Macon Reporter

School administrators within Macon County reportedly handed out 5,624 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 5,625 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 5,624 were suspensions representing an average of 0.4 actions per student in the county. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among the 33 schools in the county, Stephen Decatur Middle School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 971—or 17.3% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 237 recorded cases. There were also 88 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 1,053 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 3,702 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 1,922 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Macon County schools, 4,227 involved elementary or middle school students, while 1,397 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 1,638 cases reported. Additionally, 1,802 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Black students, who made up 27.3% of the student body in Macon County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 3,346 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (59.5% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by white students, who made up 56.2% of the student body, and received 1,388 suspensions (24.7%).

Some schools or districts may not publish complete disciplinary data due to privacy protections or reporting limitations, which could affect the totals.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school 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	3
Violence with injury	237	1,638
Violence without injury	88	419
Drug offenses	-	81
Firearm	3	4
Other dangerous weapons	5	24
Tobacco	40	226
Other reason	1,053	1,802
Total	1,427	4,197

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	423	292
1-2 days	855	1,786
2-3 days	115	970
3-4 days	30	790
4-10 days	4	287
More than 10 days	-	72