Will County Gazette

Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U reported 42 suspensions or expulsions for the 2021-22 school year, according to the latest student discipline report by the Illinois State Board of Education.

According to the report, the district expelled or suspended 42 students during the year. This equates to three percent of the 1,227 students enrolled.

Students were expelled for one incident with violence without physical injury, 31 incidents with alcohol and tobacco, seven incidents with drugs, one incident witha dangerous weapon firearm,two incidents with a dangerous weapon, other than a firearm.

Boy students received 27 suspensions, while 15 girls were suspended.

There were 16 elementary or middle school students, and 26 high school students suspended in 2021-22 school year.

The district reported that most out-of-school suspensions were given for tobacco, of which there were 25. There were seven incidents of drug offense. For 16 incidents, students were suspended for one to two days.

Illinois ranks as the 5th state in terms of the overall number of schools and student enrollment among all states.

Illinois lawmakers enacted laws in 2015 to restrict schools from disciplining a disproportionate number of Black and minority students out of school and into the criminal justice system, often for minor misbehavior.

	In-school Suspension	Out-of-school Suspension
Alcohol		6
Violence with injury		0
Violence without injury		1
Drug offenses		7
Firearm		1
Other dangerous weapons		2
Tobacco		25
Other reason		0
Total		42

	In-school Suspension	Out-of-school Suspension
One day or less		0
1-2 days		16
2-3 days		2
3-4 days		9
4-10 days		15
More than 10 days		0