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* Actually, the story is from yesterday, but I didn’t get to it. Here’s Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica…
From the moment Amara Harris was accused of stealing another student’s AirPods at Naperville North High School, she has insisted that it was a mix-up, not a theft.
She told a school dean that she thought the AirPods were her own, having picked them up a few days earlier in the school’s learning commons, where she said she thought she had left her own set. Her mother repeatedly told officers that her daughter hadn’t stolen the wireless earbuds, records show.
Still, the school resource officer wrote Amara a ticket in 2019 for violating a municipal ordinance against theft. Paying a fine would have made the matter go away, but Amara says she won’t admit to something she didn’t do. For two and a half years, she has repeatedly gone to court to assert her innocence, even delaying her plans to attend on-campus classes at her dream school, Spelman College.
Now, in a rare and dramatic example of the impact of school ticketing, the case is headed for a jury trial, with the next court date on Tuesday. As Naperville continues to prosecute the case, Amara and her mother have racked up far more in legal bills than the city’s highest fine would have cost them.
“I am innocent. I am fighting because I don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” said Amara, now 19. “Why would I say I’m innocent to everyone but then I lie in court and say I’m guilty? It doesn’t make sense to me.”
This spring, in the investigation “The Price Kids Pay,” ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune exposed the widespread practice of school officials and local police working together to ticket Illinois students for misbehavior at school, resulting in fines that can cost hundreds of dollars. Reporters documented about 12,000 tickets issued for possession of vaping devices and cannabis, disorderly conduct, truancy and other violations from August 2018 through June 2021.
Ticketing students for their behavior in school skirts a state law that bans schools from disciplining students with monetary fines. Immediately after the report was published, state officials including Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state schools superintendent said they intended to put a stop to the practice.
The superintendent, Carmen Ayala, chided schools for outsourcing discipline to police and urged them to stop. The Illinois attorney general’s office, concerned that school ticketing was violating the civil rights of students of color, launched an investigation into a large suburban high school district and said it might investigate others.
But none of the state officials addressed how to deal with pending cases of students who, like Amara, had already been ticketed.
“The governor says he wants this to stop, he wants this to end,” said Amara’s mother, Marla Baker. “We are in the middle of it.”
Amara’s family, like so many others, was thrown into a system that uses a lower standard of proof than a criminal court. People ticketed for ordinance violations can be held responsible if the allegation is deemed more likely to be true than not, and the ticket itself is considered evidence. At every turn, the system and the officials in it encourage families to admit liability and pay a fine. And most do.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 8:56 am
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- The school resource officer then called the father of the girl whose AirPods were missing. He told the officer he was glad his daughter had her AirPods back but he wanted Amara charged with theft, according to the police report. -
What a couple of petty, ignorant, children masquerading as grown men. Shame on them and every other adult that facilitated this.
Kudos to Amara and her mother for refusing to back down.
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:05 am
Yes, go read the whole thing.
If if the above snippet doesn’t get your blood boiling, wait til you hear what the school district has to say …
– A Naperville Community Unit School District 203 spokesperson distanced the district from the case, saying: “Naperville 203 does not ticket students.” Spokesperson Alex Mayster said school officials rely on school resource officers, who work for the city’s police department, when a disciplinary matter may involve a law being broken. –
C’mon, I was born at night, but not last night.
The district doesn’t ticket students because under state law it CAN’T ticket students. So to get around the law the district lets the police do it through the cash cow municipal court system, which is what this whole series of investigative reports is all about.
Comment by Michelle Flaherty Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:09 am
Schools have no business being involved in supporting ticketing of students. In know our resident Superintendent on this board has spoken up to try to explain it but they are wrong. Good for this girl and her mother for pushing back on this absurd practice.
Comment by Demoralized Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:11 am
“a rare and dramatic example”
But of course, let’s make a broad legislative judgement based on a “rare and dramatic example.”
Comment by Needs Deleted Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:11 am
Considering some of the issues the School District and the Naperville PD have had in the past with how they treated/interacted with students I am disappointed.
https://patch.com/illinois/naperville/naperville-teens-suicide-leads-state-law-police-inquiry
I also have to say I am shocked that the city is continuing to push this. I mean earbuds, it is quite understandable why someone might think they are theirs, they all look the same. I am not sure what Naperville is trying to prove at this point besides ‘we will show you’
Comment by OneMan Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:15 am
Not a good look at all that the retired police chief who is acting as a liaison has been critical of the role of the Naperville PD here. And the fact that the city would deem it necessary to have such a liaison suggests that there are problems that go beyond Amara Baker’s situation.
