IL HB5489

School districts maintaining grades 9-12 may provide an optional unit of instruction on labor history beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

Instructional content may include railroad strikes, the Haymarket Square massacre, organized labor's role in World War II, the Wagner Act and Taft-Hartley Act, union decline and resurgence, and the roles of racism and sexism in the labor movement.

Instruction may also cover worker rights and protections including wage and hour laws, child labor prohibitions, worker safety, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, paid leave, and rights under the National Labor Relations Act and Illinois Public Labor Relations Act.

Students may receive information on State-approved apprenticeship programs as an alternative career path to traditional higher education.

The State Superintendent of Education may develop instructional materials to guide school boards, and the unit may be delivered through online programs or courses, effective July 1, 2024.