Dupage Policy Journal

Illinois Education Association (IEA) President Kathi Griffin is pushing for full compliance to the state’s School Threat Assessment Bill in the wake of a recent deadly Michigan school shooting that left four students dead.

“What happened in Michigan two weeks ago is a tragedy,” Griffin said in a news release. “Every incident where someone in a school is injured at the hand of another is heartbreaking. Violence is increasing in our schools across the state. Our educators should not have to constantly worry about their safety and the safety of their students. School administrators need to take immediate action to keep our students, staff and communities safe.”

With that goal in mind, Griffin recently announced she has joined forces with Springfield lawmakers Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) and Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Streamwood) to make certain all aspects of the School Threat Assessment Bill are being adhered to.

In addition to supporting Griffin's position, McCombie is now pushing legislation that seeks to mandate that all schools are in full compliance with all such school threat laws.

“Our children's safety has to come first,” she said. “There are so many different mandates and guidelines that school boards and administration and our (Regional Offices of Education) and (the Illinois State Board of Education) have to follow and this is one of those. The way this legislation will be crafted is today the threat assessment plan is checked every four years basically through a compliance audit with the ROE and the ISBE. The school boards have to review these threat assessments annually.”

In Illinois, the School Threat Assessment Bill, HB 1561, was first introduced and ultimately passed by state lawmakers in 2019.

The law mandates that schools develop a threat assessment team and protocol and implement a procedure that may be part of a school board policy on targeted school violence and prevention and requires each district’s assessment team to include mental health professionals as well as representatives from state, county and local law enforcement agencies.

“Ideally, in a situation like what happened in Michigan, the threat assessment team would have been called upon and intervened to get the student the help they need before tragedy occurs,” McCombie said. “That’s the intent of these laws. The children of our state are our most important asset. We must ensure threat assessment plans are not only created, but also followed to keep our students safe.”