NW Illinois News

School administrators within Whiteside County reportedly handed out 1,268 suspensions and two expulsions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,273 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,270 were suspensions or expulsions, representing an average of 0.2 actions per student in the county. There were an additional three cases of students being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among the 26 schools in the county, Challand Middle School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 513—or 40.3% 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 41 recorded cases. There were also 12 incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 440 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 928 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 342 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Whiteside County schools, 1,056 involved elementary or middle school students, while 212 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 147 cases reported. Additionally, 355 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 71.5% of the student body in Whiteside County schools, were suspended or expelled the most in the county, with 623 suspensions and two expulsions reported during the 2023-24 school year (49.2% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 20.6% of the student body, and received 416 suspensions (32.8%).

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	-	5	-
Violence with injury	7	143	-
Violence without injury	41	147	-
Drug offenses	4	22	-
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	8	-
Tobacco	12	84	-
Other reason	440	355	2
Total	504	764	2

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	55	44
1-2 days	422	375
2-3 days	25	162
3-4 days	2	100
4-10 days	-	64
More than 10 days	-	19