Illinois Rep. Hanson’s school handbook railroad safety bill passes House and Senate

Newly passed bill authored by State Rep. Matt Hanson aims to require Illinois schools to include railroad safety messaging in student handbooks, with opt-out provisions for local school boards, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 73 Democrats and 39 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 39 Democrats and 17 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while one Republican voted against it.

Hanson introduced the bill in the Illinois House on Feb. 7, 2025 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as HB3743, was passed on May 19, 2026 during the general assembly session 104.

According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill’s official text as follows: “Amends the School Code. Requires each school district to include in its handbook for grades kindergarten through 12 railroad safety messaging. Allows a school to opt-out of the messaging requirement if the school district votes that the inclusion of such messaging is unnecessary.”

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates that each school district in Illinois include specific railroad safety messaging in the student handbook for kindergarten through 12th grade. The messaging advises crossing only at designated crossings, avoiding walking on train tracks due to legal and safety concerns, recognizing the signs and signals at public crossings, waiting for a clear view before crossing after trains pass, and heeding red flashing signals to avoid fines. It also highlights that recreation should not mix with rail infrastructure. School districts may opt out if their school board deems the messaging unnecessary based on local context or curriculum alignment. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Anna Moeller (Democrat-43rd District), Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (Democrat-81st District), and Rep. Barbara Hernandez (Democrat-50th District), along with 22 other sponsors.

Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.

You can read more about bills and other measures here.

Hanson graduated from the University of Richmond with a BS.

Hanson, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 83rd House District, replacing previous state representative Barbara Hernandez.

Lawmakers listed as “Not Voting” were present for the vote but did not cast a vote. Those marked as having an “Excused Absence” were not present and formally provided a reason for their absence, which was accepted.