Post date: Mar 30, 2026
While this bill has not been passed out of committee we have received several questions so want to provide some feedback for those interested.
The proposed change to language in existing law is: Beginning with the 2028-2029 school year, any pupil enrolled in the public schools who is of compulsory school age but who has not yet attended kindergarten at a public, private, or parochial school shall be required to satisfactorily complete kindergarten before advancing to first grade.
While this bill would not lower the compulsory attendance law, this would possibly give family's concern who wanted to homeschool Kindergarten and then place their child in public school 1st grade. While every IL homeschool is legally a private school and this language clearly states private school Kindergarten is to be accepted, many homeschoolers have encountered individual public schools who seem to be confused about the legalities of homeschooling in IL. Likewise, would a Kindergarten program offered at a local preschool be accepted?
This bill is not aimed at homeschooling but we recognize why this bill could be of concern. It has stalled (just as HB2827 has) and is not expected to go any further. Hopefully it will not reappear next January but as always we will remain vigilant.