Dupage Policy Journal

Maercker School District 60 reported seven suspensions and an expulsion during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were nine disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which eight were suspensions or expulsions, representing a rate of approximately 0.6 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

The expulsion was issued for an incident involving a dangerous weapon other than a firearm.

Among in-school suspensions all cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

Only male students were subject to disciplinary actions, a rate of approximately 0.4 incidents per 100 male students.

All seven 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 two cases reported. Additionally, one case was classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Black students, who made up 8.4% of the Maercker School District 60 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with three suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 20.5% of the student body, and received two suspensions and were expelled once.

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	Expelled
Alcohol	-	-	-
Violence with injury	-	-	-
Violence without injury	-	2	-
Drug offenses	-	-	-
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	1	1
Tobacco	-	-	-
Other reason	3	1	-
Total	3	4	1

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	-	-
1-2 days	3	4
2-3 days	-	-
3-4 days	-	-
4-10 days	-	-
More than 10 days	-	-