Stop outsourcing school discipline to the cops.
Illinois legislative inaction puts Black and Brown students at greater risk.
It’s been sixty years since I was a high school student.
The truth is that I was sent to my principal’s office more than a few times.
My principal’s name was Jim Tunney and you may have heard of him if you're an older fan of the NFL.
For years, including the years he was a principal, Tunney was also a referee for professional football.
In his 31 years as an NFL official, Tunney received a record 29 post-season assignments, including ten Championship games and Super Bowls VI, XI and XII and named as an alternate in Super Bowl XVIII. He remains the only referee who has worked consecutive Super Bowls and likely will be the only one to do so.
He was known as the Dean of NFL refs.
So, imagine being sent to his office when you got in trouble.
He was not a soft and fuzzy guy and not too in touch with kids like me in the sixties, what with the counterculture and revolution in the air.
I once got sent to him for refusing to take part in what were called “drop drills.” I protested the idea that we should be preparing for nuclear war in that way and besides it was a stupid and useless activity.
The truth is he didn’t quite get it and sent me back to class.
I thought about this as I was reading about the case of Amara Harris, who was a student in suburban Naperville.
Three years ago Ms Harris, who is Black, was falsely accused of stealing another student’s ear pods.
Instead of handling it as an in-school discipline issue, school officials called the police.
As if Naperville cops have nothing else to do.
It appears that involving the police in what are school discipline issues is not uncommon in the state of Illinois and at Naperville North where Black students were nearly five times more likely than white students to be ticketed by police over three school years examined by ProPublica, up until the spring of 2022.
Amara Harris challenged the system and won.
She insisted on a jury trial. Because if was a misdemeanor ticket the prosecutor only had to convince the jury with a preponderance of the evidence, a low bar.
The prosecution failed to do even that.
The bigger issue is why are police getting involved in school discipline matters?
Old Jim Tunney would be shaking his head in dismay.
The Illinois legislature could put an end to the practice of outsourcing school discipline to the police.
A bill to end the widespread practice failed to pass the state legislature this spring.
ProPublica:
Between the time Harris was ticketed in 2019 and the trial this week, Illinois officials have taken steps to stop school administrators from working with police to punish students with municipal tickets for their behavior at school. Following a ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation, “The Price Kids Pay,” the Illinois schools superintendent told administrators to stop outsourcing discipline to police, and state lawmakers are considering ways to end school-based ticketing.
The investigation found that an assembly-line system of justice for municipal tickets made it nearly impossible for students to avoid fines, and that fines and administrative fees could reach hundreds of dollars, money some families could not readily pay. (Harris’ theft ticket carried a maximum $500 fine.) Unlike in juvenile court, there is no option for a public defender. And taking the case to a jury, as Harris did, requires incredible resources and commitment.
Outsourcing school discipline to the cops is a practice that should stop. The legislature should act on it quickly.