East Central Reporter

School administrators within Coles County reportedly handed out 1,603 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,604 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,603 were suspensions representing an average of 0.3 actions per student in the county. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among the 12 schools in the county, Mattoon Middle School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 528—or 32.9% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving tobacco, with 71 recorded cases. There were also 43 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 1,011 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 1,124 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 479 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Coles County schools, 1,011 involved elementary or middle school students, while 592 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 64 cases reported. Additionally, 317 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 80.7% of the student body in Coles County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 1,177 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (73.4% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by multiracial students, who made up 7.2% of the student body, and received 188 suspensions (11.7%).

Some schools or districts may not publish complete disciplinary data due to privacy protections or reporting limitations, which could affect the totals.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school 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
Violence with injury	43	64
Violence without injury	-	-
Drug offenses	1	58
Firearm	-	1
Other dangerous weapons	2	14
Tobacco	71	20
Other reason	1,011	317
Total	1,128	475

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	404	25
1-2 days	618	153
2-3 days	75	86
3-4 days	26	125
4-10 days	5	67
More than 10 days	-	19