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• Public Act 101-0654

• ​Computer Literacy

  Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, all school districts shall ensure that students receive developmentally appropriate opportunities to gain computer literacy skills at each grade level K-12. Additionally, students entering ninth grade in the 2022-23 school year and each school year thereafter must participate in one year of a course that includes intensive instruction in computer literacy, which may be English, social studies, or any other subject and that may be counted toward the fulfillment of other graduation requirements.

  “Computer literacy” is broadly defined as one’s knowledge of and ability to use computers and related technologies efficiently and effectively. More specifically, computer literacy includes knowing what constitutes a computer, the uses and applications for computers, and the impact of computers on society.​
  

  • Computer Literacy Fact Sheet​
    
  • Computer Literacy Knowledge and Skills Continuum​​
    
    

• Computer Science

  Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, all school districts that maintain any grades 9-12 shall provide an opportunity for every high school student to take at least one computer science course aligned to rigorous learning standards of the Illinois State Board of Education.

  “Computer science” means the study of computers and algorithms, including their principles, their hardware and software designs, their implementation, and their impact on society. Computer science does not include the study of everyday uses of computers and computer applications, such as keyboarding or accessing the internet.
  

  ISBE convened a work group to provide the field with supplemental resources to support educators in teaching computer science.

  A listing of the courses from the Illinois State Course Catalog that are designated as computer science and information on qualifications for teachers of those courses has been developed.

  • Computer Science Assignability​​​​​
  • Computer Science Fact Sheet​​​
    
  • Pre-K Computer Science Resource​​​
  • ​Integrated View of IL CS Standards (LTC)​​
    

Public Act 102-0055 amends the Illinois School Code to ensure that students in every public high school in Illinois develop 21st-century skills for inquiry and critical thinking to better navigate the current information landscape.

Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, every public high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction on media literacy, including instruction on how to access information, analyze and evaluate media messages, create media, and reflect on media consumption as well as the social responsibility of engaging with media of all forms.

• ​Media Literacy Fact Sheet​
• Media Literacy Framework
• Overview of Framework

The Illinois Media Literacy Coalition is a group of educators and scholars passionate about the practice of media literacy and driven by the passage of Illinois Public Act 102-0055. For more current resources and information regarding media literacy, visit their website at https://ilmlc.org/.​​​

Starting with the 2024-2025 school year, every public elementary school and high school social studies course focused on American history or government will include a unit on the Native American experience and Native American history in the Midwest and this state. This curriculum will cover the contributions of Native Americans in government, arts, humanities, and sciences, as well as their roles in the economic, cultural, social, and political development of their own nations and of the United States.

The instruction will also provide an overview of the large urban Native American populations in this state, highlighting the history and contemporary experiences of Native Americans living here. For grades 6 through 12, the curriculum will include topics such as the genocide and discrimination faced by Native Americans, tribal sovereignty, treaties between tribal nations and the United States, and the circumstances surrounding the forced relocation of Native Americans.

This unit of instruction may be integrated with the requirements set forth in Sections 27-20.03 and 27-21 of this Code.

The Illinois State Board of Education has convened a work group to create educational resources to support educators in teaching Native American history.

• Native American and Indigenous Peoples Resource Guide​​
• Native American and Indigenous Peoples Front Matter Document
  

• Safety Education Legislation​​​

​The Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act amends the Illinois School Code to ensure that students in every public elementary and high school in Illinois learn about the contributions of Asian Americans to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States.

Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Asian American history, including the history of Asian Americans in Illinois and the Midwest, as well as the contributions of Asian Americans toward advancing civil rights from the 19th century onward.

ISBE convened a work group to create a one-page document and supplemental educational resources to assist educators in providing instruction on Asian American history.

• TEAACH Act Webinar​
  
• TEAACH Act Fact Sheet
  
• TEAACH ACT Resources
  
• TEAACH Act Resource Guide (12/2022)​
  

• Writing-Intensive Fact Sheet​

Illinois graduation requirements include two years of Writing-Intensive courses.

• One year must consist of year-long English Language Arts courses with content that primarily focuses on writing.
• One year may be an additional year-long English Language Arts course OR a course identified as writing intensive in another subject area.

For a course to be considered writing-intensive, it should:

• ​strive to improve student writing skills
• assign regular and integral writing tasks
• align and evaluate writing tasks to the Illinois Learning Standards
• emphasize the importance of feedback in the writing process for students to improve their writing skills
• incorporate all aspects of the writing process when applicable, including research​​
  

Also, all educators in Illinois have free access to EdLeaders Network to continue work on their own professional learning during this time.​

***According to the team at the EdLeaders Network, these is  a considerable influx of districts and individuals seeking access to ELN.  Due to the volume of requests, uploading staff, and granting access to the Learning Management System is taking longer than usual. Additionally, because of a larger than normal number of users wanting taking advantage of ELN, responding to support tickets is taking longer than usual. As they work through the queue of both uploading staff and support tickets, they appreciate your patience and understanding.***