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Illinois law prohibits schools from fining students as a form of
discipline, but a number of schools have been referring students
to police who then ticket students for various school
violations, like vaping.
An analysis by ProPublica of 199 school districts found that
ticketing occurred in at least 141. In some districts, tickets
were issued to children as young as 8 years old. The
investigation found that about 12,000 tickets were written to
students over three school years.
Joe Larimer with the Debt Free Justice Coalition said some of
these tickets can be as high as $450.
“Upon receiving tickets, students are required to attend a
municipal hearing that does not guarantee the student any right
to counsel and does not offer any expungement process,
effectively stripping the youth and families of their right to
due process, and leaving a lingering impact upon the student,”
Larimer said.
The sponsor of House Bill 3412, state Rep. LaShawn Ford,
D-Chicago, said the school should be able to handle kids when
they act up.
“It has been identified as disorderly conduct in a school where
you have children being children, and now we’re labeling it
disorderly conduct because the police are involved,” Ford said.
State Rep. Katie Stewart, D-Edwardsville, said she is worried
the bill will limit the authority of school officials.
“I just worry that this is going to hamstring principals with
real discipline problems in their schools,” Stuart said.
Ford said the measure does not prevent schools from calling
police on students who commit serious crimes. It also would not
limit a school’s ability from seeking restitution from students
for lost, stolen or damaged property.
The bill advanced out of committee and is headed to the House
floor.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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