Will County Gazette

Joliet Public School District 86 reported 1,208 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,248 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,208 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 12.8 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There were an additional 40 cases of students being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 36 recorded cases. There were also 17 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 334 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 827 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 381 incidents involved female students.

All 1,208 suspensions issued in the district involved elementary or middle school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 188 cases reported. Additionally, 432 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 68.5% of the Joliet Public School District 86 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 556 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 19.8% of the student body, and received 489 suspensions.

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.

Type of Incident	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
Alcohol	-	2
Violence with injury	17	85
Violence without injury	36	188
Drug offenses	1	47
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	2	10
Tobacco	3	51
Other reason	334	432
Total	393	815

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	2	1
1-2 days	368	396
2-3 days	23	242
3-4 days	-	122
4-10 days	-	49
More than 10 days	-	5