Bill
HB 3065
Requires schools to notify parents and share disciplinary details within 2 school days when misconduct involves violence, plus records redaction and rationale.
Status & timeline
- Introduced: Feb 6 / Feb 20, 2025 (filed).
- Passed both chambers: Oct 31, 2025.
- Governor approved: Nov 21, 2025.
- Effective date: Nov 21, 2025.
- Public Act number: 104‑0437.
- Companion: SB 2908. Sponsors and many co‑sponsors from both chambers.
Purpose
HB 3065 is a multipart education bill whose final enacted language (after senate amendments and floor amendments) (1) adds a parental‑notification / disclosure requirement to the Illinois School Code relating to student misconduct and discipline, and (2) makes several policy and definitional changes to postsecondary teacher‑pipeline statutes (the Transitions in Education Act and the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois Act) to strengthen transfer pathways and diversify higher‑education faculty.
Key provisions — School Code (new Section 34‑18.73)
- Defines “misconduct” as incidents involving offensive touching, a physical altercation, or use of violence.
- Requires schools to provide written notification to the parent/guardian when a student commits misconduct as defined above.
- Requires schools, upon parental request and consistent with federal and state student‑records laws, to provide written statements a student made to a school employee relating to misconduct, or a synopsis of the student’s statement.
- Requires schools to make reasonable attempts to provide copies of the disciplinary investigation report to:
- the parent/guardian of the student who received disciplinary action, and
- the parent/guardian of the student who was the target of the misconduct.
- Timing: the report must be provided within 2 school days after completion of the disciplinary report.
- Required contents of the report (with other students’ names/identifying info redacted per student‑privacy law):
1. Description of the misconduct that led to disciplinary action.
2. Description of any disciplinary action imposed, including duration.
3. The school’s justification/rationale for the discipline, including reference to applicable policies/procedures.
4. Description of any restorative justice measures used.
Key provisions — Postsecondary/teacher pipeline and DFI amendments
- Amends the Transitions in Education Act to reaffirm findings about teacher shortages and the need to strengthen transferability of community‑college credits into education majors.
- Encourages the Board of Higher Education, State Board of Education, and Illinois Community College Board to establish an IAI (Illinois Articulation Initiative) Major Panel in Education to identify recommended major courses that will transfer as credit toward education majors and to report progress to the General Assembly and P‑20 Council.
- Amends the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois (DFI) Act by revising and adding definitions (e.g., “Illinois resident,” “qualified institution,” and an expanded definition of “racial minority”), clarifying program goals (financial assistance to underrepresented minorities pursuing graduate/professional study and assisting placement into faculty/staff positions), and adding/renumbering sections (7.5, 8.5, 11.10, 11.15). Notably, a “qualified institution” may be defined to include institutions where at least 45% of students receive Pell Grants (measured by a 3‑year average) as a factor for eligibility under certain program rules.
Who is affected
- K‑12 students and their parents/guardians: increased notification and access to discipline‑related records when incidents involve offensive touching, altercations, or violence.
- School districts and school staff: new procedural obligations to notify parents, produce synopses/statements upon request, and provide timely (within 2 school days) redacted disciplinary reports and rationale.
- Higher education governing boards (Board of Higher Education, ICCB, State Board of Education) and institutions: encouraged/required to participate in education major articulation work and to implement DFI program changes.
- Minority and low‑income postsecondary students: potential expanded access to DFI financial assistance and clarified pathways to faculty careers; institutions with high Pell populations are specifically addressed.
Privacy and compliance
- All disclosures and records sharing are subject to federal and Illinois student‑records laws and rules (e.g., FERPA). Other students’ identifying information must be redacted.
Procedural notes
- The bill’s text evolved through Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 and a Senate Floor Amendment No. 2; sponsors and chief sponsors changed during the process. The enacted act incorporates multiple topic areas rather than a single narrowly scoped change.
Impact
- K‑12: increases transparency to families after violent/physical incidents and requires schools to document the discipline rationale, which may improve parent awareness and trust but imposes administrative duties on schools.
- Postsecondary/teacher pipeline: seeks better course articulation and credit transfer into education majors and strengthens support for diversifying faculty through the DFI program; may improve teacher‑pipeline efficiency and access for underrepresented candidates over time.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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