Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0218

HR0218 LRB104 12532 MST 22961 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Each year, thousands of students in Illinois receive tickets during school hours for conduct that violates local laws; and

WHEREAS, Tickets are often issued for school infractions that have historically been addressed by school administrators, such as littering, smoking/vaping, using offensive words or gestures, or getting into a hallway scuffle; and

WHEREAS, Ticketing students in schools violates the intent of Illinois Public Act 099-0456, enacted in 2016, which prohibits schools from fining students as a form of discipline except for restitution for lost, stolen, or damaged property; and

WHEREAS, Public Act 099-0456 also seeks to address the causes and consequences of the school-to-prison pipeline by legislating disciplinary guidelines for public and charter schools; and

WHEREAS, Schools are barred from issuing fines directly; school officials refer students to police who serve as school resource officers who write the tickets; and

WHEREAS, The practice of ticketing students in schools made the news in April 2022 with the release of the three-year investigation by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica, The Price Kids Pay; and

WHEREAS, Black students in Illinois are two times more likely than their white peers to receive a ticket issued by school resource officers; and

WHEREAS, In 2019, Amara Harris, then a junior at Naperville North High School in Naperville Community Unit School District 203, was accused of stealing another student's AirPods at Naperville North High School; and

WHEREAS, Amara Harris insisted that the incident was a mix-up, not a theft, and after considering all information and evidence, Naperville North administrators did not take disciplinary action; and

WHEREAS, Still, the City of Naperville school resource officer wrote Amara Harris a ticket for violating a municipal ordinance for theft; and

WHEREAS, Paying the $100 ticket would have made the matter go away, however, Amara Harris would not admit to something she did not do; and

WHEREAS, Amara Harris's concerns were that paying the fine and admitting to theft would blemish her reputation and accomplishments, which included being on the honor roll, cheerleading, being on the step team, serving as an aide in the classroom and for the school deans, and graduating from high school early; and

WHEREAS, For three and a half years, Amara Harris attended court hearings to prove her innocence, postponing plans to attend on-campus classes at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was accepted to begin in the fall of 2020; and

WHEREAS, Amara Harris's journey brought attention to the issue of ticketing Black students, highlighting the ongoing disparities for school administrators, city officials, and State legislators to address; and

WHEREAS, Amara Harris has not only displayed great leadership skills to her peers and community, but she has displayed unfaltering courage in the face of adversity; and

WHEREAS, In an unusual civil trial, a jury of her peers found Amara Harris not liable of theft on August 10, 2023, and the $100 fine was dismissed; and

WHEREAS, Despite Amara Harris's legal challenges, she graduated from Spelman College with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies in May 2024; and

WHEREAS, Amara Harris's case demonstrates the need for a change in Illinois law to end the practice of ticketing students; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize Amara Harris for her courage and perseverance to defend truth and fight for justice; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Amara Harris as a symbol of our respect and esteem.