Police Ticketing Students Civil Rights case: Illustration close-up of policeperson in uniform standing in front of student sitting at desk while handing student a ticket

An Illinois school district’s reliance on police to ticket students is discriminatory, civil rights complaint says

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Illinois law bans schools from fining students. But police routinely issue tickets to children for minor misbehavior at school, burdening families with financial penalties. Two national civil rights groups accused Illinois’ third-largest school district of relying on police to handle school discipline, unlawfully targeting Black students with tickets, arrests and other discipline. In a 25-page complaint against Rockford Public Schools, filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the National Center for Youth Law and the MacArthur Justice Center said that Rockford police officers have been “addressing minor behaviors that should be handled as an educational matter by parents, teachers, and school leaders — and not as a law enforcement matter by police officers.” The complaint adds: “Black students bear the brunt of this harm.”

Police on campus: closeup of only middle and right side body showing hand on gun in holster of police on tan and brown uniform with modern high school campus in the background

Ticketed at school as a teen, a young Black woman is suing an Illinois city for violating her civil rights

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It took four years and a jury trial for Amara Harris to beat the ticket that accused her of stealing another girl’s AirPods. Now she’s heading back to court in the hope of stopping schools from using police to discipline students. Illinois law bans schools from fining students. But police routinely issue tickets to children for minor misbehavior at school, burdening families with financial penalties.

Juvenile solitary confinement: Lathe one-story red brick building entrance with pillars, white trim and triple glass doors.

Children face solitary confinement in cells at Illinois juvenile detention facility, ACLU says

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CHICAGO (AP) — Children as young as 11 are confined alone to cells the size of parking spaces up to 23 hours a day at a juvenile detention center in Southern Illinois, according to a lawsuit filed by ACLU of Illinois. Young people at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center in Benton must ask staff permission to flush the toilet, and they can go days or weeks without access to schoolwork. Black mold grows on the walls, according to the lawsuit filed Friday, and there are no mental health professionals employed at the facility.

Lawsuit; Illinois agency wrongfully imprisoned children: young black woman in white coat talking into microphones with men in suits at her side

Lawsuit: Illinois agency wrongfully imprisoned children

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Illinois Department of Children and Family Services wrongfully incarcerated hundreds of children in juvenile detention after a court ordered them to be released to their guardian, according to a class action lawsuit filed Thursday by Cook County's public guardian.

Guns in school: Hand gun and biiks sitting in open black backpack

School gun case sparks debate over safety and second chances

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Most gun incidents in and around campuses are more like Oak Park than Uvalde. They're not planned large-scale shootings, or active-shooter situations. More often, they're smaller altercations that escalate when someone has a gun at or near a school, a game or other event, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, which tracks incidents from the last five decades.

Elizabeth Clarke

Shackling People in Court is Shameful, Unnecessary Legacy of Slavery

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U.S. states are rapidly removing Confederate statues, symbols of racial oppression. But there is another holdover from slavery that is prevalent in our society today — the routine use of shackling persons using handcuffs, leg irons and other hardware to confine individuals in the justice system.

It’s More Than Time to Raise the Age in Michigan

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In Michigan, 17-year-olds are not allowed to buy lottery tickets, get a tattoo, rent a car or hotel room or drop out of school. They can’t vote, serve on a jury or sign a legal contract either, presumably because they don’t possess the requisite maturity to make adult-level decisions. This distinction, however, is tossed out the window if a 17-year-old breaks the law. Suddenly, they are adults, facing devastating repercussions that can come with an adult conviction.