Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4553

LRB104 18102 LNS 31541 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4553

Introduced 1/30/2026, by Rep. Joyce Mason

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 25/1.3 new

Amends the Interscholastic Athletic Organization Act. Provides that an association or other entity that has as one of its purposes promoting, sponsoring, regulating, or in any manner providing for interscholastic athletics or any form of athletic competition among schools and students within the State shall require applicants for licensure as an official to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine if such applicants have been convicted of any disqualifying, enumerated criminal or drug offenses or have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for licensure, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. Contains provisions concerning the fingerprint-based criminal history records check and a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Provides that pending full clearance of all check requirements, the prospective official must be supervised at all times by an individual who received a qualifying result on all check components. Effective July 1, 2027.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Interscholastic Athletic Organization Act is amended by adding Section 1.3 as follows:

(105 ILCS 25/1.3 new)

Sec. 1.3. Criminal history records check for official licensure.

(a) An association or other entity that has as one of its purposes promoting, sponsoring, regulating, or in any manner providing for interscholastic athletics or any form of athletic competition among schools and students within this State shall require applicants for licensure as an official to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine if such applicants have been convicted of any disqualifying, enumerated criminal or drug offenses as set forth in Section 21B-80 of the School Code or have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for licensure, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.

(b) Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the applicant to the association or entity, unless the applicant has previously authorized a check in a prior year's application through a school district, regional office of education, or such an association or entity. The association or entity may require the applicant to furnish authorization for the check to the regional superintendent of schools of the educational service region in which the applicant resides.

(c) After receipt of the authorization under subsection (b), the applicant shall submit his or her fingerprints to the Illinois State Police in an electronic format that complies with the form and manner for requesting and furnishing criminal history record information prescribed by the Illinois State Police. Such fingerprints shall be transmitted through a livescan fingerprint vendor licensed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

The fingerprints submitted under this Section shall be checked against the Illinois State Police criminal history record databases prior to their submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record databases, now and hereafter filed, including, but not limited to, civil, criminal, and latent fingerprint databases.

The Illinois State Police shall charge the applicant a fee for conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and may not exceed the actual cost of the records check.

The Illinois State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive identification, records of Illinois convictions and shall forward the national criminal history record information to the executive director of the association or entity that requested the check. Any information obtained by the executive director may only be disseminated as authorized by law.

(d) The association's or entity's executive director or the executive director's designee shall perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, for each applicant. The check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database must be conducted by the executive director or the executive director's designee once every 5 years that an applicant remains licensed by the association or entity.

(e) The association's or entity's executive director or the executive director's designee shall perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, for each applicant. The check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database must be conducted by the executive director or the executive director's designee once every 5 years that an applicant remains licensed by the association or entity.

(f) Pending full clearance of all check requirements under this Section, the prospective official must be supervised at all times by an individual who received a qualifying result on all check components under this Section.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2027.