Students at an Illinois school district have been receiving tickets for misbehavior, resulting in fines of over $750, according to a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education this month. Further, the complaint alleges that black students in particular were singled out for this punishment—and white students who similarly broke school rules weren’t issued fines as frequently.
Rockford Public Schools (RPS) serves a diverse group of nearly 30,000 students, around 30 percent of whom are black, 26 percent are white, and 31 percent are Hispanic. To handle disciplinary infractions, students are sometimes sent to school resource officers (SROs).
“Once students are referred by RPS staff to SROs, SROs frequently issue referred students municipal tickets, which can result in unaffordable fines and fees over $750, despite the existence of an Illinois state law that prohibits the imposition of monetary fines or fees as a…
