Dupage Policy Journal

Lake Park Community High School District 108 reported 454 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 458 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 454 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 18 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 tobacco, with 45 recorded cases. There were also 27 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 257 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 299 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 155 incidents involved female students.

All 454 suspensions issued in the district involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 29 cases reported. Additionally, 49 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 57.8% of the Lake Park Community High School District 108 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 182 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 24.5% of the student body, and received 131 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	27	29
Violence without injury	3	2
Drug offenses	9	28
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	1	2
Tobacco	45	2
Other reason	257	49
Total	342	112

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	153	1
1-2 days	180	29
2-3 days	6	13
3-4 days	1	55
4-10 days	2	13
More than 10 days	-	1