Illinois Sen. Simmons’ religious hair protections bill passes House and Senate

Newly passed bill authored by State Sen. Mike Simmons aims to prohibit schools from restricting religious hairstyles and facial hair, seeking to ensure protections for students’ and employees’ religious practices, according to the Illinois General Assembly.

In the House, 69 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 20 Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 38 Democrats and 12 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while five Republicans voted against it.

Simmons introduced the bill in the Illinois Senate on Feb. 4, 2026 during the 104th session.

The legislation, known as SB3361, was passed on May 21, 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. Provides that when registering or seeking recognition status with the State Board of Education, a nonpublic elementary or secondary school shall include assurances that the school will not prohibit religious hairstyles, hair-related religious practices, or facial hair worn in accordance with a student’s or employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs, observance, or practice. Provides that a school uniform or dress code policy adopted by a school board or local school council may not include or apply to religious hairstyles, hair-related religious practices, or facial hair worn in accordance with a student’s sincerely held religious beliefs, observance, or practice. Makes conforming changes. Effective immediately.”

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

In essence, this bill, cited as the Religious Hair and Facial Hair Protections Act and also as the Jett Hawkins Law, amends the School Code to bar public and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools from prohibiting religious hairstyles, hair-related religious practices, or facial hair worn under a student’s or employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs. It requires nonpublic schools seeking registration or recognition to assure compliance with these protections and extends existing bans on discrimination against hairstyles associated with race or ethnicity to include religious hair practices. It also requires school uniform and dress code policies set by school boards and local school councils to exempt such religious hair practices, while allowing narrowly tailored safety rules that do not require cutting or permanently altering hair. The bill takes effect upon becoming law.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. David Koehler (Democrat-46th District), Rep. Diane Blair-Sherlock (Democrat-46th District), and Rep. Kevin John Olickal (Democrat-16th District), along with four 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.

Simmons graduated from Amherst College in 2006 with a BA.

Simmons, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 2021 to represent the state’s 7th Senate District, replacing previous state senator Heather Steans.

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.