Illinois legislator urges school discipline to focus on behavior, not race

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – McLean County Unit 5 submits a new discipline plan under state law after racial disparities are flagged. An Illinois state legislator says discipline should focus on behavior, not race.

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.