Comment by Pundent Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:17 am
Disgusting revenue grab by over zealous adults. There should be a system at the school level to deal with these things. We put cops in schools to protect kids, not to have a revenue officer on site with a badge and gun to permanently harm their futures.
Comment by The Abyss Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:20 am
Needs Deleted, it’s “rare and dramatic” because the student is fighting the ticket. The previous stories showed this happening in schools across the state as districts partnered with police and municipal courts to get around a state law. This appears to be the only case they found in which someone is standing up to the system and fighting the ticket.
Comment by Michelle Flaherty Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:26 am
=In know our resident Superintendent on this board has spoken up to try to explain it but they are wrong.=
@Demoralized- I appreciate and respect you as a commenter but, if you are going to make a statement about me get the facts straight.
A community that I worked in passed an ordinance making vaping punishable by a fine. We also had an SRO. Those caught vaping were disciplined by the school AND issued an ordinance violation ticket by the police. In our district, when students (or adults for that matter) were found in possession of illegal substances or devices, we reported it to the police (as we were supposed to) . That was not done to use the police for discipline, because we went through the normal disciplinary process in all situations. The district (I was a building admin at the time) supported the idea of the ticket for vaping, and it was supported by the community. One can disagree on that issue, but I was obligated to enforce it, just as we were obligated to enforce masking (which we did with fidelity).
We did not use tickets to handle our discipline. Carmen Ayala and the governor are wrong with the broad characterizations that they made. Never once was I asked, or any admin that I am aware of, about this issue. Ayala’s outreach to rural districts (and support) has been incredibly non-existent. I am not sure whu she thinks she knows what is happening in our district when she has never been within 20 miles of it.
To the issue at hand- schools should not use municipal fines in place of school discipline. I can see how it would be easy to go that route given the loss of authority schools have experienced over the year (Most are aware of the 5-17 mandatory ages of school attendance. You should try enforcing that one, it is a laugh riot). That does not excuse the practice of the police enforcing school discipline. I will say the vape ordinance certainly impacted our students vaping in school (our student body was 98% white, not that it should matter).
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:26 am
- But of course, let’s make a broad legislative judgement based on a “rare and dramatic example.” -
Kids don’t need to be getting ticketed in school. What kind of adult defends this?
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:29 am
=There should be a system at the school level to deal with these things.=
Please let me know when you get that taken care of.
When students are caught with substances- there is school discipline- often set aside in lew of counseling/treatment, that is how we handle the 1st offence (sometimes more than the 1st depending on the situation) on several different levels including school counseling and then an opportunity for private counseling/treatment.
But you act as if we can just blink and make it happen. Maybe you are not aware of this, but some parents are in serious denial and their children may not be honest. That makes the process of helping kids who need help next to impossible, but we keep trying.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 9:32 am
So, what purpose do cops serve in schools? They obviously are not protecting students, in most cases the students should be protected from them. This whole system is a cash grab for the municipalities and it needs to stop now.
Comment by My 2 Cents Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:02 am
- That was not done to use the police for discipline, because we went through the normal disciplinary process in all situations. The district (I was a building admin at the time) supported the idea of the ticket for vaping, and it was supported by the community. -
That’s called a money grab, from children. It’s indefensible, you should find a new line of work.
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:09 am
Seems like the police should be protecting students and not writing tickets. No wonder people want to defund the police. School resource officers should be working to protect and secure schools. Look what happened in Texas when the police were busy with other things and not their actual jobs.
Comment by Publius Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:11 am
If you dig into the numbers on this, the vast majority, 90% or more of these kids never pay a fine. The tickets are issued to get parents attention. To help curb habitual truancy, and provide a consequence for fighting. Most of the time, as long as kids behave themselves for 90 days the tickets are dropped.
The story is emotionally charged, and framed to make it look like cities are making loads of cash off the practice. They are not.
