NW Illinois News

Hispanic students, constituting 15.9% or 48 of Galena Middle School's total student population of 302, accounted for one out of the two total suspensions (50%) in the 2021-22 school year, averaging one suspension per 48 students, according to the latest student discipline report by the Illinois State Board of Education.

During the same period, Galena Middle School's 237 white students, who make up 78.5% of the school population, received one suspension. This translates to an average of one suspension per 237 white students, which is definitively lower than that of Hispanic students, making them the best-behaved racial group in the school.

Of the two total suspensions at Galena Middle School in the 2021-22 school year, one was in-school suspension and one out-of-school suspension.

The most common infraction causing suspension, however, was other weapon offenses, tallying one cases - 50% of the total infractions.

In addition, 32 students, or 10.5% of the student population, fell into the chronically absent category, a broader measure that includes all absences, excused or not.

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.

Race	Number of Students	Total Infractions	Infractions Per Student
Hispanic	48	1	0.02
White	237	1	0