HB 3039 early credits; HB 1366 IEP advocate notice.
- July 1: Civil action for actual damages begins for HB 3247 violations; ISBE to publish K-12 AI guidance under SB 1920.
Action Checklist for Legal and Compliance Teams
- Policy updates: enrollment, records, law enforcement interactions, financial aid, AI use, procurement, and special education notices.
- Training: enrollment staff, registrars, deans, faculty, special education teams, and IT/data stewards.
- Contracts: revise DPAs, LMS terms, and AI tool agreements for privacy, bias testing, and human oversight.
- Governance: create an AI review board and a rapid-response protocol for external information requests.
- Documentation: version and timestamp policy changes; keep training logs; retain legal bases for any disclosures.
For statutory text and implementation updates, monitor the Illinois General Assembly and ISBE:
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