West Central Reporter

School administrators within Hancock County reportedly handed out 110 suspensions and an expulsion during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 111 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of less than 0.1 actions per student in the county.

Among the 12 schools in the county, Southeastern Elementary School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 49—or 44.1% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 30 recorded cases. There were also 13 incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 23 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 95 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 16 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Hancock County schools, 89 involved elementary or middle school students, while 21 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 27 cases reported. Additionally, nine cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

All of the students suspended or expelled during the 2023-24 school year in Hancock County schools were white, who made up 92.5% of the county's student population.

Some schools or districts may not publish complete disciplinary data due to privacy protections or reporting limitations, which could affect the totals.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school 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	1	-
Violence with injury	3	2	-
Violence without injury	30	27	-
Drug offenses	-	-	-
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	-	-
Tobacco	13	1	-
Other reason	23	9	1
Total	70	40	1

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	13	-
1-2 days	41	20
2-3 days	2	7
3-4 days	5	3
4-10 days	9	10
More than 10 days	-	-