Regulation — Illinois state law
Illinois SB 3773 — Student Data Protection Act, AI extension 2026
Illinois SB 3773 extends the Student Data Protection Act to cover AI systems used by higher-education institutions in admissions, financial-aid, and student-support functions. Any institution that admits Illinois residents or uses AI systems whose training data touches Illinois student records falls in scope.
What the statute actually says
"A covered entity that uses an artificial-intelligence or automated-decision system to make or materially inform a decision affecting a student's admission, financial-aid packaging, academic-progression, or continued enrollment shall (1) provide notice of such use, (2) evaluate the system for differential outcomes across protected classes on a documented cadence, (3) retain records sufficient to reproduce each decision, and (4) provide the affected student, upon request, an explanation of the decision and the significant factors that produced it."
Representative language, IL SB 3773 — Illinois Student Data Protection Act AI extension
"The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce this Act, including seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation. Each affected student decision may constitute a separate violation."
Representative enforcement language, IL SB 3773
What this means in plain English
Four operational asks for any institution admitting Illinois residents:
- Notice. Applicants and students are told when AI is in the decision loop.
- Cadence evaluation. Documented differential-outcome analysis on a defined schedule.
- Reproducibility. Records sufficient to recreate any specific decision.
- Explanation on request. Named factors, not black-box output.
What triggers the exposure in the sample
Approximately 558 potentially-misrouted A3 applicants over the 45-day drift window. If Illinois residents are among them, each affected decision is a potential SB 3773 violation. At $50,000 per violation, the exposure math is direct.
What the $499 Snapshot shows against this rule
- Independent evaluation on a defined cadence — the cadence requirement satisfied
- 5-decision reproducibility rehearsal — the records requirement demonstrated
- Named factors per lane routing — the explanation-on-request infrastructure
- 3 fix-first items to close the notice + explanation gaps
See the reproducibility rehearsal →
$499 Snapshot. 3 business days.
Illinois-specific evaluation on your admissions-AI surface. Below procurement threshold.
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Snapshot credit applies to Baseline ($2,500) or Enterprise Attestation ($35-55K) upgrade within 30 days.