Rep. Laura Faver Dias

Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Provides that a group or individual plan of accident and health insurance or managed care plan amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after January 1, 2027 shall provide coverage for medically prescribed seizure detection devices. Requires all covered seizure detection devices to be approved for use by individuals, and for the choice of device to be made based upon the individual's circumstances and medical needs in consultation with the individual's medical provider. Sets forth provisions prohibiting prior authorization and cost-sharing, as specified. Amends the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971, the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the School Code, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, the Limited Health Service Organization Act, the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act, and the Illinois Public Aid Code to require coverage under the provisions of those Acts. Effective immediately.

Amends the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act. Provides that an assisted living establishment or a shared housing establishment shall only make referrals to its residents for home services providers that are licensed under the Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Licensing Act. Establishes penalties for violating the referral requirement. Amends the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act, the Community Living Facilities Licensing Act, and the Life Care Facilities Act to require that the Department of Public Health to distribute to each establishment or facility a one-page, 8.5 by 11 inch public safety announcement flyer in at least 12-point type and that the each establishment or facility post the flyer in a prominent location for all visitors to see. Effective January 1, 2027.

Amends the Community Living Facilities Licensing Act, the MC/DD Act, the ID/DD Community Care Act, the Community-Integrated Living Arrangements Licensure and Certification Act, and the Child Care Act of 1969. Requires the State agencies responsible for licensing facilities under those Acts to adopt, by December 31, 2026, rules requiring a facility to disclose upon initial application for licensure and on a quarterly basis thereafter, whether the facility, its subsidiaries, affiliates, parent companies, or contractual service providers are owned, managed, or contained within a fund owned or managed by an asset management company; and if so, to make certain disclosures about the asset management company's assets, the facility's debt, and other matters. Requires the State agencies to also adopt rules requiring such a facility to provide written notice of transactions and copies of agreements which would (i) sell or otherwise dispose of a material amount of the facility's assets or (ii) transfer control, responsibility, or governance of a material amount of the facility's assets or operations. Prohibits facilities owned or managed by an asset management company from engaging in certain transactions or actions that would result in the facility issuing debt-funded dividends or perform any other similar action causing the facility to become financially distressed. Provides that a violation of these requirements and prohibitions constitutes an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Requires the State agencies to publish disclosures, written notices, and copies of agreements submitted by facilities on the agencies' public websites. Imposes similar requirements and prohibitions on adult day service providers serving individuals with developmental disabilities under the Illinois Act on the Aging and providers of adult developmental training services under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Administrative Act. Effective immediately.

Creates the Language Equality Acquisition for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind Children Act. Provides that the State Board of Education, in cooperation with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission and the Department of Human Services, shall establish a language assessment program for deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind children, and select language developmental milestones. Sets forth provisions concerning the scope and purpose of the program and the development of a resource for use by parents and guardians. Provides that the State Board, in cooperation with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission and the Department of Human Services, shall select tools or assessments for educators that can be used to assess the language and literacy development of all deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind children. Sets forth provisions concerning the tools or assessments. Provides that beginning on July 1, 2026, a language assessment shall be given to each child who is deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind and who is less than 6 years of age. Sets forth provisions concerning the assessment. Provides that an advisory committee on language assessment programs shall be established by the State Board, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission, and the Department of Human Services. Sets forth the membership and duties of the advisory committee. Provides that on or before July 1, 2026, the State Board, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission, and the Department of Human Services shall publish a joint action plan and may propose legislation and rules necessary to implement the recommendations of the advisory committee. Sets forth provisions concerning reporting and rulemaking. Effective immediately.

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Allows the State Superintendent of Education to issue a short-term approval for a paraprofessional educator to an individual who does not meet the requirements necessary for issuance of an Educator License with Stipulations with a paraprofessional educator endorsement. Provides that the short-term approval authorizes an individual to serve as a paraprofessional educator in a school district, including a charter school, or a State-operated program, with the short-term approval expiring on June 30 immediately following the third full fiscal year after the approval was issued without renewal. Provides that upon expiration of the short-term approval, the State Superintendent of Education shall issue an Educator License with Stipulations with a paraprofessional educator endorsement to the individual if the individual meets specified requirements.

Amends the Employment of Teachers Article of the School Code. In a provision requiring a school board, before setting a hearing on charges stemming from causes that are considered remediable, to give a teacher reasonable warning, in writing, stating specifically the causes that, if not removed, may result in charges, allows a teacher to grieve the issuance of such warning pursuant to the applicable collective bargaining agreement to determine whether the board had just cause in issuing the warning. Requires the written warning to narrowly specify the nature of the alleged misconduct that needs to be remedied. Provides that under no circumstances may the written warning remain effective for longer than 4 years from the date of the issuance of the written warning. Requires the school district to use reasonable efforts to remove the written warning from the teacher's personnel file after the 4 years have elapsed or sooner if agreed to through the exclusive bargaining representative, with an exception. Effective immediately.

Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026, if a school district and its teachers cannot reach agreement over the decision on whether to incorporate the use of data and indicators on student growth as a factor in rating teaching performance into a teacher evaluation plan and there is no collective bargaining agreement that includes or incorporates by reference the teacher evaluation plan, then the student growth component shall be removed from the teacher evaluation plan. Effective immediately.

Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that it is an unlawful practice for a retail establishment to not accept the return of a product by a consumer or only offer store credit to the consumer in exchange for the return of a product if the consumer purchased the product at that retail establishment and the product is unopened and unused.

Amends the State Commemorative Dates Act. Designates July 25 of each year as Emmett Till Day, to be observed throughout the State as a day to honor and remember Emmett Till.

Amends the School Code. Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, requires a school district maintaining any of grades 9 through 12 to provide all eligible students graduating from high school with the opportunity to register to vote. Effective immediately.