Stephanie Peltzer President | New Lenox School District 122
Stephanie Peltzer President | New Lenox School District 122
In total, there were 131 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 127 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 2.6 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There were an additional four 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 24 recorded cases. There were also three incidents involving alcohol, a dangerous weapon other than a firearm, and tobacco. Additionally, 81 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.
There were 109 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 18 incidents involved female students.
All 127 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 eight cases reported. Additionally, six cases were classified under the "other reason" category.
In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 81.9% of the New Lenox School District 122 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 104 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 1.6% of the student body, and received 11 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 | 1 | 1 |
| Violence with injury | - | 1 |
| Violence without injury | 24 | 8 |
| Drug offenses | - | 1 |
| Firearm | - | - |
| Other dangerous weapons | 1 | 2 |
| Tobacco | 1 | - |
| Other reason | 81 | 6 |
| Total | 108 | 19 |
| Duration | In-School Suspension | Out-of-School Suspension |
|---|---|---|
| One day or less | 65 | 2 |
| 1-2 days | 38 | 10 |
| 2-3 days | 5 | 1 |
| 3-4 days | - | 3 |
| 4-10 days | - | 3 |
| More than 10 days | - | - |
Alerts Sign-up