Prevent School Violence Act (PA 96-0952) & the Prevent School Violence Illinois Coalition
In 2009-2014, Alliance youth leaders, staff, volunteers, and community partners worked to pass two critical sections of the Prevent School Violence Act (PSVA). The first section was signed into law on June 27th, 2010 by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and defined bullying for the first time in Illinois law. It includes enumerated categories of students particularly vulnerable to bullying in schools (including sexual orientation and gender identity/expression), and created the Illinois School Bullying Prevention Taskforce. The Illinois School Bullying Prevention Taskforce included leadership from the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance and produced a report with recommendations that was used to pass the second iteration of the Prevent School Violence Act in 2014 which, among other things, mandated that all Illinois School Districts and Charter Schools have comprehensive bullying policies that promote restorative justice and non-punitive approaches to violence prevention. The Alliance is now focused on full implementation of the law throughout the state of Illinois through targeted advocacy with individual schools and school districts. If your school is not addressing bullying in a way that feels affirming for you and you want support, please contact Julio Flores.
For more information on PSVI or the Illinois School Bullying Prevention Task Force recommendations, please click the Prevent School Violence Illinois link below.