Rockford Sun

Belvidere Consolidated Unit School District 100 reported 1,008 suspensions and two expulsions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,010 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 13.6 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

The expulsions were issued for two incidents involving violence that caused physical injury.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 112 recorded cases. There were also 42 incidents involving drugs. Additionally, 361 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 714 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 296 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 478 involved elementary or middle school students, while 530 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 84 cases reported. Additionally, 168 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 46.2% of the Belvidere Consolidated Unit School District 100 student body, were suspended or expelled the most in the district, with 458 suspensions and one expulsion reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by white students, who made up 46.2% of the student body, and received 398 suspensions and were expelled once.

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	Expelled
Alcohol	6	6	-
Violence with injury	112	79	2
Violence without injury	41	84	-
Drug offenses	42	57	-
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	5	-
Tobacco	20	27	-
Other reason	361	168	-
Total	582	426	2

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	85	36
1-2 days	383	112
2-3 days	97	84
3-4 days	12	83
4-10 days	5	94
More than 10 days	-	17