SCH CD-REFER LAW ENFORCEMENT
SB1519 amends the Illinois School Code to change how schools handle student discipline, referrals to law enforcement, and related reporting. The bill creates a new statewide reporting requirement for school districts beginning with the 2027-2028 school year: districts must annually report the number of students referred to law enforcement and the number of referral incidents, with the data broken down by race and ethnicity, sex, grade level, English learner status, and disability status. The State Board of Education must compile and publish an annual statewide report on these referrals starting January 31, 2029.
The bill also tightens limits on school-based punishment and police involvement. It bars schools from issuing monetary fines, fees, tickets, or citations as discipline for conduct on school grounds, during school hours, or on school transportation, while preserving restitution for damaged or stolen property. It requires school districts to document the use or exhaustion of interventions before suspensions, expulsions, or alternative placements, to provide support services for longer suspensions, and to create re-engagement policies for students returning from exclusionary discipline. It also adds requirements for school resource officer memoranda of understanding, including role definitions, training, data reporting, and a prohibition on SRO-issued tickets or citations on school property. The bill further updates truancy rules to restrict punitive referrals and fines, while preserving existing disciplinary authority for serious misconduct and criminal conduct.
Overall sentiment appears generally supportive in the recorded votes, with the bill passing both chambers by comfortable margins. The Senate approved it 37-16, and the House approved it 69-44, indicating bipartisan support but also a meaningful minority of opposition. The absence of committee transcript material limits insight into detailed floor debate, but the vote totals suggest the bill was viewed favorably by supporters of school discipline reform and data transparency.
The main points of contention likely center on school safety, local control, and the role of law enforcement in schools. Supporters are likely to emphasize reducing criminalization of student behavior, limiting disproportionate impacts on students of color and students with disabilities, and improving transparency and due process. Opponents are likely to object to restrictions on school discipline tools, the added administrative burden of reporting and documentation, and limits on municipal tickets or citations and police involvement in school settings. The bill preserves exceptions for serious threats, weapons, and criminal conduct, which appears designed to address safety concerns while narrowing routine use of exclusionary discipline and law enforcement referrals.
SB1519 amends multiple sections of the Illinois School Code, including provisions governing student discipline, suspensions and expulsions, school searches, school resource officers, and truancy. It adds a new Section 2-3.206 requiring annual district-level reporting and statewide publication of law-enforcement referral data, and it revises Section 10-20.68 to require memoranda of understanding for school resource officers and to add training, reporting, and review requirements. It also changes Section 10-22.6 to restrict zero-tolerance discipline, limit exclusionary discipline, require documentation of interventions and support services, and prohibit school-based fines, fees, tickets, and citations for municipal code violations on school grounds. Section 26-12 is amended to further limit punitive action for truancy and to restrict referrals that could lead to fines or fees, while preserving existing disciplinary and criminal-law responses for serious misconduct.
The bill’s recorded floor votes suggest a generally favorable reception, though not unanimous. It passed the Senate 37-16 and the House 69-44, indicating that a majority in both chambers supported the measure but a substantial minority opposed it. With no committee transcript available, the public record here shows support strong enough to advance the bill, but with clear partisan or policy-based resistance to its discipline and policing reforms.
The likely areas of contention are the bill’s limits on exclusionary discipline and law-enforcement involvement in schools. Supporters appear to favor reducing arrests, tickets, citations, and fines for student behavior, especially because the bill cites disproportionate impacts on students of color and students with disabilities and emphasizes supportive services and re-engagement. Opponents likely worry that the bill constrains administrators’ ability to respond to misconduct, adds reporting and documentation burdens, and narrows local discretion in school safety matters. The bill attempts to balance these concerns by preserving discipline for serious threats, weapons, and criminal conduct, and by expressly stating that it does not alter certain existing disciplinary responses or criminal-justice provisions.