Few things are more frightening for a parent than suspecting that a teacher or coach has crossed a line with their child. You may be unsure what you are seeing, unsure who to ask, and unsure what the school is required to do. Illinois law now answers several of those questions in writing.
If your child was harmed, a civil claim may be possible against the school. Your child does not need to have reported it, and nobody needs to have been charged. A civil claim asks what the school district knew, what it should have known, and what it did. Attorney Ervin Nevitt, a partner at Coplan + Crane (Illinois bar registration 6319808, admitted 2014), reviews these cases.
Signs to watch for
When Illinois passed Faith's Law, the General Assembly found that many breaches of staff-student boundaries are not criminal but still put students at risk, and that repeated boundary violations can indicate grooming. The boundaries the law tells schools to set give parents a practical guide.
Be alert to a staff member messaging your child privately on a personal phone or social media account instead of school channels. Notice if they drive your child alone without your permission, or take or keep photos or video of your child for no school purpose. Pay attention to one-on-one time in an empty room, sometimes framed as extra help, and to contact off campus or outside school hours. Watch for a staff member sharing personal, romantic, or sexual details, or commenting on your child's appearance.
None of these alone proves abuse. In a civil claim, the question is whether other staff saw the pattern, whether it broke the school's written policy, and what the school did once it knew.
What the school must tell you
Under Faith's Law, the school must tell you. Since July 1, 2023, when an employee, agent, or contractor is alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with an enrolled student, the school must tell the student and then notify the parents or guardians in writing.
A second notice follows if the board takes formal action on the employee's job, such as a termination or an accepted resignation. That notice must say whether a report was or will be sent to the State Superintendent of Education. The school does not have to name the employee. Parent notice is not required once the student is 18 or emancipated.
The school's written rules
Every district, charter school, and nonpublic school must have an employee code of professional conduct policy. It must include the state's definition of sexual misconduct and set staff-student boundaries, with guidelines on transporting students, taking or keeping photos or video, and contacting students outside the employee's professional role. It must be posted on the school's website, if it has one, and included in handbooks. Reading that policy can help you understand whether what you saw broke the rules.
The definition comes from Section 22-85.5 of the School Code (105 ILCS 5/22-85.5). It covers any act, including verbal, nonverbal, written, or electronic communication or physical activity, by an employee or agent of a school district, charter school, or nonpublic school with direct contact with a student, directed toward or with a student to establish a romantic or sexual relationship. Examples include romantic invitations, dating, sexualized dialog, suggestive comments, and sexual or romantic contact. Romantic messages to a student qualify even with no physical contact.
Checking a teacher's license
Illinois educators hold licenses issued by ISBE under Article 21B of the School Code. You can use the public search in the Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS) on isbe.net to look up license information by city, district, school, or educator name.
ISBE verifies misconduct findings and sanctions separately, on email request, and asks for the educator's identification number and date of birth, which families rarely have. An active license does not mean no complaint was ever made.
Under Section 21B-75, the State Superintendent of Education has exclusive authority to start proceedings to suspend a license for up to five years or revoke it, on grounds including abuse of a child, sexual misconduct, and willful or negligent failure to report suspected abuse. A district superintendent with reasonable cause to believe a license holder committed sexual misconduct that led to dismissal or resignation must report it in writing to the State Superintendent and the regional superintendent.
What the school had to check before hiring
Section 22-94 of the School Code, added by Public Act 102-0702, covers every permanent and temporary job at a public or nonpublic school with direct contact with students, including contractor staff such as bus drivers. Before hiring, the school must get a statement on ISBE's template about any sexual misconduct allegation, any departure or discipline because of one, and any license suspended, surrendered, or revoked for that reason. It must ask the same questions of the applicant's current employer and past employers that were schools or involved work with children, and, for ISBE-licensed applicants, check the reported employers against ISBE's licensure records.
Since July 1, 2023, a school may not sign a resignation or severance agreement that suppresses information about a pending investigation or a substantiated allegation. Such terms are void. A completed review need not be repeated when the employee moves to another school in the same district, diocese, or religious organization. The information is not a public record and cannot be obtained through FOIA, so families usually reach it through a lawsuit.
Staff were required to report
School staff are mandated reporters. Faith's Law widened the criminal definition of grooming (720 ILCS 5/11-25) to cover acts in person, through a third party, and in writing, and made grooming a form of abuse that school staff must report to DCFS under the Illinois mandatory reporter law. A complaint that was received and not reported is itself a documented failure.
Where Faith's Law came from
Faith's Law is two acts of the 102nd General Assembly: Public Act 102-0676, effective December 3, 2021, and Public Act 102-0702, effective July 1, 2023. It is named after Faith Colson, who was abused by a teacher at her Illinois high school and later learned that several adults there had suspected the relationship and did not report it. For a civil claim, the law matters because it sets out in writing what a school was supposed to have in place.
If you are considering a claim
These claims are usually brought against the school district, not only the individual. Failure to report is the theory that most often carries them, though several run together, depending on your facts. Districts keep personnel files, prior complaints, and transfer histories.
Where the school is a public district, the defendant is a public body, and the Illinois Tort Immunity Act comes in immediately, with its immunities and its notice and timing rules. A public district or school board is a "local public entity" under the Act. Under Section 3-108, for example, a public entity is not liable for an injury caused by its supervision, or by a failure to supervise where it had a duty to, unless the conduct was willful and wanton. Districts are public bodies under FOIA, so some records can be requested before a lawsuit. Childhood sexual abuse claims are treated differently from other claims against public bodies. How the timing rules apply depends on your facts, so have a lawyer check your dates.
A private or religious school is not a local public entity, so those immunities do not protect it in the same way, it is not subject to FOIA, and it follows the ordinary rules. In a Catholic or other religious school, the school, parish, diocese, religious order, or an operating corporation may each be a defendant, depending on who employed and supervised the teacher. Faith's Law applies to nonpublic schools too.
Common Questions Parents Ask
Will the school tell us if a staff member is accused of misconduct with our child? Under Faith's Law, yes. The school must notify the student and then the parents in writing when an allegation is made about an enrolled student under 18, and again if the board acts on the employee's job. It does not have to name the employee.
Can I find out whether my child's teacher was disciplined before? Partly. ELIS shows license information, but misconduct findings are verified through a separate ISBE request, and employment history review forms are not public records. Prior complaints and transfers are usually obtained in a lawsuit.
Does Faith's Law apply to Catholic and private schools? Yes, including the definition, code of conduct policy, parent notices, and employment history review.
Does someone have to have been convicted? No. A civil case uses a lower standard of proof and is usually brought against the institution rather than the individual.
I am asking on behalf of my child. That is fine and it happens often. There is no obligation on anyone to do anything.
My child only remembers part of it. That is ordinary. These cases are built from institutional records rather than a complete account.
What happens when you contact us
Asking a question does not start anything. You speak with a person, not a form, and you do not have to describe what happened. We look into which institution was responsible, what it knew, what records exist, and whether a claim can still be brought. That work costs you nothing.
We tell you plainly what is possible. If you decide not to go ahead, that is the end of it, and what you told us stays confidential. If you go ahead, we carry the filings, deadlines, records, and insurers, and steps can be taken to protect your child's identity in the court record.
Call (708) 671-6858 for a free, confidential case review. To learn more, visit: https://survivorsofabuseil.com/teacher-student-sexual-abuse-lawyer-il/
