6:60 Instruction
(Acrobat File)
     
 

Curriculum Content
The curriculum shall contain instruction on subjects required by State statute or regulation as follows:

  1. In kindergarten through grade 8, subjects include: (a) language arts, (b) reading, (c) other communication skills, (d) science, (e) mathematics, (f) social studies, (g) art, (h) music, and (i) drug and substance abuse prevention including the dangers of opioid abuse. A reading opportunity of 60 minutes per day will be promoted for all students in alignment of Illinois School Code. Before the completion of grade 5, students will be offered at least one unit of cursive instruction. Daily time of at least 30 minutes (with a minimum of at least 15 consecutive minutes if divided) will be provided for supervised, unstructured, child-directed play for all students in kindergarten through grade 5. In grades 6, 7, or 8, students must receive at least one semester of civics education in accordance with Illinois Learning Standards for social science.

  1. In grades 7 through 8, as well as in interscholastic athletic programs, steroid abuse prevention must be taught. 

  2. In kindergarten through grades 8, provided it can be funded by private grants or the federal government, violence prevention and conflict resolution must be stressed, including: (a) causes of conflict, (b) consequences of violent behavior, (c) non-violent resolution, and (d) relationships between drugs, alcohol, and violence. In addition, anti-bias education and intergroup conflict resolution may be taught as an effective method for preventing violence and lessening tensions in schools; these prevention methods are most effective when they are  respectful of individuals and their divergent viewpoints and religious beliefs, which are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

  3. In kindergarten through grades 8, age-appropriate Internet safety must be taught, the scope of which shall be determined by the Superintendent or designee. The curriculum must incorporate policy 9:00 Acceptable Use of the District’s Electronic Resources, at a minimum, including: (a) education about appropriate online behavior, (b) interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms, and (c) cyberbullying awareness and response.

  4. In all grades, students must receive developmentally appropriate opportunities to gain computer literacy skills that are embedded in the curriculum.

  5. In all grades, character education must be taught including respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, trustworthiness, and citizenship, in order to raise students’ honesty, kindness, justice, discipline, respect for others, and moral courage. In addition, in all grades, will include examples of behaviors that violate Board policy 7:180, Prevention of and Response to Bullying, Intimidation, and Harassment. 

  6. In all schools, citizenship values must be taught, including:  (a) American patriotism, (b) principles of representative government (the American Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois) , (c) proper use and display of the American flag, (d) the Pledge of Allegiance, and (e) the voting process. 

  7. In all grades, physical education must be taught including a developmentally planned and sequential curriculum that fosters the development of movement skills, enhances health-related fitness, increases students’ knowledge, offers direct opportunities to learn how to work cooperatively in a group setting, and encourages healthy habits and attitudes for a healthy lifestyle. Unless otherwise exempted, all students are required to engage in a physical education course with such frequency as determined by the Board after recommendations from the Superintendent, but at minimum of three days per five-day week. For exemptions and substitutions, see policy7:260, Exemption from Physical Education. 

  8. In all schools, health education must be stressed, including: (a) proper nutrition, (b) physical fitness, (c) components necessary to develop a sound mind in a healthy body, (d) dangers and avoidance of abduction and (e) age-appropriate and evidence-informed sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education in all grades. The Superintendent shall implement a comprehensive health education program in accordance with State law.

  9. In all schools, career/vocational education must be taught, including:  (a) the importance of work, (b) the development of basic skills to enter the world of work and/or continue formal education, (c) good work habits and values, (d) the relationship between learning and work, and (e) if possible, a student work program that provides the student with work experience as an extension of the regular classroom.  A career awareness and exploration program must be available at all grade levels. 

  10. In all schools, conservation of natural resources must be taught, including: (a) home ecology, (b) endangered species, (c) threats to the environment, and (d) the importance of the environment to life as we know it. 

  11. In all schools, United States (U.S.) history must be taught, including:  (a) the principles of representative government, (b) the Constitutions of the U.S. and Illinois, (c) the role of the U.S. in world affairs, (d) the role of labor unions, (e) the role and contributions of ethnic groups, including but not limited to, the African Americans, Albanians, Asian Americans, Bohemians, Czechs, French, Germans, Hispanics (including the events related to the forceful removal and illegal deportation of Mexican-American U.S. citizens during the Great Depression), Hungarians, Irish, Italians, Lithuanians, Polish, Russians, Scots, and Slovakians in the history of this country and State, (f) a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and (g) Illinois history and (h) the contributions made to society by Americans of different faith practices, including, but not limited to, Muslim Americans, Jewish Americans, Christian Americans, Hindu Americans, Sikh Americans, Buddhist Americans, and any other collective community of faith that has shaped America.

