Illinois Schools Must Now Treat AI Deepfakes of Students as Cyberbullying

Illinois Schools Must Now Treat AI Deepfakes of Students as Cyberbullying

Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, Illinois schools must treat AI-generated "digital replicas" of students as cyberbullying under House Bill 3851, which took effect July 1, 2026 and amended the anti-bullying section of the Illinois School Code, 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7.

Information last verified on July 5, 2026. This is a developing story; we update it as the record changes.

Jurisdiction scope: This change applies to Illinois public schools under the Illinois School Code, 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7. It governs how districts must define bullying and cyberbullying for purposes of school discipline and policy, not criminal liability. It is separate from Illinois' criminal deepfake and nonconsensual-intimate-image statutes, which impose criminal penalties independent of any school policy. For an overview of Illinois' deepfake laws generally, see our Illinois Deepfake Laws guide and the Deepfake & AI Voice Cloning Laws by State hub.

What Happened

Illinois House Bill 3851, from the 104th General Assembly, was signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in August 2025 and took effect July 1, 2026. The Act amends 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7, the section of the Illinois School Code that requires every school district to adopt a bullying prevention policy and that supplies the statutory definitions districts must use.

Before this amendment, the statute's definition of "cyberbullying" covered bullying carried out through electronic means, such as text messages, social media posts, and other online communications directed at a student. HB 3851 adds a new category to that definition. Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, cyberbullying also includes the posting or distribution of an unauthorized digital replica by electronic means, where doing so produces any of the effects already listed in the statute's existing definition of "bullying," such as placing a student in reasonable fear of harm, substantially interfering with a student's education, or creating a hostile school environment.

The amendment defines an "unauthorized digital replica" as a digital replica, meaning an AI-generated or digitally altered image, video, or audio likeness of a real, identifiable individual, created or distributed without that person's consent. Legislative sponsors and district officials interviewed by Illinois outlets have described the practical effect as covering situations where a student uses another student's photo to generate an altered, offensive, or explicit depiction of them without permission, and shares it in a way that causes the kinds of harm the bullying statute already recognizes.

The law also carves out an exception: classroom use of AI tools where students or staff have consented to the use of their likeness is not treated as bullying under the amended definition. That exception is meant to preserve legitimate instructional uses of AI, such as approved classroom projects, without exposing schools to disciplinary claims arising from consensual assignments.

What the Law Actually Says

The amended 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7 keeps the School Code's existing definition of "bullying" intact and layers the digital-replica provision onto the existing definition of "cyberbullying," rather than creating a freestanding offense. That structure matters: a digital replica only counts as cyberbullying under the statute if the posting or distribution also meets the pre-existing definition of bullying, meaning it must cause one of the statute's enumerated effects, such as interfering with a student's education, or creating an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment. A digital replica made and shared with consent, including in an approved classroom AI exercise, falls outside the definition entirely.

This school-code change sits alongside, but is legally distinct from, Illinois' criminal deepfake and nonconsensual-image statutes covered in our Illinois Deepfake Laws guide. Those criminal provisions can expose someone to prosecution regardless of whether the conduct happens at school, while the 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7 amendment only governs how a school district must classify conduct for purposes of its bullying prevention policy and discipline process. A single incident involving a minor could implicate both regimes at once, or only the school-policy definition if the conduct does not independently meet the elements of a criminal deepfake offense. For a broader look at how states are legislating AI-generated likenesses, see our Deepfake & AI Voice Cloning Laws by State hub and, for comparison, our California Deepfake Laws guide, since California has taken a different, more civil-litigation-driven approach to AI likeness misuse.

The amendment does not change Illinois' separate rules on recording in schools, such as when a student or staff member may record conversations or classroom activity. Those questions are governed by Illinois' two-party consent recording law rather than the School Code's bullying provisions; see our Illinois School Recording Laws guide for that distinct topic.

Analysis: Why This Matters

The following is analysis from the Recording Law Editorial Team.

