Kane County Reporter

Geneva Community Unit School District 304 reported 279 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 280 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 279 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 5.6 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 18 recorded cases. There were also seven incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 174 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 214 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 65 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 90 involved elementary or middle school students, while 189 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving drugs, with 22 cases reported. Additionally, 23 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 82.1% of the Geneva Community Unit School District 304 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 169 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 10.4% of the student body, and received 97 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	1	4
Violence with injury	7	6
Violence without injury	18	12
Drug offenses	6	22
Firearm	1	-
Other dangerous weapons	1	1
Tobacco	3	-
Other reason	174	23
Total	211	68

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	17	7
1-2 days	180	23
2-3 days	11	19
3-4 days	3	9
4-10 days	-	9
More than 10 days	-	1