East Central Reporter

Edgar County Community Unit School District 6 reported 22 suspensions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 22 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 8 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 seven recorded cases. There were also two incidents involving tobacco and violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, four cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

Only male students were subject to disciplinary actions, a rate of approximately 17.5 incidents per 100 male students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 13 involved elementary or middle school students, while nine involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with seven cases reported.

All of the students suspended during the 2023-24 school year in Edgar County Community Unit School District 6 were white, who made up 95.3% of the district’s student population.

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	1	2
Violence without injury	7	7
Drug offenses	-	-
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	-
Tobacco	1	-
Other reason	4	-
Total	13	9

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	-	-
1-2 days	5	2
2-3 days	6	2
3-4 days	2	4
4-10 days	-	1
More than 10 days	-	-