Dupage Policy Journal

Marquardt School District 15 reported 190 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 194 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 190 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 8.3 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 that caused physical injury, with two recorded cases. There were also two incidents involving tobacco and violence without physical injury. Additionally, 99 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 142 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 48 incidents involved female students.

All 190 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 six cases reported. Additionally, 76 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 53.4% of the Marquardt School District 15 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 89 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 12.8% of the student body, and received 74 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	-	-
Violence with injury	2	3
Violence without injury	1	6
Drug offenses	-	-
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	1
Tobacco	1	1
Other reason	99	76
Total	103	87

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	14	4
1-2 days	74	44
2-3 days	15	16
3-4 days	-	15
4-10 days	-	7
More than 10 days	-	1