Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB2503

Rep. Laura Faver Dias

Filed: 4/8/2025

10400HB2503ham001 LRB104 10601 LNS 24908 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2503

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2503 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section 2-3.118a and by changing Section 27-13.3 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.118a new)

Sec. 2-3.118a. Artificial intelligence.

(a) The State Board of Education, in consultation with stakeholders, shall develop statewide guidance for school districts and educators on the use of artificial intelligence in elementary and secondary education. This guidance shall include, but is not limited to:

(1) explanations of basic artificial intelligence concepts, including machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision;

(2) specific ways artificial intelligence can be used at the school district, school, and classroom levels to inform teaching and learning practices, while preserving the human relationships essential to effective teaching and learning;

(3) how districts and educators can evaluate and address bias, privacy, transparency, and risk assessment and management in the usage of artificial intelligence technologies and applications;

(4) the impact of artificial intelligence on student data privacy, including federal and State statutes associated with student data privacy that are important to be aware of when setting policy for the use of artificial intelligence technologies in schools, such as the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the federal Children's Internet Protection Act, the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, the Illinois School Student Records Act, and the Student Online Personal Protection Act;

(5) best practices for developing student literacy in artificial intelligence and engaging students in age-appropriate discussions on the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence;

(6) best practices for making age and developmentally appropriate artificial intelligence applications available and accessible to all students;

(7) best practices and effective strategies for using artificial intelligence in supporting special populations, such as English learners and students with disabilities; and

(8) understanding the consequences that the use of artificial intelligence may have in an educational setting, such as unintentional and disparate biases against special populations inherent within artificial intelligence products.

The State Board of Education shall develop and publish this guidance by July 1, 2026 and provide continuous updates as it deems necessary.

(b) Subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall develop synchronous and asynchronous professional learning opportunities for educators concerning artificial intelligence literacy and the effective and appropriate use of artificial intelligence in alignment with statewide guidance.

(c) The State Board of Education shall establish an Instructional Technology Advisory Board on or before January 31, 2027, which shall advise the State Board of Education on the revision and further development of guidance, resources, and other support for school districts and educators on the use of education technology, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence technologies.

(1) The members of the Instructional Technology Advisory Board shall include individuals with expertise on artificial intelligence, represent the ethnic, racial, and geographic diversity of this State, and include expertise across early childhood and elementary, middle, and high school settings. Its membership shall include the State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee, who shall serve as chairperson of the Board, and the following members appointed by the State Superintendent:

(A) 2 representatives recommended by a statewide association representing teachers;

(B) 2 principals recommended by a statewide association representing principals;

(C) 2 superintendents recommended by a statewide association representing superintendents;

(D) one representative of an organization representing large unit school districts;

(E) 2 school board members recommended by a statewide association representing school board members;

(F) 2 representatives recommended by a statewide association representing school district educational technology leaders;

(G) 2 members representing regional offices of Education;

(H) 2 currently practicing classroom teachers appointed at large;

(I) 2 faculty members of educator preparation programs leading to initial teacher licensure;

(J) one representative of a statewide association of educators concerned with instructional technology; and

(K) 2 experts on educational applications of artificial intelligence.

(2) The members of the Board shall each serve a 2-year term, as long as each member continues to meet the criteria under which the member was appointed, and may be reappointed, without limitation, to additional 2-year terms.

(3) The Board shall publish an annual report by December 1 of each calendar year, which must include, but is not limited to:

(A) a review of and recommended updates to the criteria and rubric used by the State Board of Education to evaluate artificial intelligence tools used in education;

(B) a review of and recommended updates to guidance and training related to the use of artificial intelligence and other technology in education;

(C) a review of and recommended updates to State policies related to the use of technology in education; and

(D) a review of emerging technologies that may soon impact elementary and secondary education and recommendations for how the State Board of Education may prepare to support educators as those technologies emerge.

(4) In addition to the required annual report, the Board may issue recommendations and updates from time to time as it deems necessary to respond to advances in technology that may impact education.

(d) The State Board of Education shall develop criteria for evaluating the safety, transparency, data privacy, and educational quality of artificial intelligence technology that may be used in schools and a rubric or other method that may be used to evaluate artificial intelligence tools and applications against these criteria.

By December 1, 2026 and no later than May 1 of each subsequent calendar year, the State Board of Education shall publish and provide to school districts a list of technology tools employing artificial intelligence that have been evaluated against these criteria and the results of that evaluation. The State Board of Education may update this list as it deems necessary in addition to the required annual publication.

This list shall be provided as an informational resource only and may not be used to prohibit or require the use of any artificial intelligence technology by districts. The inclusion of a tool on this list does not constitute an endorsement by the State Board of Education.

In determining which tools to evaluate, the State Board of Education shall make a reasonable effort to identify and evaluate the artificial intelligence tools and applications most commonly used in schools in this State, which shall include making available a means for educators to request an evaluation of specific tools and may include surveys of school district use of artificial intelligence.

(105 ILCS 5/27-13.3)

Sec. 27-13.3. Internet safety education curriculum.

(a) The purpose of this Section is to inform and protect students from inappropriate or illegal communications and solicitation and to encourage school districts to provide education about Internet threats and risks, including without limitation child predators, fraud, and other dangers.

(b) The General Assembly finds and declares the following:

(1) it is the policy of this State to protect consumers and Illinois residents from deceptive and unsafe communications that result in harassment, exploitation, or physical harm;

(2) children have easy access to the Internet at home, school, and public places;

(3) the Internet is used by sexual predators and other criminals to make initial contact with children and other vulnerable residents in Illinois; and

(4) education is an effective method for preventing children from falling prey to online predators, identity theft, and other dangers.

(c) Each school may adopt an age-appropriate curriculum for Internet safety instruction of students in grades kindergarten through 12. However, beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, a school district must incorporate into the school curriculum a component on Internet safety to be taught at least once each school year to students in grades 3 through 12. The school board shall determine the scope and duration of this unit of instruction. The age-appropriate unit of instruction may be incorporated into the current courses of study regularly taught in the district's schools, as determined by the school board, and it is recommended that the unit of instruction include the following topics:

(1) Safe and responsible use of social networking websites, chat rooms, electronic mail, bulletin boards, instant messaging, artificial intelligence, and other means of communication on the Internet.

(2) Recognizing, avoiding, and reporting online solicitations of students, their classmates, and their friends by sexual predators.

(3) Risks of transmitting personal information on the Internet.

(4) Recognizing and avoiding unsolicited or deceptive communications received online.

(5) Recognizing and reporting online harassment and cyber-bullying, including the creation and distribution of false representations of individuals created by artificial intelligence, including, but not limited to, sexually explicit images and video.

(6) Reporting illegal activities and communications on the Internet.

(7) Copyright laws on written materials, photographs, music, and video.

(d) Curricula devised in accordance with subsection (c) of this Section may be submitted for review to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

(e) The State Board of Education shall make available resource materials for educating children regarding child online safety and may take into consideration the curriculum on this subject developed by other states, as well as any other curricular materials suggested by education experts, child psychologists, or technology companies that work on child online safety issues. Materials may include without limitation safe online communications, privacy protection, cyber-bullying, viewing inappropriate material, file sharing, the responsible use of artificial intelligence, and the importance of open communication with responsible adults. The State Board of Education shall make these resource materials available on its Internet website.

(Source: P.A. 95-509, eff. 8-28-07; 95-869, eff. 1-1-09; 96-734, eff. 8-25-09.)".