Bill
HB 5552
Strengthens transparency and modernization of Illinois education governance by restructuring the State Board, expanding reporting, and enabling waivers for innovative approaches wh
HB5552 Summary (Illinois, 104th General Assembly)
Overview
- Bill: HB5552, introduced Feb 13, 2026 by Rep. Laura Faver Dias
- Jurisdiction: Illinois
- Primary focus: Broad amendments to the School Code governing state Board structure, educator licensure, waivers, school report cards, governance of charter schools, and related education programs. Repeals and conforming changes across multiple education statutes and related acts.
- Effective: Immediate
Purpose and intent
- Modernize and reorganize administrative structure and processes within the State Board of Education (SBE) and related agencies.
- Clarify and expand reporting, auditing, and transparency requirements for school districts.
- Update terminology (e.g., “Teacher Licensure Fee Revolving Fund,” “world language,” “community-based heritage language schools”) and align programs with current practices and terminology.
- Introduce and regulate waivers/modifications of mandates and rules to support innovation while safeguarding core educational standards.
Key provisions and changes (substantive highlights)
1) State Board of Education governance
- Adds or reorganizes departments within the SBE:
- Educator Effectiveness
- Improvement and Innovation
- Fiscal Support Services
- Internal Auditor
- Human Resources
- Legal
- Special Education, Nutrition, and Wellness
- Multilingual or Language Development and Early Childhood Development
- Allows the SBE to alter its departmental structure as appropriate.
2) Teacher supply and demand reporting
- Reinstates/updates the teacher supply and demand reporting framework:
- Repeats a three-year cycle with a schedule for reporting (last required reports align with 2027 onward).
- Requires the report to cover relative supply/demand by field, content area, and level; include state/regional analyses; and provide projections to guide career opportunities.
3) Waivers and modifications of mandates
- Creates a framework for eligible districts or authorities to petition the SBE for waivers/modifications of mandates or administrative rules.
- Waivers allowed when an alternative approach addresses the mandate’s intent more effectively or innovates to improve student outcomes.
- Prohibits waivers from certain core areas (e.g., special education requirements, licensure for teachers, tenure/seniority laws, ESSA compliance, and a few specific data-use provisions).
- Establishes process requirements: public hearings, fiscal analyses for cost-saving waivers, and post-hearing public notification requirements.
- Provides a panel-based consideration path involving both the General Assembly and a formal reporting mechanism.
4) Department of Transitional Bilingual Education
- Maintains and clarifies duties, including staffing preferences (favoring native speakers from non-U.S. countries where relevant languages are spoken).
- Continues authority to administer bilingual education provisions, evaluate resources, and report annually to the General Assembly.
5) World language and heritage language standards
- Reframes “ethnic school” as “community-based heritage language school.”
- Sets minimum standards for world foreign language instruction within community-based heritage language schools.
- Establishes credentialing/approval processes for such schools to teach world languages.
6) State Seal of Biliteracy
- Expands the program to recognize biliteracy with criteria set by the SBE.
- Allows multiple pathways for demonstrating English proficiency and biliteracy, including AP exams, dual credit, or community college articulation.
- Requires districts/universities to designate and translate biliteracy credentials on diplomas/transcripts and permits college credit recognition for biliteracy.
7) School report cards and expanded data
- Requires expanded annual reporting on school/district performance, including:
- School characteristics, student demographics, curriculum offerings, student outcomes, and school environment indicators.
- Additional metrics: including advanced coursework enrollment, teacher qualifications, discipline incidents, counselor staffing, and several newly specified data elements.
- Mandates publication of school report cards at board meetings, on district websites, and in newspapers where applicable, with parent notification.
- Introduces the Expanded High School Coursework Snapshot Report (by 2027 and thereafter) detailing advanced vs. standard coursework, teacher and student demographics, and outcomes.
8) Contracts and procurement transparency
- Requires districts to post contracts over $25,000 and annual contract reports on district websites, including minority/women/disability-owned businesses and locally owned firms.
9) Other adjustments
- Terminology updates (e.g., “epinephrine injector” to “epinephrine delivery system”; “foreign countries” to “countries other than the United States”).
- Repeals the Community Service Education Act.
- Various conforming edits to the School Code, State Finance Act, and acts governing public universities.
Impacts
- School districts: Increased transparency in reporting, potential administrative costs for enhanced reporting, and new opportunities to seek waivers for innovative approaches.
- Students and families: Expanded access to information through more detailed school report cards; recognition of biliteracy and heritage-language programs.
- Educators: Possible licensure fund changes (“Teacher Licensure Fee Revolving Fund”); updated evaluation and testing frameworks may affect credentialing and assessment.
- Public accountability: Stronger public visibility into district contracts, expenditures, and program quality, with annual reporting cycles and public hearings for waivers.
Procedural/timeline notes
- Many provisions are effective immediately.
- Public hearing and appeal processes for waivers include specific notification and hearing requirements.
- Expanded reporting and the Expanded High School Coursework Snapshot are scheduled to be produced/posted by December 31 of specified future years (post-2025 implementation).
This summary captures the bill’s core aims and substantive changes to governance, reporting, and program provisions within Illinois education policy.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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