New Illinois legislation protects digital learning for students with disabilities

CHICAGO - It's a milestone day for Illinois to make all classrooms inclusive.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation on Thursday to protect students with disabilities from being left behind by digital learning platforms.

The law is meant to close the digital divide in schools.

By next August, every public and private K-12 school must ensure their online curriculum meets the leading standard for web content accessibility.

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"Prior to the pandemic we had some schools where every student had a tablet, and some schools with a paper and pencil curriculum. And in March 2020, every single one of them had to navigate their way to the finish line of online learning, creating an entirely new classroom infrastructure in the middle of an already traumatic moment for students and for their families."

Pritzker also says through the state's Connect Illinois program, $400 million is being invested to improving the state's broadband accessibility for everyone.