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Peoria Standard

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Discipline Report: Suspensions in Stark County schools totaled 100 solely in 2023-24 school year

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Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

School administrators within Stark County reportedly handed out 100 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 100 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of 0.1 actions per student in the county.

Among the five schools in the county, Stark County High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 35—or 35% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with eight recorded cases. There were also three incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 35 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 69 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 31 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Stark County schools, 65 involved elementary or middle school students, while 35 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 11 cases reported. Additionally, 20 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 91.7% of the student body in Stark County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 56 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (56% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 1.3% of the student body, and received one suspension (1%).

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.

Stark County Student Discipline Report in 2023-24 School Year
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol--
Violence with injury311
Violence without injury89
Drug offenses-2
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons-2
Tobacco28
Other reason3520
Total4852
Length of Suspensions in Stark County in 2023-24 School Year
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less92
1-2 days3423
2-3 days413
3-4 days18
4-10 days-6
More than 10 days--

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