Rockford Sun

Kinnikinnick Community Consolidated School District 131 reported 136 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 137 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 136 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 7.9 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 where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 16 recorded cases. There were also six incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 83 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 110 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 26 incidents involved female students.

All 136 suspensions issued in the district involved elementary or middle school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving tobacco, with eight cases reported. Additionally, 12 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 79.6% of the Kinnikinnick Community Consolidated School District 131 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 95 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 10.3% of the student body, and received 18 suspensions.

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	6	1
Violence without injury	16	6
Drug offenses	-	1
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	1
Tobacco	2	8
Other reason	83	12
Total	107	29

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	54	1
1-2 days	47	3
2-3 days	6	20
3-4 days	-	2
4-10 days	-	1
More than 10 days	-	2