South Central Reporter

School administrators within Clinton County reportedly handed out 349 suspensions and an expulsion solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 351 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 350 were suspensions or expulsions, representing an average of 0.1 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 19 schools in the county, Wesclin Middle School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 94—or 26.8% 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 69 recorded cases. There were also 14 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 132 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 270 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 80 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Clinton County schools, 266 involved elementary or middle school students, while 83 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 45 cases reported. Additionally, 50 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 88.3% of the Clinton County schools student body, were suspended or expelled the most in the district, with 241 suspensionsand one expulsion reported during the 2023-24 school year (69.1% of all disciplinary actions).

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	Expelled
Alcohol	-	-	-
Violence with injury	14	12	-
Violence without injury	69	45	-
Drug offenses	-	2	-
Firearm	2	2	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	1	-
Tobacco	10	10	-
Other reason	132	50	1
Total	227	122	1

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	24	8
1-2 days	162	59
2-3 days	29	27
3-4 days	12	17
4-10 days	-	10
More than 10 days	-	1