Two years ago, Naperville North student Corey Walgren died by suicide after being questioned by school officials and police over allegations of misconduct. Now, teenagers in the community are looking to make a change.
Rekha Iyer is a Neuqua Valley High School student who is a part of IlI. State Representative Stephanie Kifowit’s Youth Citizen Advisory Council. Iyer and the Youth Council have been crafting a bill that would call for a parent or mental health professional to be present when a student is being questioned about a crime by school administrators or law enforcement.
In an interview with the Naperville Sun, Iyer said research she conducted shows outcomes are better in schools that implemented a process where a parent, guidance counselor or social worker is on hand. She further said she learned the process reduces the number of out-of-school suspensions because there is a team-approach to determining the consequences.
While Naperville Central dean Kathy Howat said they do value the “team approach” at Central, there is no policy that explicitly states how and when parents become involved when students are questioned by the administration.
“We try to involve parents as much as possible but if I had to call a parent down quite honestly every time I talk to a kid about a tardy or truancy it wouldn’t be time effective,” Dean of Students Kathy Howat said.
For more serious allegations, the deans like to involve the parents, but it is not always right away.
However, because the child has already been talked to by the dean alone, they may already be at risk for abnormal behavior. Kifowit says this is why it is so important for a parent to be apart of the questioning with students to mediate.
Junior Bella Montgomery was talked to by a dean last year for a school dress code violation.
“No, they didn’t [make me aware of my rights],” Montgomery said.
Montgomery thinks the situation would have gone better had her parents been present when she was talked to by her dean.
“I feel like it could have been nice because there would be another person there to back up my character, you know?” Montgomery said.
Despite this, Howat does not see the need for a change in Central’s policies.
“I feel like we involve parents and team with them and I feel like our current practices are good,” Howat said.
At Central, students do have the right to refuse to talk to a dean until their parents get there.
“We’d be wasting a lot of people’s time, but we can’t force anybody to say anything,” Howat said.
If a student were to refuse to talk to a dean until his/her parents arrived they would not be permitted to continue learning.
Deans at Central do not explicitly tell students their rights before they question them.
Should Kifowit’s bill become law all Illinois schools would have to comply with the new procedures or face legal ramifications. Kifowit hopes this bill will help students safety at school.
Can only suspend you after other interventions fail, unless your behavior is serious, violent, or dangerous to others.
You have the right to tell your side of the story and present evidence in the conference with the school administration before you are suspended.