PROPUBLICA is a non -profit editorial staff that investigates the abuse of power. Sign up for sendingThe newsletter that is the focus all over the country to get our stories in the mailbox every week.
Illinois legislators passed the law on Wednesday to clearly prevent the police and fined the students for minor behavior at school, having completed a practice that harmed students across the state.
The new law will be extended to all state schools, including statutes. School districts will be required, starting with the 2027-28 academic year, to inform the state how often they draw police into student issues every year and separate data on race, gender and disability. The state will have to make the data available.
Legislation takes place three years after the PROPBLICA and Chicago Tribune “The price that kids pay“, – found that, despite the fact that the law of Illinois prohibits school officials directly by the fines of the students, the constituencies were transferred to the law, urging the police to issue quotes for violation of local rulings.
“The cost of the children who pay,” found that in recent years, thousands of students Illinois were brought to the head of teenagers who once engaged in director – things such as garbage, loud noise, swearing, fight or lime in the bathroom. Also found that Black students were twice as likely to be brought to school than their white peers.
From the floor of the House of Representatives, a representative of La Shan Ford, a Democrat from Chicago, thanked the information organizations for exposing the practice and told the legislators that the purpose of the bill is to make sure that there is a violation of the school code, the school should use its policy of discipline, “rather than discipline students through the tickets.
State Senator Karina Villa, a Democrat from the suburban Western Chicago and sponsor of this measure, said in a statement that the tickets could not apply for the reasons for misconduct. “This bill will be forbidden once and for all fines as a form of discipline for students of Illinois,” she said.
The legislation would also prevent the police be issued tickets to students for school transport or during school events or events.
The Association of Police Chiefs Illinois opposed the legislation. The group’s statement said that while the school staff should not be responsible for the discipline of students, they should be able to give quotes for crimes as one of “various resolutions”. The group said it was concerned that the tickets would not be able to issue tickets to the fact that students facing arrest and criminal cases.
The legislation adopted the House 69-44. Last month, he went to the Senate 37-17, and now he headed to the governor of JB Pritzker, who previously opposed the students at school. The press secretary said on Wednesday night that he “supports this initiative” and plans to review the bill.
The legislation turns out that police may arrest students for crimes or violence they commit, but they cannot tickets of students for violation of local rulings that prohibit a number of minor violations.
This difference in the previous versions of the legislation was not clear, which led to the concerns that schools would not be able to include the police in serious issues – and became a key reason for the legislative sessions legislation. Students can also be ordered to pay for lost, stolen or damaged property.
“This bill helps to create conditions where students can study on their mistakes, not too unnecessarily in justice,” said Aimi Galvin, a government director who occupies children, who advocated the ban on municipal tickets as a school discipline.
The news investigation describes in detail how students were twice as punished: when they were punished at school, detention or suspension, and then when they were brought to the police for minor behavior. The investigation also showed how to decide tickets, children were thrown into the legal process designed for adults. The law of Illinois allows a fine of up to $ 750 for violations of the municipal instructions; It is difficult to fight allegations, and students and families can be sent to the collection if they don’t pay.
After the investigation was published, some school districts stopped asking police students. But practice continued in many other areas.
The legislation also adds rules for areas that hire police officers at school, known as school resources. Since next year, the county with school resources must conclude agreements with local police to outline the roles and duties of officers on the campus. Agreements will have to determine that officers are prohibited from issuing quotes on school property and that they should undergo training with students with disabilities. Agreements must also outline the data collection and reporting process. School staff will also be forbidden to refer to the police who get to the police as punishment.
Some side changes and efforts in the reform have taken place before the new legislation. Investigation of the Prosecutor General in large commander -in -chief confirmed that school administrators use a gap in state legislation when asked by police to issue tickets to students. The district refused to violate, but this is an investigation found the area violated the law And that practice was disproportionately affected by black and Latin American students. The best legal government of the state has announced the practice of illegal and stated that it should stop.
