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Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Athens Community Unit School District 213 students suspended 19 times during 2023-24 school year

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Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

Athens Community Unit School District 213 reported 19 suspensions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 19 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 1.9 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

There were 14 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another five incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, seven involved elementary or middle school students, while 12 involved high school students.

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

All of the students suspended during the 2023-24 school year in Athens Community Unit School District 213 were white, who made up 90.6% 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.

Athens Community Unit School District 213 Student Discipline Report
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol--
Violence with injury--
Violence without injury-6
Drug offenses--
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco-9
Other reason-4
Total-19
Length of Suspensions
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less--
1-2 days-10
2-3 days-7
3-4 days--
4-10 days-2
More than 10 days--

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