How a 2019 Amendment to Illinois School Code Quietly Expanded List of Enumerated Offenses

In 2018, the Chicago Tribune published a series of articles about students who had been sexually abused by Chicago Public School (CPS) staff and the subsequent failure by CPS to respond appropriately when learning of the misconduct.

Two of the most disturbing findings brought to light: 1) CPS, a “mandated reporter,” repeatedly failed to report these sexual abuse/assault allegations to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS), as required by law; and 2) CPS then failed to investigate the students’ allegations without further re-traumatizing them.

CPS Expands Use of Criminal Background Checks

No surprise, the Chicago Tribune series sent CPS scurrying to right the ship. The school district’s initial response was to re-run criminal background checks on all of its employees. CPS now routinely rechecks employee backgrounds every two or three years.

Employees could not return to work until their backgrounds were cleared by the district’s legal department. Some employees lost their jobs following the district-wide background rechecks.

Illinois Amends School Code Definition of Enumerated Offenses

The Illinois General Assembly also felt compelled to act following the expose’s publication. It began collecting information from relevant stakeholders -- CPS, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, and student victims -- in its effort to find a legislative fix to the problems uncovered.

In 2019, the General Assembly passed legislation that amended several provisions in the School Code. On August 23, 2019, P.A. 101-0531 was signed into law by Gov. Pritzker and went into effect immediately. The rest of this article will focus on the implications of expanding the definition of an enumerated offense – a crime that permanently bars someone for life from working at a school.

In Some Cases, Spitting is an Aggravated Battery

Until 2019, enumerated offenses fell into one of two general categories: 1) felony drug offenses, and 2) crimes against children/minors. The 2019 amendment added eleven new offenses. All but one (of the new offenses) involves crimes against a minor or a family member. The one offense that does not fall squarely into either category is aggravated battery.

What sets aggravated battery apart from the rest of enumerated offenses is that for some unexplained reason the legislature, instead of just adding the one subsection pertaining to crimes against a minor -- 720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(b) -- it added the entire definition of aggravated battery.

The legislature history of P.A. 101-0531 shields no light on why the entire definition of aggravated battery was added. Rather, the legislative history clearly reflects that the goal of the amendment was to protect future students from being sexually abused or victimized by school personnel and that investigations into these incidents be handled with greater sensitivity and objectivity.

By adding the entire definition of aggravated battery, unsuspecting individuals will find themselves unable to work in a school setting and current employees will be terminated without regard to whether they’d ever committed a crime against a child, would have been charged with a felony if the victim had not been a member of a protected class (e.g., police officers, emergency responders, persons > 60 years), or the incident had not taken place in public.

Once, I represented an individual who had been convicted of aggravated battery for spitting on the pant leg of a correctional officer while detained in an Illinois juvenile prison. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

Recently, I researched what crimes prohibit someone from working for a child care agency in Illinois. I was pleased to learn that the only aggravated battery offense barring someone from working in child care is section 12-3.05(b) (where victim is a minor).

Had the legislature not been in such a hurry to fix the problem all it needed to do was look at the language used in the child care law.

The Real Life Consequences of a Poorly-Conceived Law

I was completely unaware of the 2019 amendment to the School Code until I was contacted by a school employee, who I will refer to as “Jane.” Due to an old aggravated battery conviction, Jane is now facing termination.

What makes Jane’s story particularly heartbreaking is that she was hired with full knowledge of her conviction -- a crime that happened more than 30 years ago. Now, school officials tell Jane that their hands are tied because of the 2019 amendment.

Jane has been employed by the school district for the past eight years and has a clean work record. Yet, because her crime is now considered an enumerated offense, she’s facing termination.

A Certificate of Good Conduct May Provide Relief to Someone Convicted of an Enumerated Offense

It is still possible Jane may get to keep her job. Her one lifeline: a Certificate of Good Conduct (CGC).

Unlike expunging or sealing a criminal record -- which removes a record from public view -- a CGC sets aside statutory barriers to employment, provided the person can produce proof that s/he is rehabilitated and does not pose a threat to the workplace in question to a judge.

Jane got a CGC. Her fate now rests in the hands of the school’s legal department.

The only way to keep prospective job candidates and current school employees from the uncertain job future Jane faces (or worse), the Illinois General Assembly needs to amend its 2019 amendment to the School Code; specifically, 105 ILCS 5/21B-80 (enumerated offense section).

All one can hope is that someone in the Illinois General Assembly is listening.