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Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Students suspended 84 times in 2023-24 school year in Carroll County

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Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

School administrators within Carroll County reportedly handed out 84 suspensions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 85 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 84 were suspensions representing an average of less than 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 seven schools in the county, West Carroll Middle School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 22—or 25.9% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving tobacco, with two recorded cases. There was also one incident involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 23 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 72 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 12 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Carroll County schools, 51 involved elementary or middle school students, while 33 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving drugs, with four cases reported. Additionally, 50 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 87.3% of the student body in Carroll County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 65 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (77.4% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 7.2% of the student body, and received nine suspensions (10.7%).

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.

Carroll County Student Discipline Report in 2023-24 School Year
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol-1
Violence with injury--
Violence without injury13
Drug offenses-4
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco2-
Other reason2350
Total2658
Length of Suspensions in Carroll County in 2023-24 School Year
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less37
1-2 days1523
2-3 days67
3-4 days214
4-10 days-4
More than 10 days-3

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