Okaw Valley Community Unit School District 302 reported 20 suspensions and an expulsion during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.
In total, there were 21 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 4.6 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.
The expulsion was issued for an incident involving violence without physical injury.
Among in-school suspensions all cases were classified under “other reason” or left unspecified.
There were 18 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another three incidents involved female students.
Of all suspensions issued in the district, 19 involved elementary or middle school students, while one involved high school student.
Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving a firearm, with five cases reported. Additionally, eight cases were classified under the “other reason” category.
All of the students suspended or expelled during the 2023-24 school year in Okaw Valley Community Unit School District 302 were white, who made up 96.1% of the district’s student population.
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 | – | 1 | 1 |
| Drug offenses | – | 1 | – |
| Firearm | – | 5 | – |
| Other dangerous weapons | – | – | – |
| Tobacco | – | 3 | – |
| Other reason | 2 | 8 | – |
| Total | 2 | 18 | 1 |
| Duration | In-School Suspension | Out-of-School Suspension |
|---|---|---|
| One day or less | – | – |
| 1-2 days | 2 | 7 |
| 2-3 days | – | 7 |
| 3-4 days | – | 2 |
| 4-10 days | – | 1 |
| More than 10 days | – | 1 |
