Dupage Policy Journal

Elmhurst School District 205 reported 267 suspensions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 267 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 3.2 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 violence without physical injury, with 15 recorded cases. There were also nine incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 141 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 226 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 41 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the district, 102 involved elementary or middle school students, while 165 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 22 cases reported. Additionally, 50 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 18.7% of the Elmhurst School District 205 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 142 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by white students, who made up 67.8% of the student body, and received 100 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
Violence with injury	4	19
Violence without injury	15	22
Drug offenses	2	-
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	1	2
Tobacco	9	1
Other reason	141	50
Total	172	95

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	52	5
1-2 days	101	42
2-3 days	15	20
3-4 days	4	20
4-10 days	-	7
More than 10 days	-	1