East Central Reporter

Shiloh Community Unit School District 1 reported 44 suspensions and two expulsions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 46 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 12.8 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

The expulsions were issued for an incident involving violence without physical injury and an incident involving drugs.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving drugs, tobacco, and violence without physical injury, with three recorded cases. Additionally, 24 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 33 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 13 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 11 involved elementary or middle school students, while 33 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with four cases reported. Additionally, 10 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 93.6% of the Shiloh Community Unit School District 1 student body, were suspended or expelled the most in the district, with 38 suspensionsand two expulsions reported during the 2023-24 school year.

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	Expelled
Alcohol	-	-	-
Violence with injury	-	4	-
Violence without injury	1	2	1
Drug offenses	1	1	1
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	-	-
Tobacco	1	-	-
Other reason	24	10	-
Total	27	17	2

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	3	6
1-2 days	18	7
2-3 days	6	-
3-4 days	-	4
4-10 days	-	-
More than 10 days	-	-