West Central Reporter

School administrators within Morgan County reportedly handed out 1,267 suspensions and two expulsions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,271 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,269 were suspensions or expulsions, representing an average of 0.3 actions per student in the county. There were an additional two cases of students being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

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

Among the 18 schools in the county, Jacksonville High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 507—or 39.9% 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 86 recorded cases. There were also 20 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 418 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 786 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 483 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Morgan County schools, 723 involved elementary or middle school students, while 544 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 207 cases reported. Additionally, 409 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 80.2% of the student body in Morgan County schools, were suspended or expelled the most in the county, with 671 suspensions and two expulsions reported during the 2023-24 school year (53% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Black students, who made up 6.6% of the student body, and received 266 suspensions (21%).

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	-
Violence with injury	20	37	1
Violence without injury	86	207	-
Drug offenses	5	16	-
Firearm	1	1	-
Other dangerous weapons	3	10	-
Tobacco	11	42	-
Other reason	418	409	1
Total	544	723	2

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	40	26
1-2 days	419	288
2-3 days	44	254
3-4 days	26	75
4-10 days	14	40
More than 10 days	1	40