West Central Reporter

School administrators within Cass County reportedly handed out 353 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 353 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of 0.2 actions per student in the county.

Among the seven schools in the county, Beardstown Junior/Senior High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 223—or 63.2% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving tobacco, with 10 recorded cases. There were also five incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 228 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 287 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 66 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Cass County schools, 268 involved elementary or middle school students, while 85 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving tobacco, with 21 cases reported. Additionally, 68 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 48.5% of the student body in Cass County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 137 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (38.8% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 33.3% of the student body, and received 84 suspensions (23.8%).

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
Alcohol	-	-
Violence with injury	-	5
Violence without injury	5	8
Drug offenses	2	3
Firearm	-	1
Other dangerous weapons	2	-
Tobacco	10	21
Other reason	228	68
Total	247	106

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	27	5
1-2 days	190	30
2-3 days	22	30
3-4 days	3	11
4-10 days	5	21
More than 10 days	-	9