Education Week - September 9, 2015 - 19

New Law to Prompt Discipline-Policy Revisions in Illinois
Limits on expulsion,
suspension expected
By Evie Blad
Illinois districts are set to rewrite
school discipline policies to limit the
use of suspensions and expulsions,
after Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a
sweeping bill championed by student groups.
Supporters argued that zero-tolerance policies and overreliance on
removing students from the classroom are ineffective and contribute
to disproportionately high rates of
discipline among students of color.
Voices of Youth in Chicago Education, or VOYCE, said the new law,
signed by Rauner Aug. 24, "represents perhaps the most aggressive
and comprehensive effort ever made
by a state to address the 'school-toprison pipeline.' " The student-led
group helped draft the bill and encouraged its passage following two
legislative sessions of debate.
School districts around the country have reworked discipline policies in recent years, many encouraged by a push from the Obama
administration to do so. And a few
states, including California and
Maryland, have passed laws requiring changes to district-level policies.
Illinois' new law includes a broad

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list of school climate and studentbehavior measures, but its central
push is to make suspensions and
expulsions a disciplinary option of
last resort.
Suspensions of three days or
fewer will be allowed only if a student's presence at school would pose
a threat to others or "substantially
disrupt, impede, or interfere with
the operation of the school." The
law leaves those terms open to the
discretion of local school boards.
Suspensions longer than three
days, expulsions, or disciplinary
transfers to alternative schools
may only be used if a student poses
a threat or significant disruption to
the learning environment and other
options, such as restorative practices, have been exhausted.
Illinois schools, including charter schools, will have until Sept.
15, 2016, to update their discipline
policies in compliance with the law,
though many are expected to do so
sooner.

student supports, which may require
additional staff, such as school psychologists and restorative-practices
coordinators.
The Illinois Association of School
Administrators opposed the state's
new law in its original form because
the organization "believed the language was not flexible enough for

You need things
codified in law. I think
it makes a difference
to have a statute
instead of being at the
mercy of a new CEO."
STACY DAVIS GATES
Chicago Teachers Union

Administrators Weigh In
Around the country, some school administrators have said efforts to limit
suspensions leave schools without the
necessary tools to keep them safe and
free from disruptions. Some have also
argued that schools don't have the
resources to successfully carry out
alternative forms of discipline and

administration and staff to remove
students who caused significant disruptions," spokesman Michael Chamness said.
The organization took a neutral
position on the bill that eventually
passed the legislature after it was
amended to allow administrators

to define what behaviors are considered disruptive enough to warrant suspensions.
The Illinois Principals Association
also expressed concerns about the initial bill and shifted to a neutral position after it was amended.
The Chicago Teachers Union supports the new law, because "there
have been a lot of concerns in the way
that discipline has been meted out,"
Stacy Davis Gates, its legislative coordinator, said.
Members were concerned, for example, that some charter schools were
using fines for disciplinary purposes,
an act that seemed "tone deaf" given
their enrollment of low-income students, Gates said. The new law prohibits fines as a form of discipline.
It also includes some provisions
pushed by student advocates around
the country, like a requirement that
districts draw up a memorandum
of understanding with school-based
police that outlines expectations for
their interactions with students, and
a requirement for support services for
students out of school on extended
suspensions.
The law requires districts to draft
policies to re-engage students who
are returning to the classroom after
extended suspension, expulsion, or
placement in an alternative school.
It prohibits schools from encouraging students to drop out for behavioral reasons, a process known as

"counseling out." And it requires
schools to provide ongoing professional development for teachers on
school climate issues.
In pressing for policy change, student advocates cited discipline rates
in Chicago schools. Although black
students represented 41.3 percent of
the district's enrollment in the 201112 school year, they represented 69.3
percent of those who were suspended
and 71 percent of students who were
expelled, according to the most recent data available from the U.S.
Department of Education's office of
civil rights.

Chicago's Experience
The district has undergone efforts
in recent years to rework its disciplinary policies and practices, including
the introduction of restorative practices and a comprehensive social-emotional learning program.
But having those ideas included
in state law ensures that they will
remain a priority, despite frequent
changes in district leadership,
Gates said.
"You need things codified in law,"
she said. "I think it makes a difference
to have a statute instead of being at
the mercy of a new CEO."
The RULES FOR ENGAGEMENT blog tracks
news and trends on this issue.
www.edweek.org/go/rulesforengagement.

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Education Week - September 9, 2015

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