On Tuesday, two civil rights organizations filed a federal complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights against Rockford Public Schools, alleging discriminatory discipline practices.
The complaint, from the National Center for Youth Law & MacArthur Justice Center, accuses Illinois’ 3rd-largest school district of racially discriminating against its students by over-referring students of color to law enforcement.
It mentions how school police officers issue municipal tickets to students for in-school behavior, which can result in fines worth hundreds of dollars. It refers to the district’s perennially high rates of exclusionary discipline like suspensions and expulsions -- as well as expulsions-in-abeyance (EIAs).
The federal complaint also describes school police allegedly singling out and searching a Black student without just cause and another Black student being unfairly suspended after another student attacked them.
It also references a 2022 civil rights lawsuit filed against the district that alleged a school resource officer (SRO) body-slammed a 14-year-old student and fractured his skull — as well as subsequent community protests.
“The kind of punitive discipline being used in RPS destroys students' chances at long-term success,” said Zoe Li, a law fellow with the MacArthur Justice Center in a press release. “Students deserve effective, nurturing, evidence-based solutions that prioritize their well-being and model the importance of respect. To that end, we are committed to seeing that Rockford Public Schools respects the rights of all its students.”
The complaint asks the Office of Civil Rights to step in and ensure the district’s discipline practices and use of school police don’t discriminate against students of color.
A spokesperson from Rockford Public Schools says they haven’t been notified of the complaint, but will respond accordingly once they receive it.
The federal complaint cites WNIJ's reporting into the use of expulsions-in-abeyance in Rockford and community protests against school violence, but the station is not involved with the complaint.
