Rockford Sun

School administrators within Boone County reportedly handed out 1,199 suspensions and two expulsions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,202 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,201 were suspensions or expulsions, representing an average of 0.1 actions per student in the county. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

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

Among the 16 schools in the county, Belvidere North High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 289—or 24% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 112 recorded cases. There were also 49 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 470 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 867 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 334 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Boone County schools, 566 involved elementary or middle school students, while 633 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 103 cases reported. Additionally, 198 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 43.6% of the student body in Boone County schools, were suspended or expelled the most in the county, with 540 suspensions and one expulsion reported during the 2023-24 school year (45% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by white students, who made up 48.8% of the student body, and received 489 suspensions and were expelled once (40.8%).

Some schools or districts may not publish complete disciplinary data due to privacy protections or reporting limitations, which could affect the totals.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school 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	7	-
Violence with injury	112	85	2
Violence without injury	49	103	-
Drug offenses	42	62	-
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	7	-
Tobacco	20	38	-
Other reason	470	198	-
Total	699	500	2

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	127	36
1-2 days	452	121
2-3 days	103	105
3-4 days	12	100
4-10 days	5	116
More than 10 days	-	22