CHICAGO — A new bill in the Illinois House aims to stop schools from working with police to issue students tickets for minor misbehavior, a harmful and sometimes costly practice
Students have continued to get costly citations for vaping, fighting and other misbehavior even after state officials directed educators to end the practice.
The new legislation, introduced last month, would amend the state’s school code to make it illegal for school personnel to involve police to issue students citations for incidents that can be addressed through a school’s disciplinary process.
Illinois has faced a teacher shortage over the last few years with vacancies in special education, bilingual education, and STEM subjects. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a $70 million pilot program to help districts hire and retain teachers.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Children Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative, created in March 2022, releaseds report highlighting roadblocks for children and families accessing mental health services.