Kane County Reporter

Central Community Unit School District 301 reported 325 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 326 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 325 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 6.7 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.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 57 recorded cases. There were also 11 incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 193 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 268 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 57 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 247 involved elementary or middle school students, while 78 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 24 cases reported. Additionally, eight cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 59.1% of the Central Community Unit School District 301 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 198 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 18% of the student body, and received 55 suspensions.

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
Alcohol	-	-
Violence with injury	6	5
Violence without injury	57	24
Drug offenses	1	16
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	2	1
Tobacco	11	1
Other reason	193	8
Total	270	55

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	64	2
1-2 days	160	11
2-3 days	19	12
3-4 days	21	6
4-10 days	6	19
More than 10 days	-	5