(a) In the public schools, the program of instruction offered shall include at least the following subject matter, as taught by legally qualified teachers, the arts; career education; consumer education; health and safety, including, but not limited to, human growth and development, nutrition, first aid, disease prevention, community and consumer health, physical, mental, and emotional health, including youth suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, safety, which may include the dangers of gang membership, and accident prevention; language arts, including reading, writing, grammar, speaking, and spelling; mathematics; physical education; science; social studies, including, but not limited to, citizenship, economics, geography, government and history; and, in addition, on at least the secondary level, one or more foreign languages and vocational education. For purposes of this subsection, language arts may include American sign language or signed English, provided such subject matter is taught by a qualified instructor under the supervision of a teacher who holds a certificate issued by the State Board of Education.
(Top)(a) For the purposes of Sections 7-294l and 7-294x, Subsection (a) of Section
10-16b, Subsection (b) of this section and Sections 3 and 8 of public act
93-416,* "gang" means a group of juveniles or youth who, acting in concert with
each other, or with adults, engage in illegal activities.
(b) On and after July 1, 1994, the Division of State Police within the
Department of Public Safety shall monitor, record, and classify all crimes
committed in the state which are gang-related in accordance with the provisions
of Section 29-1c.
(a) In the public schools, the program of instruction offered shall include at least the following subject matter, as taught by legally qualified teachers, the arts; career education; consumer education; health and safety, including, but not limited to, human growth and development, nutrition, first aid, disease prevention, community and consumer health, physical, mental, and emotional health, including youth suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention, safety, which may include the dangers of gang membership, and accident prevention; language arts, including reading, writing, grammar, speaking, and spelling; mathematics; physical education; science; social studies, including, but not limited to, citizenship, economics, geography, government and history; and, in addition, on at least the secondary level, one or more foreign languages and vocational education. For purposes of this subsection, language arts may include American sign language or signed English, provided such subject matter is taught by a qualified instructor under the supervision of a teacher who holds a certificate issued by the State Board of Education.
(a) Any local or regional board of education may authorize the administration of the schools under its direction to suspend from school privileges any pupil whose conduct on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity is violative of a publicized policy of such board or is seriously disruptive of the educational process or endangers persons or property or whose conduct off school grounds is violative of such policy and is seriously disruptive of the educational process. In making a determination as to whether conduct is seriously disruptive of the educational process, the administration may consider, but such consideration shall not be limited to, (1) whether the incident occurred within close proximity of a school; (2) whether other students from the school were involved or whether there was any gang involvement; and (3) whether the conduct involved violence, threats of violence, or the unlawful use of a weapon, as defined in Section 29-38, and whether any injuries occurred.
(a)(1) Any local or regional board of education, at a meeting at which three or more members of such board are present, or the impartial hearing board established pursuant to Subsection (b) of this section, may expel, subject to the provisions of this subsection, any pupil whose conduct on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity is violative of a publicized policy of such board or is seriously disruptive of the educational process or endangers persons or property or whose conduct off school grounds is violative of such policy and is seriously disruptive of the educational process, provided a majority of the board members sitting in the expulsion hearing vote to expel and that at least three affirmative votes for expulsion are cast. In making a determination as to whether conduct is seriously disruptive of the educational process, the board of education or impartial hearing board may consider, but such consideration shall not be limited to, (A) whether the incident occurred within close proximity of a school; (B) whether other students from the school were involved or whether there was any gang involvement; and (C) whether the conduct involved violence, threats of violence, or the unlawful use of a weapon, as defined in Section 29-38, and whether any injuries occurred.
(Top)Each police basic or review training program conducted or administered by the Division of State Police within the Department of Public Safety, the Police Officer Standards and Training Council established under Section 7-294b, or a municipal police department in the state shall include training on gang-related violence.
The Police Officer Standards and Training Council established under Section 7-294b shall provide training to security personnel employed in the public schools by a local or regional board of education. Such training shall include drug detection and gang identification.
(Top)(a) The Chief State's Attorney shall establish a racketeering and continuing criminal activities unit within the Division of Criminal Justice. Such unit shall be available for the investigation and prosecution of criminal matters including, but not limited to, the illegal purchase and sale of controlled substances, criminal activity by gangs, fraud, corruption, illegal gambling, and the recruitment of persons to carry out such illegal activities.
(b) In any investigation or prosecution of a serious felony offense, the prosecutorial official shall review all witnesses to the offense and may identify any witness as a witness at risk of harm. Upon such identification, the prosecutorial official shall then determine whether a witness at risk of harm is critical to a criminal investigation or prosecution. If the witness at risk of harm is determined to be critical to such investigation or prosecution, the prosecutorial official may (1) certify that the witness receive protective services or (2) if the prosecutorial official finds a compelling need to temporarily relocate the witness, certify that the witness receive protective services including temporary relocation services. In determining whether a witness should receive protective services, the prosecutorial official shall give special consideration to a witness who is a child, elderly, or handicapped or otherwise more at risk of being intimidated, harassed, threatened, retaliated against, or subjected to physical violence or who is a witness in a case involving organized crime, gang activities, or drug trafficking or involving a high degree of risk to the witness.