School administrators within Franklin County reportedly handed out 3,807 suspensions and 12 expulsions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.
In total, there were 3,820 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 3,819 were suspensions or expulsions, representing an average of 0.7 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 four incidents involving violence without physical injury, two incidents involving alcohol and tobacco, three incidents involving drugs, and an incident involving a dangerous weapon other than a firearm.
Among the 19 schools in the county, Central Junior High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 1,330—or 34.8% 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 562 recorded cases. There were also 80 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 2,780 cases were classified under “other reason” or left unspecified.
There were 2,798 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 1,021 incidents involved female students.
Of all suspensions issued in the Franklin County schools, 2,786 involved elementary or middle school students, while 1,021 involved high school students.
Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 67 cases reported. Additionally, 161 cases were classified under the “other reason” category.
In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 93.5% of the student body in Franklin County schools, were suspended or expelled the most in the county, with 3,407 suspensions and eight expulsions reported during the 2023-24 school year (89.4% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 1.6% of the student body, and received 19 suspensions (0.5%).
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 | – | 3 | – |
| Violence with injury | 80 | 55 | – |
| Violence without injury | 562 | 67 | 4 |
| Drug offenses | 6 | 23 | 3 |
| Firearm | – | – | – |
| Other dangerous weapons | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Tobacco | 50 | 14 | 2 |
| Other reason | 2,780 | 161 | 2 |
| Total | 3,479 | 328 | 12 |
| Duration | In-School Suspension | Out-of-School Suspension |
|---|---|---|
| One day or less | 87 | 11 |
| 1-2 days | 2,952 | 92 |
| 2-3 days | 272 | 68 |
| 3-4 days | 112 | 87 |
| 4-10 days | 51 | 51 |
| More than 10 days | 5 | 19 |
