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In the strongest rebuke yet of an Illinois school district that asks police to ticket students who misbehave, the state’s attorney general says the practice, which continues to occur across the state, is illegal. and declared that it should be stopped.
The Attorney General’s Office, which was investigating student ticket-selling in one of Illinois’ largest high school districts, said Thursday that Palatine Township High School District 211 had administrators call police to punish students for conduct on school grounds. ordered to impose a fine and found that the law had been violated. The practice had a “disproportionately disparate impact” on Black and Latino students.
“We strongly encourage other districts and police departments to review their policies and practices,” the department told ProPublica.
However, the attorney general’s office did not alert other districts to the July findings or provide guidance that common practices violated the law. This means that the findings may have limited impact on Chicago’s suburban areas.
The department also said it is not investigating similar civil rights violations in other districts.
In 2022, a ProPublica/Chicago Tribune investigation, “The Price Our Children Pay,” revealed how local police officers ticketed students with fines of up to $750. Tickets that violate local ordinances are considered non-criminal and can be punished only with a fine. Misconduct includes possessing a vape pen, missing class, and participating in a verbal or minor physical altercation.
In response, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state’s two state education superintendents said schools should not rely on police to respond to student misconduct.
State lawmakers have tried several times to pass legislation aimed at discouraging the practice by specifically prohibiting schools from involving police in minor disciplinary matters. But the bill has stalled. School officials say ticketing is a necessary tool to control student behavior, and some lawmakers say limiting officers’ roles in schools could lead to dangerous situations. I am concerned that there is a gender.
Democratic Rep. La Sean Ford of Chicago told ProPublica this month that he plans to try again next year. “We don’t want police to be doing school work,” Ford said.
He said the revised bill aims to address the concerns of school officials and makes clear that school officials can still involve police in criminal matters.
“What would actually address this issue is a state law that affects every school in Illinois. I think that’s the only possible way to do it because it’s so pervasive throughout Illinois. ” said Angie Jimenez, an attorney with the National Youth Law Center, which is pushing for reform of Illinois law.
Jimenez said fining students as discipline should have stopped more than nine years ago, when state law prohibited it. “It’s really shocking to see that less than 10 years later you have this problem and we’re still trying to come to the table to reach an agreement,” she said. “On the other hand, it is our students and families who are being sacrificed in this process.”
Lindsey Record, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education, said the school board continues to oppose the practice of issuing tickets to students. “ISBE is considering potential policy solutions to this problem,” Record said, without elaborating on what those might be. Pritzker’s office did not respond to ProPublica’s questions.
The attorney general’s office decided to focus its investigation on the 211th Precinct after officials reviewed a first-of-its-kind database published by ProPublica and the Tribune. The database records nearly 12,000 tickets issued in dozens of school districts over three school years, the reason police ticketed the student, and, when available, the racial breakdown of the students who received the ticket. has been.
The state’s two-year investigation into District 211 focused on the district’s two high schools in Palatine, a northwest suburb of Chicago. From 2018 to 2022, Palatine police ticketed students nearly 400 times, primarily at Palatine High School. Studies have shown that black and Latino students were more likely to receive tickets when white students were given lighter punishments or offered help to cope with drug use. It turns out. Palatine police also ticketed Fremd High School students, but far less frequently.
According to a recent letter from Attorney General Kwame Raoul to school districts, “Police reports indicate that after conducting an initial investigation, district administrators typically seek service from school personnel and issue tickets to students. I have instructed the staff to do so.” in July after his office completed its investigation. Investigators found that police ticketed the student even though they did not witness the alleged illegal activity.
The Attorney General’s Office has notified District 211 that school administrators are prohibited from directing or requesting police to issue tickets to students as a disciplinary measure, such as for disorderly conduct, smoking, or smoking. He said this should be made clear in handbooks and agreements with local police departments. Electronic cigarette products. District policies should also make clear that alternative approaches, such as substance abuse programs, are preferred.
Raul’s letter states that starting with the 2022-23 school year, the school district and police department have “significantly reduced” the use of ticketing in schools.
The district, which enrolls about 12,000 students across three suburbs, has denied any wrongdoing since the investigation began. A district spokesperson declined to answer questions from ProPublica, instead providing a letter written by district attorneys to the attorney general’s office criticizing the findings.
“None of the administrators interviewed stated that they ‘directed’ school resource officers or other law enforcement personnel to issue tickets or make arrests,” the attorneys wrote. He added that only the police have the authority to do so. The letter says school officials are required to report certain crimes to law enforcement, including weapons and drug offenses. However, in serious cases like these, police can and do arrest students. You won’t get a ticket. The district’s response letter says it will review its student handbook and policies. However, the current high school handbook still states that students found in possession of vaping products may be referred to police.
According to school district records cited in the attorney general’s findings, Black and Hispanic students received less than 30,000 students in their schools in the 2021-22 school year, even though they made up only about 33% of the district’s enrollment. Approximately 68% of tickets sold had been received. White students made up 42% of the district’s enrollment, but they received only 24% of the tickets.
State investigators say this was partly because school administrators chose not to involve police in the case of problematic behavior among white students, choosing instead to provide treatment rather than punishment.
The mother of a student who was ticketed in 2022 said that while she hopes school district officials don’t involve police in school conduct, she also believes there needs to be redress for students who have been ticketed in the past. Her son, a 16-year-old black sophomore at Palatine High School, received a $200 ticket for damaging a fence near the school. A ProPublica reporter met the family when the boy and his mother attended a ticket hearing. The case was dismissed after another student admitted he caused the damage.
“I hope that if they find out they’re doing something illegal, they’ll wipe out all the tickets. That’s what they should do. If someone has had to pay a fine; He deserves a refund,” said the mother, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect the privacy of her son, who graduated from high school this spring and is now attending college.
The Attorney General’s Office also focused on the village of Palatine, where investigators found that the law was also violated. Palatine police issued truancy tickets to students who missed less than a day of school, even though state law prohibits it as a punishment. Investigators also found that the village set the fine at $200, even though the maximum allowed under state law is $100.
The Attorney General’s Office recommended that the village change or repeal the ordinance. The village mayor and Palatine police chief did not respond to questions from reporters.
In recent years, some schools have stopped involving police in minor student disciplinary issues, but others continue to do so. ProPublica obtained new records from several districts in different parts of the state that were highlighted for “The Price Our Children Pay.”
At Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School on Chicago’s southwest side, police have issued more than 60 tickets to students for disorderly conduct, possession of tobacco and marijuana, and alcohol consumption since the start of the 2023-24 school year. The fine can be up to $175, and the superintendent said the district is focused on providing a safe environment.
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Police officers in northwest suburban Carpentersville wrote dozens of tickets at Dundee-Crown High School and Carpentersville Middle School last school year, and will continue to do so this year. A district spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
At East Peoria Community High School in central Illinois, students continue to receive tickets ranging from $75 to $450 for fighting and possession of tobacco and marijuana. Tickets were also issued to students aged 12 and under who attend a nearby middle school.
East Peoria High School Superintendent Marjorie Greuther said students will no longer be ticketed for truancy, and school-based officials will decide when to ticket them for other misconduct. . She said in an email that if a student could be ticketed outside the school for violating local ordinances, “in our opinion it is a safety concern not to do it inside the building.” There is no difference,” he wrote.
