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DeKalb Times

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 students suspended 34 times in 2023-24 school year

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Dr. Donna Leak Vice-Chair - Flossmoor | firststudentinc.com

Dr. Donna Leak Vice-Chair - Flossmoor | firststudentinc.com

Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 reported 34 suspensions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 34 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 8.2 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

Among in-school suspensions all cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 23 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 11 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 24 involved elementary or middle school students, while 10 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving drugs, with five cases reported. Additionally, two cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 80.8% of the Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 30 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year.

Illinois has approved a 2025 budget that allocates $8.6 billion to K-12 education, a $350 million increase from the previous fiscal year—the minimum required under the state 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.

Hiawatha Community Unit School District 426 Student Discipline Report
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol--
Violence with injury--
Violence without injury-1
Drug offenses-5
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco--
Other reason262
Total268
Length of Suspensions
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less41
1-2 days196
2-3 days31
3-4 days--
4-10 days--
More than 10 days--

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