Naperville council members, residents urge review of police policies for ticketing students in schools
Several Naperville City Council members pushed this week for a review of police ticketing policies in schools after a former student successfully challenged a municipal ticket she received in 2019.
Amara Harris, now 20, was accused of stealing a fellow student’s AirPods when she attended Naperville North High School. She was issued a municipal ticket by Naperville police for the offense, which Harris adamantly denied she committed.
A jury sided with her last week, finding Harris not liable in the civil case.
After the verdict, city spokesperson Linda LaCloche said the jury’s findings must be respected and the case was resolved.
“We are glad that this matter has come to a conclusion,” LaCloche said. “The defendant wanted her day in court and now that she has had it, we are ready to move on.”
But the issue of ticketing students in schools does not end with Harris’ case, several residents said at this week’s City Council meeting.
“The audacity of our leadership to suggest we are ready to move on reeks of indifference for the undeserved trauma that began in a student’s life when she was only 17,” Janice Guider said. “To suggest this matter has come to a conclusion dismisses our humanity and the fundamental need to investigate.”
LaTunja Jackson, whose children attend school in Indian Prairie District 204, said that just because this case was resolved does not mean the root problem that led to the civil trial has been addressed.
Jackson asked the council to create a subcommittee or task force to examine the ticketing policies and make recommendations for changes.
The Chicago Tribune and ProPublica examined Harris’ situation as part of an investigation that documented more than 12,000 tickets issued to Illinois students over nearly three years for such violations as possession of vaping devices, disorderly conduct and truancy.
One of the findings was that Black students at Naperville North were almost five times more likely to receive a ticket than their white classmates. Harris is Black.
Police Chief Jason Arres, who did not head the department when Harris was ticketed, said he does not support ticketing students as the first course of action in most cases. However, there are situations where issuing a municipal ticket is a better option than seeking criminal charges, he said.
“There are some cases where it is applicable and some cases where students who are adults and 18 are involved in some serious offenses and a citation is better for them when they make a mistake versus a state offense,” Arres said.
In the 2022-23 school year, the Naperville Police Department issued a total of only eight tickets to Indian Prairie and Naperville School District 203 students, he said. Seven of those were to students over the age of 18, he said.
“Philosophically, the Police Department and myself are on board with citations not being the number one option,” Arres said. “It’s a tool in the toolbelt but a last resort in most cases.”
Councilmen Josh McBroom, Ian Holzhauer and Benjamin White said they’d like there to be more council discussion on the city’s ticketing policies.
Now that the court case is over, the council should be able to examine the rules without fearing anything said would influence or affect the Harris proceedings, Holzhauer said.
McBroom said he generally doesn’t support the concept of issuing any kind of ticket to students.
“I’m uncomfortable with the idea of police officers ticketing children in our schools and, frankly, I’m still a little uneasy about it,” he said, “but I was pleased to find out it is (now) extremely rare.”
Kijuana Boulrece, a member of the DuPage County NAACP’s education committee, told the council she was glad to see Harris vindicated. Ticketing a student can have an emotional and psychological effect that could impact their trajectory in school and life, she said.
“We are all aware of the reality that our system is not perfect and that it’s sometimes biased and ego-driven,” Boulrece said. “Although it is her (Harris) victory, it is also our victory as a community.”
On a larger scale, legislators and activists are expected to again pursue legislation that would address the widespread practice of ticketing in schools after initial efforts did not move forward this spring.
The bills submitted stalled over questions about whether the proposals would accomplish the goal of ending the ticketing practice and confusion over whether they would impede police from responding to crime on school campuses.
