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Monday, July 21, 2025

How many times were students suspended or expelled in Pecatonica Community Unit School District 321 during 2023-24 school year?

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Dr. Donna Leak Vice-Chair - Flossmoor | firststudentinc.com

Dr. Donna Leak Vice-Chair - Flossmoor | firststudentinc.com

Pecatonica Community Unit School District 321 reported 39 suspensions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 39 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 4.4 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

Among in-school suspensions all cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 33 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another six incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 27 involved elementary or middle school students, while 12 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with eight cases reported. Additionally, 23 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 88.3% of the Pecatonica Community Unit School District 321 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 35 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by multiracial students, who made up 4.2% of the student body, and received one suspension.

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.

Pecatonica Community Unit School District 321 Student Discipline Report
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol--
Violence with injury-5
Violence without injury-8
Drug offenses-1
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco--
Other reason223
Total237
Length of Suspensions
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less-1
1-2 days220
2-3 days-7
3-4 days-7
4-10 days-2
More than 10 days--

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