Neuqua student bill proposes school questioning changes
April 10, 2019
Rekha Iyer, a Neuqua Valley senior, is working to get Illinois House bill 2627 (HB2627) passed, which would prevent schools from holding students suspected of criminal offenses or allowing them to be questioned by law enforcement without a parent or guardian, social worker or mental health official present. Currently, there is no such regulation.
Iyer explains that the bill was largely informed by the death of Corey Walgren, a Naperville North student. Walgren committed suicide shortly after being questioned by school officials about a recording he made of a sexual encounter with another student without her consent. Walgren’s parents believe that the school’s methods contributed to their son’s decision to end his life and filed a lawsuit in response. It has currently been dismissed by Judge Andrea Wood, who said that the school used “ordinary police interrogation tactics.”
As adults, [people] always have an attorney present with [them] when [they’re] being questioned by the police, so you would assume that a child would have someone with them. — Rekha Iyer
Iyer believes that the school “scared,” Walgren with potential consequences which she thinks “wouldn’t even be legally plausible because he’s a minor.” She says, “You can imagine how that would have weighed down on a student.” Iyer believes that students having the right to have an adult present during questioning is legally equivalent to adults having a lawyer present. She calls “the fact that this was done … without anyone present” “astounding.”
With her bill, she hopes to ensure that students are not alone when questioned about situations that could involve legal consequences. She says she hopes, “students will have the support that they need … and it will prevent self harm.”
Iyer has been a four year member of Neuqua’s You and Government program, which she believes gave her insight on Illinois’ legal system. She has spent her time on the judicial side and was elected the Youth Chief Justice for 2018.
Iyer previously proposed legislation with another Neuqua student, Jash Desai, to help strengthen school’s regulations around concussions. They worked with Representative Stephanie Kifowit, who helped sponsor the bill, and it passed last year.
Kifowit is also sponsoring Iyer’s newest bill and the two have worked together on a Statewide Youth Advisory Council, which Iyer currently chairs. The council is made up of Illinois students who work on legislation such as HB2627. Iyer explains that HB2627 is one of the first bills to be created through the council.
The bill is currently in committee, which means that a small group of legislators are looking over the bill and revising it. If the bill succeeds, it will have to go through the House of Representatives and the Senate and then be signed by Governor J.B Pritzker to become a law. To track the bill’s progress or read the bill, go to https://www.billtrack50.com/BillDetail/1067910.
