Illinois Code § 10-20.13

§ 10-20.13.

Textbooks and instructional materials for children of parents unable to buy them; waiver of fees and fines; discrimination and punishment prohibited. (a) To purchase, at the expense of the district, a sufficient number of textbooks and instructional materials for children whose parents are unable to buy them, including, but not limited to, children living in households that meet the free lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines established by the federal government pursuant to Section 1758 of the federal Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR 245 et seq.) and homeless children and youth as defined in Section 11434a of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a), subject to verification as set forth in subsection (c) of this Section. Such textbooks shall be loaned only, and the directors shall require the teacher to see that they are properly cared for and returned at the end of each term of school. (b) To waive all fees and any fines for the loss of school property assessed by the district on children whose parents are unable to afford them, including, but not limited to: (1) children living in households that meet the free lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines established by the federal government pursuant to Section 1758 of the federal Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR 245 et seq.) and students whose parents are veterans or active duty military personnel with income at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, subject to verification as set forth in subsection (c) of this Section, and (2) homeless children and youth as defined in Section 11434a of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). Notice of waiver availability shall be given to parents or guardians with every bill for fees or fines. The school board shall adopt written policies and procedures for such waiver of fees in accordance with regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education. (c) Any school board that participates in a federally funded, school-based child nutrition program and uses a student's application for, eligibility for, or participation in the federally funded, school-based child nutrition program (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR 245 et seq.) as the basis for waiving fees assessed by the school district must follow the verification requirements of the federally funded, school-based child nutrition program (42 U.S.C. 1758; 7 CFR 245.6a). A school board that establishes a process for the determination of eligibility for waiver of fees assessed by the school district that is completely independent of a student's application for, eligibility for, or participation in a federally funded, school-based child nutrition program may provide for fee waiver verification no more often than once per academic year. Information obtained during the independent, fee waiver verification process indicating that the student does not meet free lunch or breakfast eligibility guidelines may be used to deny the waiver of the student's fees or fines for the loss of school property, provided that any information obtained through this independent process for determining or verifying eligibility for fee waivers shall not be used to determine or verify eligibility for any federally funded, school-based child nutrition program. This subsection shall not preclude children from obtaining waivers at any point during the academic year. (d) Regardless of whether a student has obtained a waiver under this Section, a school board may not discriminate against, punish, or penalize a student in any way because of an unpaid balance on the student's school account or because the student's parents or guardians are unable to pay any required fees or fines for the loss of school property. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the lowering of grades, exclusion from any curricular or extracurricular program of the school district, or withholding student records, grades, transcripts, or diplomas. Any person who violates this subsection (d) is guilty of a petty offense. (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)