In partnership with Chicago Tribune and WCBU.

In a recent investigation by ProPublica and the Chicago Tribune, we found that many Illinois public schools have been working with police to ticket students for misbehavior at school, resulting in municipal fines as high as $750. This reporting prompted Illinois schools Superintendent Carmen Ayala to immediately call for a halt in student ticketing, saying schools had “abdicated their responsibility for student discipline to local law enforcement.”

Our reporters also found that Black students were disproportionately more likely to receive tickets at school than their white peers. A first-of-its-kind database lets you see if reporters identified ticketing in your district and — when that information is available — provides a racial breakdown of the tickets.

In this virtual event, hear from students and parents who have been affected by tickets and fines, as well as officials and advocates who will explain the implications for young people and their families. We’ll also be joined by ProPublica and Tribune reporters as they discuss the surprising things they learned in reporting about this little-known school punishment and what they hope to investigate in the future. We’ll also answer your questions. Submit your questions for our speakers below.

Our speakers include:

• Jeff Aranowski, Illinois State Board of Education
• Jackie Ross, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
• Tony Sanders, Superintendent, School District U-46
• David Eterno, Administrative Law Judge & Hearing Officer
• Affected family members from Sauk Village, Naperville and McHenry Illinois

This event has ended.