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Illinois law requires schools to report discipline data and for
districts with high or disproportionate suspensions to create
reduction plans. State Rep. Regan Deering, R-Decatur, a former
teacher, calls the mandate an overreach by lawmakers.
“This law is another example of our state lawmakers overstepping
their bounds and trying to control everything from Springfield,”
Deering said. “The people in Springfield do not know how to best
discipline students in a school, yet they want to be able to
tell people they're doing something about it while not actually
being the ones having to do anything.”
Deering stressed that discipline should be based on behavior,
not race.
“It’s not the color of skin that determines the choices a child
will make in school. I think it’s quite disrespectful and
downright false that the tacit implication of this law is that
our school teachers and administrators are racist if their
school has more discipline issues with racial minorities
compared to white children,” she said.
McLean County Unit 5 reports significant drops in overall and
student-of-color suspensions for the 2023–24 school year, though
the district remains in the top 20% statewide for racial
disproportionality in discipline for the third consecutive year.
Unit 5 officials in the Discipline Improvement Plan say ongoing
training and new practices are helping reduce suspensions while
emphasizing equitable learning environments.
Deering warned the reporting mandate could lead teachers to
overlook minor misbehaviors that research shows may escalate
into more serious problems.
“Having been a teacher and knowing many teachers, this law is
simply going to incentivize teachers in school districts to
ignore many low-level behaviors that research and common sense
are telling us will lead to higher-level, more disruptive
behaviors if left unchecked,” Deering said. “Simply going to
create more behavior issues, not less.”
Deering stressed that discipline should be based on behavior,
not race.
“All students should be held to higher standards, regardless of
skin color,” Deering told The Center Square.
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