Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | Official Website
Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | Official Website
In total, there were nine disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which eight were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 2.7 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.
Among in-school suspensions all cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.
Only male students were subject to disciplinary actions, a rate of approximately 5.3 incidents per 100 male students.
All eight suspensions issued in the district involved elementary or middle school students.
Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with four cases reported. Additionally, two cases were classified under the "other reason" category.
All of the students suspended during the 2023-24 school year in Chester-East Lincoln Community Consolidated School District 61 were white, who made up 90.2% of the district’s student population.
Illinois has approved a 2025 budget that allocates $8.6 billion to K-12 education, a $350 million increase from the previous fiscal year—the minimum required under the state 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 | - | - |
| Violence with injury | - | - |
| Violence without injury | - | 4 |
| Drug offenses | - | - |
| Firearm | - | - |
| Other dangerous weapons | - | - |
| Tobacco | - | - |
| Other reason | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 2 | 6 |
| Duration | In-School Suspension | Out-of-School Suspension |
|---|---|---|
| One day or less | - | - |
| 1-2 days | 2 | 5 |
| 2-3 days | - | 1 |
| 3-4 days | - | - |
| 4-10 days | - | - |
| More than 10 days | - | - |
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