South Central Reporter

Centralia School District 135 reported 360 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 365 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 360 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 34.3 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There were an additional five cases of students being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 59 recorded cases. There were also 23 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 81 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 256 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 104 incidents involved female students.

All 360 suspensions issued in the district involved elementary or middle school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 82 cases reported. Additionally, 56 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 58% of the Centralia School District 135 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 176 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 19.6% of the student body, and received 130 suspensions.

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
Alcohol	-	-
Violence with injury	59	82
Violence without injury	23	26
Drug offenses	12	9
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	1
Tobacco	11	-
Other reason	81	56
Total	186	174

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	19	4
1-2 days	126	66
2-3 days	29	85
3-4 days	12	17
4-10 days	-	2
More than 10 days	-	-