08/22/2025
Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1519 into law in August 2025, banning police from ticketing and fining students for misbehavior that occurs on school grounds. The law closes a loophole where schools would involve law enforcement to penalize students for violating school rules, a practice a 2022 investigation found disproportionately affected Black and Latino students.
New statewide restrictions
The legislation ends the practice of issuing municipal citations, tickets, fees, or fines for school-based infractions.
Prohibited actions: The ban applies to incidents occurring on school grounds, during school hours, and while students are on school buses.
Minor misbehavior: Infractions that previously led to fines, such as va**ng, to***co possession, truancy, and disrupting the peace, must now be handled through school disciplinary policies.
Serious crimes still covered: The law does not prevent law enforcement from addressing criminal activity or safety threats that occur on school property.
Regulations for school resource officers (SROs)
The new law sets clear guidelines for how schools use on-campus police officers.
Mandatory agreements: By July 1, 2026, any school district with SROs must have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with their local law enforcement agency.
Clear SRO roles: The MOU must specify that SROs are prohibited from ticketing students for disciplinary issues. It must also define the officer's specific duties and responsibilities.
Required training: The MOU must ensure that SROs have completed training on how to work with students, including those with disabilities.
Increased reporting and transparency
To address the racial disparity in student referrals to law enforcement, the new law requires public reporting of police involvement in schools.
Data collection: Starting in the 2027โ2028 school year, districts must report annually to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) the number of student referrals made to law enforcement.
Mandatory reporting details: The reports must include the race, gender, and disability status of referred students.
Public data: ISBE is required to publish this statewide data publicly, starting in January 2029.
Context and reasoning for the law
The law is a response to investigative findings and years of advocacy against the school-to-prison pipeline.
The "Price Kids Pay" investigation: A 2022 report by ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune exposed that many school districts circumvented a 2015 ban on school-issued fines by instead having police issue citations for minor rule-breaking.
Emphasis on restorative justice: Proponents of the law argue that fining students harms low-income families and pushes young people into the criminal justice system for misbehavior that should be handled through educational discipline.
Trauma-informed practices: The ISBE has also invested in training for schools on trauma-informed practices to support student needs and reduce the reliance on punitive measures.
