Recently, the Illinois State Police (ISP) notified school districts that clear and present danger reports will now be made through an online portal. The ISP provided school districts with a user agreement that was originally required to be signed by March 1 and prior to use of the portal. Several school law firms and organizations, including F3, worked with the ISP to modify the language in the portal user agreement to better reflect the needs and responsibilities of both school districts and the ISP.
The ISP will be releasing a modified portal user agreement based on the collaboration with a variety of stakeholders and districts will need to sign the agreement by March 15. Below, we have addressed some of the top questions we have received related to clear and present danger reporting.
What is a district’s responsibility related to clear and present danger reporting?
Under the Illinois Firearms Owners Identification Card Act, school administrators from all public, private, and charter schools must report to the ISP within 24 hours of determining that an individual poses a clear and present danger.
Clear and present danger means, a person who “communicates a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim or poses a clear and imminent risk of serious physical injury to himself, herself, or another person as determined by a physician, clinical psychologist, or qualified examiner; or demonstrates threatening physical or verbal behavior, such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive threats, actions, or other behavior, as determined by a physician, clinical psychologist, qualified examiner, school administrator, or law enforcement official.” (430 ILCS 65/1.1).
This information is used by the ISP to identify individuals who, if granted access to firearms or ammunition, pose an actual imminent threat of substantial bodily harm to self or others that is articulable and significant, or who will likely act in a manner dangerous to public safety.
How is it determined that a person poses a clear and present danger?
While the Firearms Owners Identification Card Act does not identify how this determination is made, School Code requires that all school districts form a threat assessment team and develop threat assessment procedures. 105 ILCS 128/45. We recommend your threat assessment procedures identify when it is necessary to make a clear and present danger report.
This is a good opportunity to review procedures with your team and discuss how clear and present danger reporting fits in with your process.
Who should sign the portal agreement and what does this mean for the school district?
The ISP has shifted from a paper reporting system to an online reporting system. All reports are expected to be shared with the ISP through the portal beginning March 15. Prior to this, an agreement must be signed by the school district. Only one agreement needs to be signed on behalf of the district and the district will then be assigned a username to access the portal to make reports and access a copy of completed submissions.
The ISP has also developed a training document that will be shared with districts in the near future. Please don’t hesitate to contact an attorney if we can be of assistance as you navigate clear and present danger reporting, or more globally, threat assessment procedures.
