NW Illinois News

School administrators within Stephenson County reportedly handed out 1,771 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,773 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,771 were suspensions representing an average of 0.3 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 20 schools in the county, Freeport High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 602—or 34% 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 78 recorded cases. There were also 13 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 1,065 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 1,237 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 534 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Stephenson County schools, 1,128 involved elementary or middle school students, while 643 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 189 cases reported. Additionally, 327 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Black students, who made up 15.1% of the student body in Stephenson County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 893 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (50.4% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by white students, who made up 61.4% of the student body, and received 337 suspensions (19%).

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	-	1
Violence with injury	13	52
Violence without injury	78	189
Drug offenses	8	15
Firearm	-	5
Other dangerous weapons	1	13
Tobacco	-	4
Other reason	1,065	327
Total	1,165	606

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	450	47
1-2 days	604	182
2-3 days	85	122
3-4 days	21	161
4-10 days	4	62
More than 10 days	1	32