McLean County Times

School administrators within Livingston County reportedly handed out 688 suspensions and two expulsions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 690 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of 0.1 actions per student in the county.

Among the 21 schools in the county, Pontiac Junior High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 248—or 35.9% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving tobacco, with 41 recorded cases. There were also 39 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 281 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 502 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 188 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Livingston County schools, 507 involved elementary or middle school students, while 181 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 64 cases reported. Additionally, 189 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 83.1% of the student body in Livingston County schools, were suspended or expelled the most in the county, with 475 suspensions and one expulsion reported during the 2023-24 school year (69% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 9.7% of the student body, and received 106 suspensions and were expelled once (15.5%).

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	1	1	-
Violence with injury	11	10	-
Violence without injury	39	64	-
Drug offenses	1	11	-
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	2	6	-
Tobacco	41	31	-
Other reason	281	189	2
Total	376	312	2

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	51	7
1-2 days	259	108
2-3 days	38	69
3-4 days	24	78
4-10 days	4	45
More than 10 days	-	5