Illinois 104th Regular Session Status: Introduced 1 D cosponsors

HB 5778 — FOIA-STUDENT COMMS

Last action — Referred to Rules Committee

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  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced May 15, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

In plain language

The bill exempts student communications from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

This bill changes the Freedom of Information Act to exempt written communications between educational institutions and students or their guardians from public disclosure, unless other privacy laws apply. It aims to protect students' privacy regarding their communications with schools.

What this means for you
  • Workers: This bill may affect school employees by limiting disclosure of communications about students.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

1 change Share ↗

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

The bill exempts specific student-related communications from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

  • 5 ILCS 140/7

    (j-5) Written communications and attachments that pertain to a current or former student and that are sent between an educational institution and the student or between an educational institution and the student's parent or guardian; except if the Illinois School Student Records Act or the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act applies.

    Adds an exemption for student communications to the Freedom of Information Act.

Action History

  1. Referred to Rules Committee

  2. First Reading

  3. Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Justin Cochran

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 182 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (182)

182 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 182 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 5778?
HB 5778 is sponsored by Justin Cochran (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB 5778?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced May 15, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 5778?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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