Dupage Policy Journal

Lisle Community Unit School District 202 reported 124 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 124 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 8.3 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving tobacco, with 13 recorded cases. There were also 11 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 42 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 65 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 59 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 39 involved elementary or middle school students, while 85 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury and drugs, with 24 cases reported. Additionally, 10 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Black students, who made up 8.3% of the Lisle Community Unit School District 202 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 49 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by white students, who made up 58.7% of the student body, and received 48 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	3	6
Violence without injury	11	12
Drug offenses	10	12
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	-
Tobacco	13	3
Other reason	42	10
Total	80	44

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	6	3
1-2 days	38	29
2-3 days	18	8
3-4 days	10	1
4-10 days	8	3
More than 10 days	-	-