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East Central Reporter

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Lawrence County schools report 139 incidents of students being suspended or expelled solely in 2023-24 school year

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Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com

Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com

School administrators within Lawrence County reportedly handed out 138 suspensions and an expulsion solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 139 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of 0.1 actions per student in the county.

The expulsion was issued for an incident involving violence that caused physical injury.

Among the six schools in the county, Lawrenceville High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 54—or 38.8% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving tobacco, with 11 recorded cases. There were also five incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 70 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 114 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 25 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Lawrence County schools, 77 involved elementary or middle school students, while 61 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 16 cases reported. Additionally, 27 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

All of the students suspended or expelled during the 2023-24 school year in Lawrence County schools were white, who made up 92.8% of the county's student population.

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.

Lawrence County Student Discipline Report in 2023-24 School Year
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School SuspensionExpelled
Alcohol---
Violence with injury-11
Violence without injury516-
Drug offenses-1-
Firearm---
Other dangerous weapons-1-
Tobacco116-
Other reason7027-
Total86521
Length of Suspensions in Lawrence County in 2023-24 School Year
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less--
1-2 days5911
2-3 days196
3-4 days720
4-10 days111
More than 10 days-4

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