CPS Arrest Data

Dear Miriam:

Thank you for your interest in Chicago Public Schools. Your FOIA request has been submitted. Your FOIA Center reference number for tracking purposes is: N015401-061124
You have requested the following records: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:

1. Records that show all CPS incidents that included a student referral to law enforcement, including school-based resource officers, the underlying offense, the result of each referral, such as arrest or ticket/citation for municipal ordinance violation, and the gender, race, disability status and ELL status of the students who were referred for the 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and the 2023-2024 school years. Please also include the school in the data breakdown. The records could include, but not be limited to, disciplinary logs or reports, incident logs or reports, behavior resolution reports, and data that reflects the referrals, arrests and citations during the above years.

2. The number of arrests of students on CPS property from July 1, 2021 to current broken down by CPS property name and address. Please break this data down by age of arrestee.

Because this request is in the public interest for Illinois nonprofit The FOIA Bakery’s work to advocate for public education, please waive any fees in accordance with 5 ILCS § 140/6(c). Feel free to contact me with any questions, or if clarification is needed.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Miriam Bhimani

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) responds to all public records requests in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.
Due to the volume and complexity of requests received in the normal course of business, CPS is extending the time for its initial response to your request by an additional 5 business days (to 10 business days total beginning on the first business day following receipt of the request) pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/3(e)(v) which allows for the examination and evaluation of the requested records by personnel to determine if they are exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of Illinois FOIA or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions.
Upon the completion of a response, CPS will provide the first 50 pages to you at no charge.  If a response is more than 50 pages, a fee of 15¢ per page will be charged for each additional page. Copies of video recordings have a fee of $48. All applicable fees must be paid prior to the copying. CPS will inform you of any fees due if your paper response exceeds 50 pages. You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you’ll receive an email when your request has been completed. Thank you for using the CPS FOIA Center.

--- Please respond above this line ---
06/18/2024

Miriam Bhimani
MuckRock News, DEPT MR164995 263 Huntington Ave
Boston MA 02115

RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N015401-061124 Dear Miriam: Thank you again for using the Chicago Public Schools FOIA Center. Under the Freedom of Information Act, a public body may extend the time to respond to a FOIA request by up to 5 business days for a limited number of reasons. 5 ILCS 140/3(e). We are extending the time to respond to your request by 5 business days for one or more of the following reason(s): (  ) the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
( )  the request requires the collection of a substantial number of specified records;
( ) the request is couched in categorical terms and requires an extensive search for the records responsive to it;
( ) the requested records have not been located in the course of routine search and additional efforts are being made to locate them;
(x) the requested records require examination and evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence and discretion to determine if they are exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions;
(x) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by 5 ILCS 140/3 (c) without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body;
( x) there is need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter of the request. Sincerely,
Ana Diaz Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools

--- Please respond above this line ---
June 25, 2024 Miriam Bhimani
RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N015401-061124
Dear Miriam Bhimani:
This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information:
1. Records that show all CPS incidents that included a student referral to law enforcement, including school-based resource officers, the underlying offense, the result of each referral, such as arrest or ticket/citation for municipal ordinance violation, and the gender, race, disability status and ELL status of the students who were referred for the 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and the 2023-2024 school years. Please also include the school in the data breakdown. The records could include, but not be limited to, disciplinary logs or reports, incident logs or reports, behavior resolution reports, and data that reflects the referrals, arrests and citations during the above years.
2. The number of arrests of students on CPS property from July 1, 2021 to current broken down by CPS property name and address. Please break this data down by age of arrestee. RESPONSE : A portion of the information you seek can be found online. Please visit the CPS data website which includes police notification information: https://www.cps.edu/about/district-data/metrics/ . Scroll to the bottom of the page and download the spreadsheets beside the “Suspensions and Expulsions” header.
Be advised that you may wish to submit a FOIA request to the Chicago Police Department (CPD) for “arrests of students” information at the following website: https://home.chicagopolice.org/inside-cpd/freedom-of-information-act-foia/ .
Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/8.5: Records maintained online. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, to the contrary, a public body is not required to copy a public record that is published on the public body’s website. The public body shall notify the requester that the public record is available online and direct the requester to the website where the record can be reasonably accessed.
As to the remainder of your request, be advised that the CPS FOIA office has determined that it does not properly identify a document(s) for search and would require a CPS FOIA Officer to conduct research and create a new record. To search for the information you seek in the manner requested, a FOIA Officer would need to go to various departments, research, create a list of possible responsive records, and answer questions, which is not required pursuant to the FOIA.
Under the Illinois FOIA law, a request to inspect or copy a record must reasonably identify a public record, as opposed to general data, information or statistics to be gleaned from documents which have not otherwise been created by a public body. Accordingly, FOIA applies to the provision of existing public records; a public body is not required to answer questions or generate new records in response to a FOIA request.
Further, section 1 of FOIA states in part: “This Act is not intended to create an obligation on the part of any public body to maintain or prepare any public record which was not maintained or prepared by such public body at the time when this Act becomes effective, except as otherwise required by applicable local, State or federal law.” In accordance with Section 1 of the Illinois FOIA, the District is not required to conduct research to answer your questions or prepare researched records on your behalf in response to your request. In the case of a denial, pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a) you may file a Request for Review with the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at: Public Access Counselor; Office of the Attorney General; 500 South 2nd Street; Springfield, IL 62706.  You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a lawsuit in the State circuit court; 5 ILCS 140/11. Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Ana Diaz Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools