Public schools in Illinois would have to reform their discipline policies under legislation being considered in the Illinois General Assembly.
The bill aims to limit how long students are removed from the classroom, and it comes as schools and lawmakers examine the effects of suspensions and expulsions on a student’s educational performance. However, many of the ideas in the bill are already being enacted in Springfield schools.
Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Chicago, sponsors Senate Bill 100, which would do away with “zero-tolerance” discipline and limit how Illinois public schools use suspensions and expulsions. Lightford’s bill passed the Senate on April 23 with a 38-16 vote and awaits a vote in the House. The vote among senators representing parts of Springfield was split, with Sen. Sam McCann, R-Carlinville, and Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, supporting the bill. Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, opposed it.
The bill would limit suspensions and expulsions to three days or shorter, unless the student poses a threat to safety or interferes with the school’s operation, and only after all other interventions have been tried. Zero-tolerance policies – in which a school administrator must suspend or expel a student for a certain offense – would be banned statewide unless mandated by federal law. School boards that vote to suspend or expel a student would have to provide a written explanation for their decision and for the length of the punishment. Administrators would be banned from encouraging students to drop out of school due to behavioral or academic problems.
Under the bill, schools also would have some new responsibilities. Each school would be required to provide professional development courses on topics like how suspensions and expulsions affect academic performance. Students who miss four or more days of school due to discipline would be entitled to services helping them catch up on school work. Schools would also have to participate in a local or regional task force to reevaluate their discipline policies.
The bill “encourages” schools to draft agreements with local law enforcement agencies to specify the role of police in each school. Fines and fees used as discipline would be banned except in cases of property damage or theft.
Jennifer Gill, superintendent of Springfield Public Schools, has been tracking the bill’s progress. She says the bill is basically a furtherance of what District 186 is already doing. Her administration is working to institute “restorative” discipline, which aims to restore the damage done when a student breaks the rules. Gill says striking the balance between discipline and keeping students in school is a matter of building relationships.
“If a student is engaged and has relationships with their peers, educators and staff, they’re more likely to want to come back to school,” Gill said. “We try to build on the positive side of that instead of focusing on the punishment.”
Additionally, Gill says the district is working to minimize the length of suspensions and already provides some assistance for students to catch up on homework. Still, she admits to some concern that the bill could increase the district’s costs by mandating specific services for those students.
During debate on SB100 in the Senate, sponsor Sen. Lightford spoke of the problems that come with removing students from school, even when warranted. She said Illinois has the highest rate of school suspensions and expulsions of any state, with African-American students making up a disproportionate percentage of those punishments.
“Right now schools are suspending kids for 10 days flat out,” Lightford said. “A whole lot of expulsions are taking place, and kids are not in school learning as they should be. I do recognize that kids need to be disciplined, so the bill does allow that to remain.”
Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Plainfield, is a former teacher and former school superintendent. She hinted that she was originally against the bill, but she added that the bill was negotiated with education groups and earned her support.
“A lot of times when we think of suspensions and expulsions, we think of the so-called ‘bad kids,’ the repeat offenders,” she said. “But when you read a bill like this, right away, I think of the good kids that have gotten themselves in a bad situation: the student who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, the student who couldn’t take one more day of being bullied and maybe punched someone, the student who does great academically and gets caught smoking in the bathroom.”
Although a handful of Republicans voted for the Democrat-sponsored bill, some Republicans in the Senate opposed it on philosophical grounds. Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said the bill takes away local control over school discipline. He said some school officials in his district said the bill would make their jobs more difficult.
“This isn’t just about the disruptive kid,” Murphy said. “This is about the local school’s ability to maintain an environment for the kids who are not causing problems to learn. If you trust your locals and you think they’re doing a good job, back them up and vote no.”
Contact Patrick Yeagle at pyeagle@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2015.
