The Senate Education Committee meets Wednesday in Springfield. [BlueRoomStream]

The Senate Education Committee approved measures Wednesday to limit suspensions and ban expulsions for preschool to second graders and prohibit student ticketing. 

The committee approved Senate Bill 2423, an initiative of State Supt.Tony Sanders that would restrict the suspension of children in preschool through second grade.  

Under the measure, suspension would only be available as an option if all other disciplinary actions have been exhausted. The suspension would have to be approved by the district superintendent. The measure would also prohibit the expulsion of these students, unless required under state or federal law. For example, if a student brought some type of weapon to school, a superintendent could opt to suspend them.  

Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Lobbyist Dana Stoerger said expulsion or suspension is typically used for violence or misbehavior but said violence is very rare. He said there are broad inconsistencies to how the punishment is applied.  

He said in the last two years, Illinois school districts have expelled fewer than 10 kids in the bill’s age range and suspended about 20,000.  

“We're speaking of five-year-old to seven-year-old children,” said Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Chicago). “And I think that there could be an underlying reason for poor behavior, whatever that may be. The idea of expulsion, I think, is too extreme.”  

Lightford said she has been meeting with opponents of the legislation, who have raised concerns regarding student safety. The measure currently has more than 600 witness slips filed against it, including school districts and the Illinois Principals Association (IPA).  

Alison Maley, IPA’s government and public relations director, said principals across the state have reported a rise in aggressive behavior from students.  

“Let me be clear, these are not isolated disruptions,” she said. “We've heard from educators whose classrooms are regularly evacuated due to violent outbursts. Students have thrown objects, bitten and physically attacked. Staff in these environments, teaching stops, not just for the student in crisis, but for every student in the room.”  

Maley said schools are also faced with a shortage of behavioral health professionals and could discourage people from pursuing teaching by taking away a disciplinary measure.  

She said expulsions already must be approved by the school board, providing an opportunity for a hearing.  

The measure was approved 10-4 but will likely return to the committee with an amendment.  

The committee also unanimously approved Senate Bill 1519, which would prohibit student ticketing as school discipline and require school districts to file an annual report on the number of students referred to law enforcement.  

The measure would go into effect during the 2027-28 school year, with the first report required by Jan. 31, 2029.  

Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago) said the measure was amended to clarify that it does not prohibit school districts from referring a student to law enforcement and clarifies that whether a student committed a crime is up to the discretion of police.  

The measure would prohibit the use of ticketing as a form of school discipline, an issue which has been discussed after a 2022 investigation by ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune found that thousands of students are ticketed each year for behavior such as littering, vaping, making loud noises and using offensive words.  

Read more: Bill proposed to end student ticketing for minor misbehavior 

Finally, the committee approved Senate Bill 1947. The measure makes several changes to educator licensing exams and preparation programs, including creating an expedited paraprofessional education preparation program for people with previous experience and updating out-of-state licensing requirements. It would also create the Teacher Performance Assessment Advisory Committee, which would be tasked with creating a state-tested teacher performance assessment pilot.  

The measure is backed by the ISBE and the Illinois Community College Board and was approved 13-1.