The Cost of Misbehavior: Ticketing Students in Illinois’ Schools Amounts to More Than Just a Fine
by Justin Antos
Just before a nervous Yessica walked on stage to perform the first saxophone solo of her high school career, I smiled and calmly told her that one of two things was about to happen: She’d either perform beautifully or crash and burn! She laughed. I told Yessica if she was going to fail miserably, she should do so with confidence. At least then, we would both learn where we could target our efforts to help her grow. She went on stage and in typical Yessica fashion, performed exquisitely — the result of learning from her failures in the practice room.
I often tell students that failing with confidence is one of the best things they can do in school. Failure allows students to reflect on mistakes, learn and improve on new skills, and better manage their emotions in the face of disappointment. Had Yessica made a critical mistake on her very first solo, it would be absurd to think her future as a musician would be jeopardized. I would have simply helped Yessica regroup and set her on a trajectory to be more successful. This is because schools are places that should provide safety nets to students to support their learning. Yet if a student like Yessica makes a critical mistake by misbehaving, schools often turn the other cheek — and the consequences can be dire.
What is happening in Illinois?
Before 2015, Illinois schools were freely able to fine students as a punishment for violating school rules. Illinois tried to address this with the passing of a law commonly known as Senate Bill 100, which prohibited schools from fining students as a consequence for misbehaving and sought to limit suspensions and expulsions in favor of restorative justice practices. In April 2022, however, a ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation discovered that nearly 12,000 tickets were issued to Illinois students over the past three years alone — most of whom were students of color. Many Illinois schools were abusing a legal loophole: Instead of school officials fining students, they were instead referring students to local police, who issued tickets under municipal ordinances for misbehavior in school.
Not only do these tickets stay on a student’s permanent record, they can create serious financial hardships for many families. Unpaid fines can be sent to collection agencies and damage students’ future credit. Sadly, no government entity in Illinois currently tracks student ticketing, so the number of tickets issued to students for misbehavior in school could be much higher than reported.
What is Illinois’ response?
Immediately after the data from the ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation were published, Illinois State Superintendent for Education Dr. Carmen Ayala condemned the practice of ticketing students. In a heartfelt letter to school administrators and stakeholders, Dr. Ayala wrote, “If you did not grow up poor or have never lived paycheck-to-paycheck, it can be difficult to understand the hardship a $250 fine can place on a family … we have a responsibility to put ourselves in the shoes of the people we impact as we make policy.” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker agreed and ensured that conversations were already underway with state legislators to “make sure that this doesn’t happen anywhere in the state of Illinois.” Last month, Rep. La Shawn Ford introduced a bill in the Illinois House to close this loophole and prohibit schools from issuing tickets by proxy. Advocacy groups like Stand For Children and Teach Plus are currently generating public support for the bill to eliminate the unfair process of ticketing students once and for all.
Is this happening elsewhere?
Despite Illinois’ efforts to prohibit ticketing in schools, schools found a way to skirt the system. Unfortunately, ticketing in schools is not exclusive to Illinois and has been occurring across the country for years. As early as 2006, police in Dallas, Texas, issued 92 criminal citations to 10-year-olds in school. Police in Los Angeles, California, issued nearly 10,200 tickets to students during the 2011–12 school year, 43 percent of whom were 14 or younger. Between August 2017 and April 2019, police in Pennsylvania issued over 370 citations to students across Lancaster County’s public schools. Because student fines are usually unreported, students from other states could be experiencing even higher ticketing numbers or worse penalties than those in Illinois.
To find out whether this is happening in your state, you can file a request with your local school to learn how many times police were involved in student incidents during a particular time frame. If the school doesn’t have a record, you can do what ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune did to obtain their information: File a FOIA request with the police department that has jurisdiction over schools in your community. If you have never filed a request to access records from a federal agency, FOIA.gov provides informational videos and written tutorials on the process.
If the purpose of a K-12 education is to empower students to become independent learners, what are we teaching students when a classroom infraction becomes a courtroom settlement? Who exactly reaps the benefits of a stain on a permanent record? Yessica went on to major in music at a prestigious music school and will soon enter the teaching profession. If Yessica’s background check revealed an ordinance violation at the time her college application was being considered, would her journey have been different? Sadly, for many students the answer is undoubtedly yes.
For as long as public education has existed, students have made mistakes. That will never change. Instead, what needs to change is schools treating students like criminals. Ticketing our kids denies opportunities for teachable moments and instead perpetuates the school-to-prison pipeline. The more we shed light on the injustice of ticketing students when they are in school to learn, the sooner our students can start earning the education they deserve.
Dr. Justin Antos is a Teach Plus Illinois Policy Fellow and an Illinois Regional Teacher of the Year. He is a National Board Certified band and orchestra teacher at Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Illinois.