Comment by Needs Deleted Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:16 am
Is this another element of the school-to-prison pipeline? Sure seems like it.
We need to get over this mindset that bad behavior will be corrected with punishment, when we know that bad behavior is best corrected by addressing the root cause.
Comment by Techie Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:18 am
So wait- it was up to the father of the teen who’s air pods were missing to decide the charges?
Who is he?
Comment by Frank talks Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:24 am
The school ticketing is ridiculous. This is obviously an issue. However, I know whether or not the AirPods I grab at home are mine or not because when you open the lid and unlock the phone it will say “not your AirPods” if they are not paired previously with your phone. Seems like this could have easily been avoided.
Comment by AirPods Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:27 am
What is only touched upon in the story is the issue of race here. Despite making the honor roll, being involved in the school activities and graduating early, Amara received no benefit of the doubt. No one took her word on it (too bad the Trib editorial board wasn’t involved in this) and instead assumed the worst about her.
The highschool is 4.5% black. Amara is black (and has braids (banned punctuation).
Often times it isn’t the policy that is the problem, it is how the policy is applied and enforced.
Comment by Henry Francis Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:33 am
There are so many things that are wrong here… we should be better than this.
Comment by Lincoln Lad Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:34 am
=The story is emotionally charged, and framed to make it look like cities are making loads of cash off the practice.=
Not the way I read it. It sounds to me like the PD reached a conclusion absent any real investigation or consideration, the liaison recognized it, but the PD dug in. And the system in which this is managed is a flawed one which doesn’t allow for reasonable compromise and resolution but expects that the accused will accept their punishment as delivered. You’re suggesting that if Amara just went along it would be no big deal.
Why not question the reason for this type of system in the first place? Fortunately, it sounds like that’s now been done but she’s still caught under the rules of the old system. I expect that someone will see to it to drop the matter entirely. But it shouldn’t have come to that.
Comment by Pundent Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:39 am
===the vast majority, 90% or more of these kids never pay a fine===
So you admit some, “10%” are indeed paying fines and that’s ok?
This whole thing is disgraceful, what was the intent to what is “its purpose” and that purpose is designed *now* in retrospect to … what?
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:41 am
She needs to start a Go Fund Me page as I suspect the first contributor will be JB.
Comment by Lurker Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:41 am
Agree this article is a must read.
Just another example of an Illinois school system that fails children.
We continue to sink below other nations in the quality of our educational systems.
I suspect this is more about generating revenue than dealing with school discipline.
Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 10:56 am
“municipal ordinance against theft”
I’m going to be a broken record until this is fixed through legislation.
There is no reason for a municipal ordinance to duplicate an already existing state law.
There’s a reason it wasn’t written as a state law violation.
The only purpose to do so is for bullying, fraud and abuse.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 11:04 am
=That’s called a money grab, from children. It’s indefensible, you should find a new line of work.=
I guess you should learn to read first.
It was an attempt to curb vaping.
The district admin (superintendent) supported it, I was never asked to weigh in.
Like so many, you have no experience in the school setting and yet run off at the mouth.
This should be viewed through the lense of schools desperate to deal with issues, issues that parents demand be dealt with (usually because they don’t want to so have the school fix it) and the schools not having the tools or authority to do it. It isn’t the correct path. But I understand it. I don’t bless it. Maybe look at it that way.
(I wonder how students can afford vape devices and supplies but it is a hardship when they have to pay a fine for illegally possessing and using in a school? Spoiler alert- for our students it wasn’t.)
But you do you, I will keep working with and supporting students.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 11:06 am
=I suspect this is more about generating revenue than dealing with school discipline.=
For schools you would be wrong.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 11:06 am
Thinking for Municipal Police Departments I am right on the button.
Of course, school administrators and school boards could put a stop to this, but that would be assuming they would have some degree of common sense.
Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 11:15 am
=Of course, school administrators and school boards could put a stop to this=
Yeah, because we control all other governments.Maybe a civics class would help you out.
=but that would be assuming they would have some degree of common sense.=
Which you obviously lack.
Did you catch the part where the police were giving the tickets? If I could control them my driving record would be a lot cleaner.
I am sure some schools love this stuff. I am not one of them. But always lying it off on schools is fun right?
