The legislation was introduced in bill HB37 on Nov. 30, 2018, when Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-60) filed it with the House clerk.
According to the General Assembly website, the bill as introduced was designed to "amend the State Board of Education - Powers and Duties Article of the School Code".
After debate, the House passed the bill on March 19 and it arrived in the Senate on March 20, and both chambers agreed to the final version of the legislation on May 23. The bill was sent to the governor and signed into law on Aug. 9. The law is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
Illinois legislature enacts laws through bills that can be introduced in either the state House of Representatives or the state Senate. Either chamber of the legislature can reject or amend a bill before it becomes law. Legislators sometimes sponsor "shell bills" devoid of substantive provisions, introduced with the intention of being amended later to include actual legislation.
The following table shows the full history of actions on HB37.
| Date | Chamber | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 11/30/2018 | House | Prefiled with Clerk by Rep. Rita Mayfield |
| 1/9/2019 | House | First Reading |
| 1/9/2019 | House | Referred to Rules Committee |
| 1/29/2019 | House | Assigned to Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee |
| 2/6/2019 | House | Do Pass / Short Debate Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee; 020-000-000 |
| 2/7/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate |
| 2/26/2019 | House | Second Reading - Short Debate |
| 2/26/2019 | House | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate |
| 3/19/2019 | House | Added Chief Co-Sponsor Rep. Camille Y. Lilly |
| 3/19/2019 | House | Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 112-000-000 |
| 3/20/2019 | Senate | Arrive in Senate |
| 3/20/2019 | Senate | First Reading |
| 3/20/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading |
| 3/20/2019 | Senate | Referred to Assignments |
| 3/20/2019 | Senate | Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Terry Link |
| 4/24/2019 | Senate | Assigned to Education |
| 5/2/2019 | Senate | Do Pass Education; 011-000-000 |
| 5/2/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 7, 2019 |
| 5/9/2019 | Senate | Second Reading |
| 5/9/2019 | Senate | Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 14, 2019 |
| 5/23/2019 | House | Passed Both Houses |
| 5/23/2019 | Senate | Third Reading - Passed; 058-000-000 |
| 6/21/2019 | House | Sent to the Governor |
| 8/9/2019 | House | Effective Date January 1, 2020 |
| 8/9/2019 | House | Governor Approved |
| 8/9/2019 | House | Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0222 |
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