Illinois Valley Times

School administrators within Bureau County reportedly handed out 579 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 579 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of 0.1 actions per student in the county.

Among the 21 schools in the county, Logan Junior High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 198—or 34.2% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 17 recorded cases. There were also seven incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 287 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 397 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 157 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Bureau County schools, 339 involved elementary or middle school students, while 240 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 27 cases reported. Additionally, 200 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 75.6% of the student body in Bureau County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 398 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (68.7% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 19.5% of the student body, and received 93 suspensions (16.1%).

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
Alcohol	-	1
Violence with injury	3	8
Violence without injury	17	27
Drug offenses	2	4
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	2
Tobacco	7	21
Other reason	287	200
Total	316	263

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	12	4
1-2 days	290	61
2-3 days	12	74
3-4 days	1	97
4-10 days	1	23
More than 10 days	-	4