Comment by JS Mill Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 11:37 am
- Yeah, because we control all other governments.Maybe a civics class would help you out. -
I missed the part where you voiced your opposition to the school board and city council? Did you just forget that part?
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 11:46 am
I’m looking forward to the next installment of this investigative series, you know, the one that focuses on how JS Mill is the real victim in all of this.
Comment by Michelle Flaherty Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 11:51 am
JS Mill
Did not mean to lay off this program off only on schools.
Just seems like someone should step up and object to this kind of nonsense.
School administrates and school boards seems like the right place to start the discussion.
Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 11:56 am
JS Mill, thank you for your work.
But I am going to say one thing against you, let it go here. You are correct that these people have never worked in a school and have no clue about the realities. Nothing you say here is going to educate them as their minds will not change. Take a deep breath, know you are correct, move on.
Comment by Lurker Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 12:16 pm
Sometimes kids in high school make mistakes, and parents are unaware. Long ago I was surprised by a call from another kid’s dad regarding an incident that I was totally unaware of. Kids were doing (I don’t know what they called it), but it was sort of a reverse tug of war or arm wrestling with cars. They would put the cars with front bumper to front bumper and see which car could overpower the other one. I had never heard of such a thing. My kid had a big old but powerful clunker, and someone challenged him. My kid won but pushed the other kid all the way off the paved area leaving him stuck. The other kid had to get a tow truck to pull him back up on the pavement. I offered to have my kid pay for the tow truck, but he said it would not be necessary as they had towing insurance, he just wanted me to be aware of what my kid had done. My point being kids get into “mischief”, parents don’t know.
This case is lacking the details, how did they catch her? Was it a security camera she was unaware of? Did she look around to see no one was looking and then grab them? Why do they not believe her?
Comment by DuPage Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 12:55 pm
- these people have never worked in a school and have no clue about the realities. -
Again, if it’s so rough, find a new line of work, or at least a blog comment victim support group. Crybabies.
Comment by Excitable Boy Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 1:10 pm
=== Did you catch the part where the police were giving the tickets? ===
Then it’s time the school district tells the cops they’re no longer welcome in schools if they’re going to write tickets to kids as some kind of “disciplinary measure.”
I don’t read this as a municipal cash grab at all. I read it as a school district that thinks it can put the fear of God into kids by having cops write tickets for simple misunderstandings that the adults in the room should be able to handle instead by being reasonable, then washes their hands of the matter by saying “oh, we didn’t write that ticket, we’re not allowed to do that.”
–Naperville 203 taxpayer
Comment by Tim Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 1:20 pm
The facts do not get worse than this, a child who was in possession of stolen property, was charged with theft. This is unacceptable. Further, anyone should be able to see that the system identified in this article, which provides due process to the accused, is simply unnecessary. For instance, most families who were accused of committing offenses believed that the police did not need to be involved in the first place. What shocking insight. The student must now be forced to present evidence to show that it is more likely than not that she did not knowingly take unauthorized control over the property of another, after she was found in possession of property that did not belong to her. How unfair. I for one am glad that this article did not mention the highly irrelevant fact that it should have become immediately apparent to the student that the airpods in question were not hers the moment she first attempted to use them. This is indeed a true must read.
Comment by Joe Madden's Mohawk Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 1:55 pm
My local school district begged for more school resource officers to impose order. A new intergovernmental agreement was recently approved, which adds 2 more (making a total of 5 SROs for 2 middle schools and the high school) and an option for a 6th SRO.
In making the case for more SROs, a city official was quoted as saying the current SROs have written citations for more than 30 students for fighting since the beginning of the school year.
I looked up fighting in the city’s municipal code and immediately thought of the previous investigative article addressing this issue (where a kid paid a hefty fine for pushing his friend in the lunch line). The ordinance just says “fighting.” There’s no definition of it and no guidance for applying the fines, which run from $300 to $600.
A FOIA request for the 30+ citations and fines imposed only got me, so far, access to records on 2 individuals (who are both 18+) with fines and administrative fees totaling $600 for a student who was cited for battery and $850 for a student cited for fighting.
What’s particularly galling is that the basic issue causing the school situation to unravel is being chronically short-staffed. But this way is easier, I guess.
Comment by yinn Friday, Jun 17, 22 @ 2:48 pm