West Cook News

A new bill authored by State Rep. Aarón M. Ortíz in the Illinois House seeks to require public schools to integrate Latinx community studies into their educational programs, according to the Illinois State House.

The bill, introduced as HB4139 on Sep. 25, 2025, during the general assembly session 104, was summarized by the state legislature as follows: "Amends the School Code. Provides that, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include the study of Latinx communities in the curriculum across all content areas, including the contributions made by individual Latinx communities in government and the arts, humanities, mathematics, and sciences, as well as the contributions of Latinx to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. Allows the State Superintendent of Education to prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials that may be used as guidelines for development of the unit of instruction. Requires a regional superintendent of schools to monitor a school district's compliance with the curricular requirements. Provides that each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction satisfying these requirements. Allows a school to meet the requirements through an online program or course."

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates that starting with the 2026-27 school year, every public elementary and high school in Illinois must include studies on Latinx communities within their curriculum across all content areas. This education should cover the contributions of Latinx individuals in government, arts, humanities, mathematics, sciences, and their overall impact on the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. The State Superintendent of Education is authorized to provide instructional materials to guide the development of this curriculum, while each school board will decide the minimum instructional time required. Compliance with these curricular requirements will be monitored by regional superintendents during annual visits. Schools are permitted to fulfill these requirements through online programs or courses. The objective is to promote cultural representation, cross-cultural awareness, and social equity while affirming students' commitment to respecting all races and peoples.

Ortiz has proposed another five bills since the beginning of the 104th session.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Ortiz graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2013 with a BA.

Ortiz, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2019 to represent the state's 1st House District, replacing previous state representative Daniel J. Burke.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
HB4139	09/25/2025	Amends the School Code. Provides that, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include the study of Latinx communities in the curriculum across all content areas, including the contributions made by individual Latinx communities in government and the arts, humanities, mathematics, and sciences, as well as the contributions of Latinx to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States. Allows the State Superintendent of Education to prepare and make available to all school boards instructional materials that may be used as guidelines for development of the unit of instruction. Requires a regional superintendent of schools to monitor a school district's compliance with the curricular requirements. Provides that each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction satisfying these requirements. Allows a school to meet the requirements through an online program or course.
HB3081	02/06/2025	Amends the School Code. Creates the Out-of-School Time (OST) Advisory Council for the purpose of providing information and advice to the Governor and State agencies regarding State and federal policy and funding issues affecting out of school time programs. Sets forth membership, co-chairperson's and meetings. Provides that the OST Advisory Council shall: (1) provide information on the status of funding provided for OST programs in each fiscal year; (2) provide recommendations on legislative and administrative action needed to ensure that funding for before and after school programs is allocated promptly to qualified providers of OST programs; (3) provide information on the quality of services and accountability measures that are appropriate for school-age children and youth; (4) provide information regarding challenges faced by OST programs that impede the provision of the best possible services; (5) provide recommendations on the equitable reach of OST programs to ensure that the State has policies in place that promote access to the children and youth most in need of services; (6) make recommendations to the Governor and State agencies on reporting requirements, priority points, statewide evaluation, and licensure for OST programs; and (7) create and deliver to the Governor and General Assembly an annual report on statewide successes in OST and areas of growth for the future. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB3082	02/06/2025	Appropriates $50,000,000 to the State Board of Education for the purpose of providing grants for community learning centers to support afterschool programs and community schools. Effective July 1, 2025.
HB3083	02/06/2025	Amends the Illinois TRUST Act. Adds schools and school employees to provisions regarding law enforcement agencies and law enforcement officials. Defines "school".
HB3084	02/06/2025	Amends the Downstate Firefighter Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act (Article 20 of the Code) is adopted and made a part of the Downstate Firefighter Article, but only with respect to a person who, on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act, is entitled under the Downstate Firefighter Article to begin receiving a retirement annuity or survivor's annuity and who elects to proceed under the Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement by the State.
HB3085	02/06/2025	Amends the Grocery Initiative Act. Defines "independently owned" and "local ownership".