DeKalb Times

School administrators within DeKalb County reportedly handed out 3,603 suspensions and three expulsions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 3,613 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 3,606 were suspensions or expulsions, representing an average of 0.2 actions per student in the county. There were an additional seven cases of students being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

The expulsions were issued for three incidents involving violence that caused physical injury.

Among the 38 schools in the county, Dekalb High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 1,473—or 40.8% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving drugs, with 63 recorded cases. There were also 62 incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 2,101 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 2,361 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 632 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the DeKalb County schools, 1,835 involved elementary or middle school students, while 1,768 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving drugs, with 116 cases reported. Additionally, 1,092 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Black students, who made up 11.8% of the student body in DeKalb County schools, were suspended or expelled the most in the county, with 1,516 suspensions and three expulsions reported during the 2023-24 school year (42.1% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by white students, who made up 59.9% of the student body, and received 936 suspensions (26%).

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	-	4	-
Violence with injury	21	33	3
Violence without injury	11	22	-
Drug offenses	63	116	-
Firearm	-	4	-
Other dangerous weapons	5	18	-
Tobacco	62	51	-
Other reason	2,101	1,092	-
Total	2,263	1,340	3

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	517	75
1-2 days	1,486	572
2-3 days	216	246
3-4 days	41	221
4-10 days	3	174
More than 10 days	-	52