Report: At Wesclin Middle School, Hispanic student rule-breaking rate notably exceeds that of white students

IL Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders (2023) | Institute of Education Sciences

By South Central Reporter

Dec 20, 2023

Hispanic students, constituting 7.3% or 33 of Wesclin Middle School's total student population of 455, accounted for 13 out of the 69 total suspensions (18.8%) in the 2021-22 school year, averaging roughly one suspension per three students, according to the latest student discipline report by the Illinois State Board of Education.

During the same period, Wesclin Middle School's 391 white students, who make up 85.9% of the school population, received 46 suspensions. This translates to an average of roughly one suspension per nine white students, which is definitively lower than that of Hispanic students, making them the best-behaved racial group in the school.

Of the 69 total suspensions at Wesclin Middle School in the 2021-22 school year, 49 were in-school suspensions and 20 out-of-school suspensions.

According to the report, in the 2021-22 school year, 25 student suspensions at Wesclin Middle School were for violence-related offenses.

The most common infraction causing suspension was violence offenses, tallying 25 cases - 36.2% of the total infractions.

In addition, 104 students, or 22.8% of the student population, fell into the chronically absent category, a broader measure that includes all absences, excused or not.

Hispanic students were notably overrepresented in these statistics, comprising 25.6% of all students who were chronically absent.

In a broader context, data from the ProPublica database indicates that Black students are suspended at a rate 4.6 times higher than white students in Illinois—surpassing the already high national average rate of 3.9 times.

However, districts’ officials deny a direct link between these statistics and race. Lisa Small, the Superintendent of District 211, argues that these numbers oversimplify the situation. “Decisions are highly individualized and based on the specific behavior and are not well-suited to a simple numerical analysis,” she wrote in a statement. “They are not a statistic to us, but a developing young adult.”

Illinois ranks 12th in the nation for the highest rate of suspensions among Black students relative to their white peers.

Wesclin Middle School Infractions by Hispanic Students Over 5 Years