UPDATE 6/9/23: HB 3425 was signed into law by Governor Pritzker.
While there has been significant work in Illinois to address bullying, we know too many students continue to experience a range of harm, including depression, anxiety, lower academic achievement, dropping out of school, self-harm, and even death. House Bill 3425 responds to the needs of students who face harm by making necessary updates to the anti-bullying law.
HB 3425 expands the categories protected under our state anti-bullying law to include those who are pregnant and parenting, socioeconomic status, academic status, physical appearance and those experiencing homelessness. Additionally, this bill requires school administrators to notify parents and guardians of a report of bullying within 24 hours of the event.
Under HB 3425 the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) would create and maintain a model bullying policy template. Schools would be encouraged to provide evidence-based professional development and bullying prevention programming and be required to collect and share non-identifiable bullying related data with ISBE to identify patterns of bullying and positive interventions that could be utilized. The Illinois Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention Fund would also be created under this bill.
