Kane County Reporter

Batavia Unit School District 101 reported 381 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 381 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 7.4 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 31 recorded cases. There were also 20 incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 161 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 260 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 121 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 192 involved elementary or middle school students, while 189 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 52 cases reported. Additionally, 65 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 75.6% of the Batavia Unit School District 101 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 183 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 4.1% of the student body, and received 96 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	-	6
Violence with injury	8	15
Violence without injury	31	52
Drug offenses	-	19
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	3
Tobacco	20	1
Other reason	161	65
Total	220	161

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	107	8
1-2 days	92	41
2-3 days	12	39
3-4 days	9	21
4-10 days	-	26
More than 10 days	-	26