When a teacher sexually abuses a student in Illinois, one early question shapes nearly everything that follows. Was the school a public district, or a private or religious school? The answer decides who the defendant is, which immunities may apply, which records can be requested before a lawsuit, and which timing rules matter.
You do not need to have reported the abuse, and nobody needs to have been charged. A civil claim asks what the school knew, what it should have known, and what it did. Attorney Ervin Nevitt, a partner at Coplan + Crane, reviews these cases. He holds Illinois bar registration 6319808 and was admitted in 2014.
When the school is a public district
Where the school is a public district, the defendant is a public body. That brings the Illinois Tort Immunity Act into the analysis immediately, along with its notice requirements.
A public school district or school board is a "local public entity" under the Tort Immunity Act, and a district will raise the Act's immunities. 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.
The Act also brings notice and timing rules. Childhood sexual abuse claims are treated differently from other claims against public bodies. How the timing rules apply to you depends on your facts, so have a lawyer check your dates.
Records you can request from a public district
Districts are public bodies under the Freedom of Information Act. That means some records can be requested before a lawsuit is filed. Not everything is available that way, though. Employment history review information, discussed below, is not a public record and cannot be obtained through FOIA.
When the school is private or religious
A private or religious school is not a local public entity. The Tort Immunity Act's immunities do not protect it in the same way. Private schools follow the ordinary rules. A private school is also not subject to FOIA, so records generally come out through a lawsuit.
In a Catholic or other religious school, more than one institution may be involved. 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 both
Faith's Law is two acts of the 102nd General Assembly on sexual misconduct by school staff: 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.
Faith's Law applies to nonpublic schools as well as public districts and charter schools. The sexual misconduct definition, the code of conduct policy, the parent notices, and the employment history reviews all reach private and religious schools. For a civil claim, the law matters because it sets out in writing what a school was supposed to have in place.
What Faith's Law requires
Section 22-85.5 of the School Code (105 ILCS 5/22-85.5) defines sexual misconduct as 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, that is 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. The definition reaches conduct well short of a crime. Romantic messages to a student qualify even with no physical contact.
Every district, charter school, and nonpublic school must have an employee code of professional conduct policy that includes this definition and sets staff-student boundaries. It must include guidelines on transporting students, taking or keeping photos or video of students, 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.
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 accepted resignation, and must say whether a report was or will be sent to the State Superintendent of Education. Parent notice is not required once the student is 18 or emancipated.
Hiring checks in both kinds of schools
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 that involves 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 put the same questions to the applicant's current employer and to 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, and such terms are void. A completed review does not have to be repeated when the employee moves to another school in the same district, diocese, or religious organization, a rule that matters in religious school systems. The information is not a public record and cannot be obtained through FOIA, so families usually reach it through a lawsuit.
Licenses and discipline
Illinois educators hold licenses issued by ISBE under Article 21B of the School Code. Under Section 21B-75, the State Superintendent 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.
ELIS, on isbe.net, lets anyone search license information by city, district, school, or educator name. Misconduct findings and sanctions are verified separately by email request, which requires the educator's identification number and date of birth. An active license does not mean no complaint was ever made.
Grooming and the duty to report
School staff are mandated reporters, whether the school is public or private. A complaint that was received and not reported is itself a documented failure, and failure to report is the theory that most often carries these claims. In practice, several theories run together, and which fits depends on your facts. These claims are usually brought against the school or district, not only the individual. Districts keep personnel files, prior complaints, and transfer histories.
In passing Faith's Law, the General Assembly found that many staff-student boundary breaches are not criminal but still put students at risk, and that repeated boundary violations can indicate grooming. The 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.
Warning signs include private messaging on a personal phone or social media account, driving a student alone without parental permission, taking or keeping photos or video for no school purpose, one-on-one time in an empty room framed as extra help, meeting or contacting the student off campus or after hours, and sharing personal, romantic, or sexual details or commenting on the student's appearance. None of these alone proves abuse. 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.
Common Questions Around Public and Private School Claims
Does Faith's Law apply to Catholic and private schools? Yes. The sexual misconduct definition, the code of conduct policy, the parent notice procedures, and the employment history review all apply to nonpublic schools as well as public districts and charter schools.
Does someone have to have been convicted? No. A civil case uses a lower standard of proof than a criminal one and is usually brought against the institution rather than the individual.
I am asking for someone else. That is fine and it happens often. The person involved has no obligation to do anything.
What if I only remember part of it? That is ordinary. These cases are built from institutional records rather than a complete account.
Can I find out whether my child's teacher was disciplined before? Partly. ELIS shows license information, but misconduct findings require a separate ISBE request, and employment history forms are not public. Prior complaints and transfers usually come out in a lawsuit.
Will the school tell us if a staff member is accused? Under Faith's Law, yes, in writing to the student and then the parents, and again if the board acts on the employee's job. It does not have to name the employee.
What happens when you contact us
A question sets nothing in motion. 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, at no cost to you.
We tell you plainly what is possible. If you decide not to go ahead, it ends there, and what you told us stays confidential. If you go ahead, we carry the filings, deadlines, records, and the institution's insurers. Steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record.
Call (708) 671-6858 for a free, confidential case review.
