Hundreds of costly tickets: These 5 Tazewell school districts refer infractions to police

Throughout Illinois, school resource officers at nearly 200 school districts – including five Tazewell County districts – have issued nearly 12,000 citations to students for municipal violations over the past three school years.

According to an April report by the New York-based nonprofit organization ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune, East Peoria Elementary Grade School District 86; East Peoria Community High School District 309; Pekin Community High School District 303; Washington Community High School District 308; and Morton Community Unit School District 709 SROs issued more than 400 tickets over that period.

In all five districts, tickets issued for student violations of city ordinances were usually minor infractions, typically resulting in fines that could run up to $750. More serious offenses could result in arrest and criminal charges rather than tickets.

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What are SROs and what do they do?

The United States Department of Justice defines SROs as "sworn law enforcement officers responsible for safety and crime prevention in schools." Working closely with school administrators, they address crime and disorder on and around school campuses. While SROs are encouraged to employ non-punitive techniques when interacting with students, they have the ability to issue citations and make arrests.

East Peoria Community High School District 309

District 309 identified 193 tickets during the 2019, 2020 and 2021 school years. Fighting appeared to be a common violation, along with use or possession of cannabis or cannabis paraphernalia, use or possession of tobacco or e-cigarettes, and disorderly conduct.

“East Peoria high school partners with the city of East Peoria Police Department to have a school resource officer available at the high school for the safety and welfare of our students and the school community,” said District 309 Superintendent Marjorie Greuter. “District administrators hold sole responsibility for disciplining students for violations of school rules, and in accordance with district policies and state laws. The school resource officer does not have any input on how the district disciplines students for violations of school rules.”

District 309 was one of two Tazewell County school districts to provide ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune with information on school enrollment by race and ticketing by race. Enrollment statistics show that Black students make up 2% of East Peoria Community High School’s student body. However, 10% of the tickets for local ordinance violations over the past three school years were issued to Black students.

“The apparent discrepancy in issuance of citations to African-American students reported by the Chicago Tribune is troubling,” said Greuter. “However, the district refers students to the SRO when that student’s conduct violates a city ordinance. Referrals are not made based on the race, gender or other characteristics of the individual student. The district is committed to reviewing its policies and procedures to ensure that all students are treated fairly and equitably.”

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East Peoria Elementary Grade School District 86

According to ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune, local law enforcement agencies issued 34 tickets to District 86 students over the 2019, 2020 and 2021 school years.

“When student conduct also violates local ordinances, district administrators notify the school resource officer,” said District 86 Superintendent Tony Ingold. “Referrals may also be made in cases of continued bullying or harassment. Occasionally, the school resource officer will issue an ordinance violation citation requiring that student to appear in court. The decision to issue a citation to a student is at the sole discretion of the resource officer. District administrators do not request or recommend that a citation be issued to any student.”

District 86 includes Neil A. Armstrong School, Paul L. Bolin School, Don D. Shute School, Lincoln School, Woodrow Wilson School, Glendale School and Central Junior High School.

Pekin Community High School District 303

Over the past three school years, the Pekin Police Department issued 142 tickets to Pekin Community High School students, according to . Violations included use or possession of tobacco or e-cigarettes, use or possession of cannabis or cannabis paraphernalia, disorderly conduct, fighting and use or possession of alcohol. Information obtained by the Pekin Daily Times shows that between Feb. 11 and May 11, the Pekin Police Department issued a total of 51 tickets to District 303 students. The most common violation appears to have been the use or possession of electronic smoking devices, for which 23 students received tickets. Other infractions included possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, assault and battery.

Morton Community Unit School District 709

The Morton Police Department reported to ProPublica that it issued 39 tickets to District 709 students during the 2019, 2020 and 2021 school years. Violations included use or possession of tobacco or e-cigarettes, use or possession of cannabis or cannabis paraphernalia, and disorderly conduct. District 709 schools include Morton High School, Morton Junior High School, Ward Grundy Elementary School, Jefferson Elementary School, Lettie Brown Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School and Morton Academy.

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Washington Community High School District 308

During the past three school years, District 308 students were issued 72 tickets. In its report to ProPublica, the Washington Police Department did not specify the nature of the violations. Enrollment information shows that 1% of the district’s students are Black. Black students received 7% of the tickets issued over the reporting period.

What's Peoria Public Schools doing?

The Peoria Police Department reported to ProPublica that it had issued one ticket to a Peoria District 150 student over the past three school years. The nature of the citation, given to a Manual High School student, was not available. The Pekin Daily Times has reached out to the district for comment, but it has not responded.

This article originally appeared on Pekin Daily Times: 5 Tazewell school districts refer some infractions to local police