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East Central Reporter

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Students suspended 53 times just in 2023-24 school year in Tuscola Community Unit School District 301

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Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | Official Website

Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | Official Website

Tuscola Community Unit School District 301 reported 53 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 53 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 6 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 11 recorded cases. There were also seven incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 19 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 35 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 18 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 24 involved elementary or middle school students, while 29 involved high school students.

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

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 90.7% of the Tuscola Community Unit School District 301 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 46 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by multiracial students, who made up 2.5% of the student body, and received four 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.

Tuscola Community Unit School District 301 Student Discipline Report
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol--
Violence with injury52
Violence without injury114
Drug offenses-2
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco7-
Other reason193
Total4211
Length of Suspensions
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less--
1-2 days371
2-3 days56
3-4 days-3
4-10 days-1
More than 10 days--

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