  12. In addition, all schools shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on Constitution Day, each September 17, commemorating the September 17, 1787, signing of the Constitution. However, when September 17 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, Constitution Day shall be held during the preceding or following week. 

  13. In grade 7 during all courses concerning U.S. history or a combination of U.S. history and American government, students must view a Congressional Medal of Honor film made by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, provided there is no cost for the film.

  14. In all schools, the curriculum includes a unit of instruction as determined by the Superintendent or designee on the Holocaust and crimes of genocide, including Nazi atrocities of 1933- 1945, Armenian Genocide, the Famine-Genocide in Ukraine, and more recent atrocities in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Sudan. 

  15. In all schools, the curriculum includes a unit of instruction on the history, struggles, and contributions of women. 

  16. In all schools, the curriculum includes a unit of instruction as determined by the Superintendent or designee on Black History, including the history of the pre-enslavement of Black people from 3,000 BCE to AD 1619, the African slave trade, slavery in America, the study of the reasons why Black people came to be enslaved, the vestiges of slavery in this country, the study of the American civil rights renaissance, as well as the struggles and contributions of African Americans.

  17. In all schools, the Superintendent or designee will determine in which courses instruction on disability history, awareness, and the disability rights movement will occur. 

  18. Beginning in the fall of 2022, in all schools, instruction as determined by the Superintendent or designee on the events of Asian American history, including the history of Asian Americans in Illinois and the Midwest, as well as the contributions of Asian Americans toward advancing civil rights from the 19th century onward, which must include the contributions made by individual Asian Americans in government and the arts, humanities, and sciences, as well as the contributions of Asian American communities to the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the United States.

  19. In kindergarten through grade 8, education must be available to students concerning effective methods of preventing and avoiding traffic injuries related to walking and bicycling 


LEGAL REF.: Pub. L. No. 108-447, Section 111 of Division J, Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005.

Pub. L. No. 110-385, Title II, 122 stat. 4096 (2008), Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act.

47 C.F.R. §54.520

5 ILCS 465/3 and 465/3a.

20 ILCS 2605/2605-480.

105 ILCS 5/2-3.80(e) and (f), 5/10-20.79, 5/10-23.13, 5/27-3, 5/27-3.5, 5/27-5, 5/27-6, 5/27-6.5, 5/27-7, 5/27-12, 5/27-12.1, 5/27-13.1, 5/27-13.2,  5/27-20.08, 5/27-20.3, 5/27-20.4, 5/27-20.5, 5/27-20.7, 5/27-20.8, 5/27-21, 5/27-22, 5/27-23.3, 5/27-23.4, 5/27-23.7, 5/27-23.8, 5/27-23.10, 5/27-23.11, 5/27-23.15, 5/27-23.16, 5/27-24.1, and 5/27-24.2.

105 ILCS 435/, 110/3, Comprehensive Health Education Program.

105 ILCS 435/, Vocational Education Act.

625 ILCS 5/6-408.5.Ill. Vehicle Code.

23 Ill.Admin.Code §§1.420, 1.425, 1.430, and 1.440


CROSS REF.: 4:165 (Awareness and Prevention of Child Sex Abuse and Grooming Behaviors), 6:20 (School Year Calendar and Day), 6:40 (Curriculum Development), 6:70 (Teaching About Religions), 7:180 (Prevention of and Response to Bullying, Intimidation, and Harassment), 7:185 (Teen Dating Violence Prohibited), 7:190 (Student Behavior), 7:260 (Exemption from Physical Activity), 9:00 Acceptable Use of the District’s Electronic Resources



Reviewed: February 27, 2006, March 24, 2014, May 7, 2018, August 6, 2018, 

April 23, 2020, March 21, 2022, May 2023

Adopted: May 15, 2006

Revisions Adopted: December 18, 2006, February 11, 2008, January 04, 2010, April 14, 2014,  

May 21, 2018, August 20. 2018, May 11, 2020, April 18, 2022