East Central Reporter

School administrators within Douglas County reportedly handed out 205 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 207 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 205 were suspensions representing an average of 0.1 actions per student in the county. There were an additional two cases of students being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among the 10 schools in the county, Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 99—or 47.8% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 16 recorded cases. There were also 14 incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 111 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 127 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 78 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Douglas County schools, 65 involved elementary or middle school students, while 140 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 13 cases reported. Additionally, 23 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 78.9% of the student body in Douglas County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 140 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (68.3% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 16.3% of the student body, and received five suspensions (2.4%).

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	-	-
Violence with injury	8	7
Violence without injury	16	13
Drug offenses	3	6
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	2
Tobacco	14	2
Other reason	111	23
Total	152	53

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	17	8
1-2 days	122	13
2-3 days	13	13
3-4 days	-	10
4-10 days	-	7
More than 10 days	-	2