Denial of free education prohibited

(105 ILCS 5/22-106)     Sec. 22-106. Denial of free education prohibited.     (a) The purpose of this Section is to secure the right of every child to equal access to a free public education and a school that is safe from intimidation and fear, consistent with the landmark United States Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), as in effect on January 1, 2025, which held that it is unconstitutional for states to deny children a free public education based on immigration status. In their efforts to promote the right to educational equality established in Plyler, schools must take steps to protect the integrity of school learning environments for all children, so that no parent is discouraged from sending and no child is discouraged from attending school, including from the threat of immigration enforcement or other law enforcement activity on a school campus.     (b) As used in this Section:     "Citizenship or immigration status" means all matters regarding citizenship of the United States or any other country or the authority or lack thereof to reside in or otherwise to be present in the United States, including an individual's nationality and country of citizenship.     "Law enforcement agent" means an agent of federal, State, or local law enforcement authorized with the power to arrest or detain individuals or manage the custody of detained individuals for a law enforcement purpose, including civil immigration enforcement. "Law enforcement agent" does not include a school resource officer as defined in Section 10-20.68 of this Code.     "Nonjudicial warrant" means a warrant issued by a federal, State, or local agency authorized with the power to arrest or detain individuals or manage the custody of detained individuals for any law enforcement purpose, including civil immigration enforcement. "Nonjudicial warrant" includes an immigration detainer or civil immigration warrant as defined in the Illinois TRUST Act. "Nonjudicial warrant" does not include a criminal warrant issued upon a judicial determination of probable cause, in compliance with the requirements of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Section 6 of Article I of the Illinois Constitution.     "Prevailing party" includes any party:         (1) who obtains some of his or her requested relief     through a judicial judgment in his or her favor;        (2) who obtains some of his or her requested relief     through a settlement agreement approved by the court; or        (3) whose pursuit of a non-frivolous claim was a     catalyst for a unilateral change in position by the opposing party relative to the relief sought.    "School" means every public school, school district, and governing body, including a special charter district or charter school, organized under this Code, and its agents, including a contracted party.     (c) No child may be denied a free public education through secondary school while in this State based on the child's perceived or actual immigration status or the child's parent's or guardian's perceived or actual citizenship or immigration status.         (1) A school must not exclude a child from     participation in or deny a child the benefits of any program or activity on the grounds of that child's perceived or actual immigration status or the child's parent's or guardian's actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status.        (2) A school must not use policies or procedures or     engage in practices that have the effect of excluding a child from participation in or denying the benefits of any program or activity or the effect of excluding participation of the child's parent or guardian from parental engagement activities or programs because of the child's perceived or actual immigration status or the child's parent's or guardian's actual or perceived immigration status. These policies, procedures, and practices include:            (A) requesting or collecting information or         documentation from a student or the student's parent or guardian about citizenship or immigration status unless required by State or federal law; and            (B) designating immigration status, citizenship,         place of birth, nationality, or national origin as directory information, as that term is defined by federal and State law.        (3) A school must not perform any of the following     actions:            (A) Threaten to disclose anything related to the         actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status of a child or a person associated with the child to any other person or entity or an immigration or law enforcement agency.            (B) Disclose anything related to the perceived         citizenship or immigration status of a child or a person associated with the child to any other person or entity or an immigration or law enforcement agency if the school does not have direct knowledge of the child's or associated person's actual citizenship or immigration status, subject to the requirements of this paragraph (3).            (C) Disclose anything related to the actual         citizenship or immigration status of a child or a person associated with the child to any other person or nongovernmental entity if the school has direct knowledge of the child's or associated person's actual citizenship or immigration status, subject to the requirements of this paragraph (3).        Nothing in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this     paragraph (3) may be construed to permit the disclosure of student records or information without complying with State and federal requirements governing the disclosure of such records or information. Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph (3) may not be construed to prohibit or restrict an entity from sending to or receiving from the United States Department of Homeland Security or any other federal, State, or local governmental entity information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of an individual under Sections 1373 and 1644 of Title 8 of the United States Code.        (4) A school must develop procedures for reviewing     and authorizing requests from law enforcement agents attempting to enter a school or school facility by July 1, 2026. The procedures must comply with the requirements of paragraph (2) of this subsection (c), and, at a minimum, include the following:            (A) procedures for reviewing and contacting a         designated authorized person at the school or school facility and the district superintendent's office or school administrative office, who may contact the school's legal counsel, and procedures for that authorized person or legal counsel to review requests to enter a school or school facility, including judicial warrants, nonjudicial warrants, and subpoenas;            (B) procedures for monitoring or accompanying and         procedures for documenting all interactions with law enforcement agents while on the school's premises; and            (C) procedures for notifying and seeking consent         from a student's parents or guardian or from the student if the student is 18 years old or older or emancipated if a law enforcement agent requests access to a student for immigration enforcement purposes, unless such access is in compliance with a judicial warrant or subpoena that restricts the disclosure of the information to the student's parent or guardian.        This paragraph (4) is subject to subsection (c) of     Section 22-88 of this Code.    (d) A school shall adopt a policy for complying with paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (c) by July 1, 2026.     (e) Beginning July 1, 2026, any party aggrieved by conduct that violates subsection (c) may bring a civil lawsuit. This lawsuit must be brought no later than 2 years after the violation of subsection (c). If the court finds that a willful violation of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (c) has occurred, the court may award actual damages. The court, as it deems appropriate, may grant, as relief, any permanent or preliminary negative or mandatory injunction, temporary restraining order, or other order.     (f) Nothing in this Section may be construed to require an exhaustion of the administrative complaint process before civil law remedies may be pursued.     (g) Upon a motion, a court shall award reasonable attorney's fees and costs, including expert witness fees and other litigation expenses, to a plaintiff who is a prevailing party in any action brought under subsection (c). In awarding reasonable attorney's fees, the court shall consider the degree to which the relief obtained relates to the relief sought.     (h) The General Assembly finds and declares that this Section is a State law within the meaning of subsection (d) of Section 1621 of Title 8 of the United States Code. (Source: P.A. 104-288, eff. 1-1-26; 104-852, eff. 8-21-26.)