West Central Reporter

Jacksonville School District 117 reported 1,164 suspensions and two expulsions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,167 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,166 were suspensions or expulsions, representing a rate of approximately 37.7 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

The expulsions were issued for an incident involving violence that caused physical injury and an incident involving drugs.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 83 recorded cases. There were also 19 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 388 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 704 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 462 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 650 involved elementary or middle school students, while 514 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 198 cases reported. Additionally, 368 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 73.5% of the Jacksonville School District 117 student body, were suspended or expelled the most in the district, with 611 suspensions and one expulsion reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 9.5% of the student body, and received 268 suspensions and were expelled once.

Illinois has approved a 2025 budget that allocates $8.6 billion to K-12 education, a $350 million increase from the previous fiscal year—the minimum required under the state funding formula.

In 2024, Illinois registered a teacher retention rate of almost 90%. Yet, around 91% of superintendents reported having a 'serious' problem teacher shortage problem. In total, almost 4,100 teaching positions remained vacant by the end of the year.

“They’re putting a substitute in there, that’s somebody with a four-year degree that’s not in teaching. They’re using a retired teacher…or worse than that, they’re canceling the class, putting the kids in other classrooms, putting them in study hall, but those are strategies we have to use if there’s no qualified teacher,” said Beth Crider, regional superintendent of Peoria County Regional Office of Education #48.

Type of Incident	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension	Expelled
Alcohol	-	1	-
Violence with injury	19	26	1
Violence without injury	83	198	-
Drug offenses	5	16	1
Firearm	1	1	-
Other dangerous weapons	3	10	-
Tobacco	11	34	-
Other reason	388	368	-
Total	510	654	2

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	36	26
1-2 days	388	245
2-3 days	43	244
3-4 days	28	61
4-10 days	14	38
More than 10 days	1	40