Rockford Sun

Harlem Unit School District 122 reported 2,872 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 2,873 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 2,872 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 46.3 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 tobacco, with 82 recorded cases. There were also 27 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 1,628 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 1,968 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 904 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 1,508 involved elementary or middle school students, while 1,364 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 94 cases reported. Additionally, 951 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 65.7% of the Harlem Unit School District 122 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 1,503 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 7.7% of the student body, and received 608 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	-	5
Violence with injury	27	94
Violence without injury	-	-
Drug offenses	1	41
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	9
Tobacco	82	34
Other reason	1,628	951
Total	1,738	1,134

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	123	41
1-2 days	1,462	442
2-3 days	128	200
3-4 days	23	237
4-10 days	2	137
More than 10 days	-	77