This amendment closes a definitional gap rather than creating new prohibited conduct. Before July 1, 2026, an Illinois district's bullying policy could reasonably have treated an AI-generated, non-consensual depiction of a classmate as outside the cyberbullying definition altogether, since that definition was written before generative AI tools were widely accessible to students. By writing "unauthorized digital replica" directly into 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7, the General Assembly removed the argument that a school lacks authority to discipline this conduct as bullying, so long as the conduct also produces one of the harms the bullying definition already requires.

The consent carve-out for classroom AI use is a deliberate boundary, not an afterthought. Because the underlying definition of "digital replica" could otherwise sweep in legitimate instructional uses, such as a class assignment where students generate approved AI images of themselves or a historical figure, the exception keeps the statute focused on nonconsensual conduct rather than AI use generally.

It is worth being precise about what this amendment does not do. It does not create a new crime, and it does not by itself determine whether a given deepfake is illegal outside the school context. Illinois has separate criminal statutes addressing nonconsensual deepfakes and intimate images that operate independently of any school's bullying policy. A parent or student trying to determine whether specific conduct is criminal, rather than a school disciplinary matter, is asking a different legal question than the one this amendment answers.

How This Affects You

For parents and students, the practical change is that a report to an Illinois school about an AI-generated, unauthorized depiction of a student can now be evaluated under the same cyberbullying definition used for other online harassment, rather than falling into a gap the older statute did not address. For districts, the amendment requires updating written bullying prevention policies before the 2026-27 school year to reflect the expanded definition, consistent with the Illinois State Board of Education's existing policy-template requirements under the School Code. None of this changes a family's option to also pursue a report to law enforcement if the conduct may independently violate Illinois' criminal deepfake or nonconsensual-image statutes; that determination depends on facts outside the scope of the School Code amendment.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. It covers Illinois school law and reflects sources verified on July 5, 2026. Laws change and this story is developing; consult a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction about your specific situation.

Sources

• 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7, Illinois School Code, full text (Illinois General Assembly)
• Public Act 104-0338 (Illinois General Assembly)
• Public Act 104-0338, full text PDF, "AN ACT concerning education" (Illinois General Assembly)
• HB3851 Bill Status, 104th General Assembly (Illinois General Assembly)

Related articles

• Deepfake & AI Voice Cloning Laws by State
• Illinois Deepfake Laws
• Illinois School Recording Laws
• California Deepfake Laws

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Last updated: 2026-07-05. This is a developing story; details verified as of 2026-07-05.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is it now illegal in Illinois to make a deepfake of a classmate?

House Bill 3851 does not create a new crime. It amends the Illinois School Code's definition of 'cyberbullying' so that an unauthorized AI-generated digital replica of a student can be treated as school bullying if it causes the harms the bullying definition already covers. Whether specific conduct is separately a crime depends on Illinois' distinct criminal deepfake and nonconsensual-image statutes, not on this school-code amendment.

What counts as an 'unauthorized digital replica' under the amended law?

The amendment defines it as an AI-generated or digitally altered image, video, or likeness of a real, identifiable person created or distributed without that person's consent. A student using another student's photo to generate an altered or offensive depiction without permission is the kind of conduct the amendment addresses.

When did this change take effect?

House Bill 3851 took effect July 1, 2026, and applies beginning with the 2026-27 school year, per the Illinois General Assembly.

Does the law apply to AI used for classroom assignments?

No. The amendment excludes classroom use of AI where the depicted student or staff member has consented. It is aimed at unauthorized, nonconsensual digital replicas, not consensual instructional use of AI tools.

What section of Illinois law was changed?

The amendment changes 105 ILCS 5/27-23.7, the section of the Illinois School Code that requires school districts to adopt bullying prevention policies and that supplies the statutory definitions of 'bullying' and 'cyberbullying.'

Do schools have to update their bullying policies because of this law?

Yes. Because the statutory definition districts must use has changed, Illinois school districts need to update their bullying prevention policies to reflect the expanded cyberbullying definition ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

Who sponsored House Bill 3851?

The bill's Senate sponsor was Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood. It was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in August 2025.

Is this the same as Illinois' criminal deepfake law?

No. This amendment changes a civil school-policy definition used for discipline purposes. Illinois' criminal deepfake and nonconsensual-image statutes are separate laws that can apply regardless of whether the conduct happens at school or involves a minor.