summary
Introduced
01/13/2026
01/13/2026
In Committee
01/14/2026
01/14/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
104th General Assembly
Bill Summary
Amends the School Code. Requires, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, school boards to report specified data to the State Board of Education regarding computer science courses in schools maintaining any of grades kindergarten through 8. Requires the State Board to make the data publicly available. With respect to a Professional Educator License, provides that the State Board shall create an introductory content area endorsement for teaching computer science in grades 5 through 12 that allows licensed educators to teach introductory computer science courses. In provisions concerning required high school courses, provides that a computer science course (rather than an Advanced Placement computer science course) qualifies under the mathematics requirement. Requires each pupil entering the 9th grade beginning with the 2028-2029 school year to successfully complete one year of high school computer science and artificial intelligence as a prerequisite to receiving a high school diploma, which may be taken in any of grades 7 through 12 and shall count toward the fulfillment of certain other high school graduation requirements. Requires the State Board to create guidelines for school districts. Provides that the computer science course requirement does not apply to a pupil transferring to a high school in this State from another state after the pupil's 11th grade year. Allows a school to enter into a cooperative resource sharing agreement to ensure that its students can enroll in a computer science course. Makes other changes.
AI Summary
This bill mandates that beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, school boards must report data on computer science courses offered in grades kindergarten through 8 to the State Board of Education, which will then make this data publicly available. It also establishes an introductory content area endorsement for educators to teach computer science in grades 5 through 12, requiring minimal graduate-level preparation or a one-week professional development program. Furthermore, starting with the 2028-2029 school year, students entering 9th grade will need to successfully complete one year of high school computer science and artificial intelligence to graduate, which can be taken in grades 7-12 and can count towards foreign language, mathematics, or elective graduation requirements, with specific guidelines to be provided by the State Board of Education; this requirement does not apply to students transferring from out-of-state after their 11th grade year, and schools can use cooperative resource sharing to meet this mandate. The bill also clarifies that a general computer science course, not just an Advanced Placement (AP) computer science course, will now satisfy the mathematics requirement for high school graduation.
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Referred to Rules Committee (on 01/14/2026)
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