ILLINOIS (WAND) - On Tuesday, the Illinois Education Association is putting school districts on notice. IEA leaders said many are not complying with the Illinois School Threat Assessment Law.
This comes as districts report an increase in violence across Illinois.
"Today the IEA is addressing the increased violence in our schools by calling for school administrators to immediately comply with the School Threat Assessment Law," Kathi Griffin, president of the Illinois Education Association, said in a virtual press conference.
Griffin said by February of 2020, schools were required by law to have created a threat assessment team and protocol, use county sales tax money to hire resources officers and mental health professionals, and also review school building emergency and crisis response plans.
"The statute was very clear. Schools had 180 days to put this procedure in place and put a team in place as well," State Rep. Fred Crespo said.
IEA leaders said many schools still have not met these requirements and may not be ready to prevent a violent attack.
The schools need to understand that they are on the hook. If they see the signs and they ignore the signs and a tragedy does happen, the school district, the principal, the administration should be held accountable for that," Crespo explained.
The democrat said there was even an incident in his home district of Hoffman Estates, where escalating warning signs were ignored and a teacher ended up being attacked.
"Ultimately, a teacher was assaulted by the same student and ultimately he was expelled from class. Did it have to taken that long? The signs were there," Crespo said.
Now he and Representative Tony McCombie are proposing a new bipartisan bill, aimed at enforcing the School Threat Assessment Law. The proposal would also ensure schools are coordinating with their board, parents and police.
"We would like to go further even to have those reports filed with our local lawn enforcement to also have more accountability and let law enforcement determine, with the administration, the best way to handle situations," McCombie explained.
She hopes enforcing the law will help schools prevent a future tragedy and keep students safe in the classroom.
There is no database yet detailing exactly which schools are in compliance with the threat assessment law, but the agency is working to compile a list of schools that still need to put a plan in place.
