Across Illinois, police and schools have been working together to ticket thousands of students each year for minor behavior once handled in the principal’s office — smoking in the bathroom, hallway scuffles, skipping class.
And unlike a detention or school-issued punishment, the tickets can come with steep fines and create records of police involvement for young people.
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[ Register here for Tuesday’s live event on school-based ticketing ]
Ticketing students for school misbehavior violates the intent of an Illinois law that prohibits schools from fining students as a form of discipline. Instead of fining students directly, school officials notify police of the student’s behavior, and the officer then cites the student for violating a municipal ordinance.
In the investigation “The Price Kids Pay,” a team from the Tribune and ProPublica found that failure to pay ticket fines can lead to debt collection and even wage or tax refund garnishment. Black students were disproportionately more likely to be ticketed at school than their white peers, reporters found.
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You can learn more about school ticketing by joining Tribune reporter Jennifer Smith Richards and ProPublica reporter Jodi S. Cohen for a conversation with experts, education officials and families at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
[ Read the investigation “The Price Kids Pay” ]
At the virtual event, hosted by ProPublica in partnership with the Tribune and Peoria Public Radio, reporters and panelists will answer questions that can be submitted in advance for speakers.
Registration for the event is available at propublica.org/events.
Other speakers include Jeff Aranowski of the Illinois State Board of Education, Jackie Ross of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Superintendent Tony Sanders of School District U-46, administrative law judge and hearing officer David Eterno and family members from Naperville and McHenry who have been affected by school ticketing.
Find stories published as part of the series at chicagotribune.com/tickets.
