Law to eliminate racism in schools awaits signature by Gov. JB Pritzker

A new law that aims to combat racism and discrimination in schools has been approved by the Illinois General Assembly.

Senate Bill 90, colloquially known as the Racism-Free Schools Act, was sponsored in the Illinois House by Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, and in the Senate by Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines. The measure passed in a Senate concurrence vote unanimously on Thursday and is currently awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker's signature to go into effect.

“Here in Illinois, we will not tolerate racism or discrimination within schools – period," West said in a press release. "But as we continue to see a rise in incidents of hateful conduct across our country, it is clear that our actions need to match our words. That’s why the Racism-Free Schools Act is so important."

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The legislation requires school districts to create a policy on discrimination and harassment based on race, color, or national origin. It also requires the Illinois State Board of Education to create a data collection system to report on allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against students.

Bill Curtin of Teach Plus Illinois, a fellowship that trains teachers in understanding education policy advocacy, said the legislation is timely with hate and race-based crimes on the rise in schools. 

"The Racism-Free Schools Act addresses a pressing need to keep students and teachers safe by making it easier for victims, student victims especially, to come forward and stop harassment," he said. “I’m grateful to Senator Murphy and Representative West for listening to teachers in our state who know schools are not yet doing enough to address acts of hate and calling for action to change that.”

The new law also states that the failure of an institution to take remedial or disciplinary action against a student or an education representative employed by the institution, if the institution knows that the student or representative committed or engaged in harassment, is a civil rights violation.

If signed by Pritzker the new law will go into effect Aug. 1, 2024.