McLean County Times

Multiracial students, constituting 9.5% or 42 of Oakland Elementary School's total student population of 442, accounted for one out of the two total suspensions (50%) in the 2021-22 school year, averaging one suspension per 42 students, according to the latest student discipline report by the Illinois State Board of Education.

During the same period, Oakland Elementary School's 248 white students, who make up 56.1% of the school population, received one suspension. This translates to an average of one suspension per 248 white students, which is definitively lower than that of multiracial students, making them the best-behaved racial group in the school.

Of the two total suspensions at Oakland Elementary School in the 2021-22 school year, both were out-of-school suspensions.

The most common infraction causing suspension, however, was other weapon offenses, tallying one cases - 50% of the total infractions.

During the 2021-22 school year, Oakland Elementary School reported 46 students - equivalent to 10.4% of its student body - as chronically truant, meaning they had a repeated pattern of unexcused lateness or missing classes. In addition, 111 students, or 25.1% of the student population, fell into the chronically absent category, a broader measure that includes all absences, excused or not.

Multiracial students were notably overrepresented in these statistics, comprising 28.9% of all students who were chronically absent.

In a broader context, data from the ProPublica database indicates that Black students are suspended at a rate 4.6 times higher than white students in Illinois—surpassing the already high national average rate of 3.9 times.

However, districts’ officials deny a direct link between these statistics and race. Lisa Small, the Superintendent of District 211, argues that these numbers oversimplify the situation. “Decisions are highly individualized and based on the specific behavior and are not well-suited to a simple numerical analysis,” she wrote in a statement. “They are not a statistic to us, but a developing young adult.”

Illinois ranks 12th in the nation for the highest rate of suspensions among Black students relative to their white peers.

Race	Number of Students	Total Infractions	Infractions Per Student
Multiracial	42	1	0.02
White	248	1	0