Kankakee School District 111 reported 1,120 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.
In total, there were 1,183 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,120 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 24.2 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There were an additional 63 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 without physical injury, with 196 recorded cases. There were also 27 incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 466 cases were classified under “other reason” or left unspecified.
There were 705 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 415 incidents involved female students.
Of all suspensions issued in the district, 838 involved elementary or middle school students, while 282 involved high school students.
Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 229 cases reported. Additionally, 132 cases were classified under the “other reason” category.
In terms of ethnicity, Black students, who made up 47.3% of the Kankakee School District 111 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 881 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 33.8% of the student body, and received 118 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 | 25 |
| Violence without injury | 196 | 229 |
| Drug offenses | – | 1 |
| Firearm | – | – |
| Other dangerous weapons | 2 | 5 |
| Tobacco | 22 | 15 |
| Other reason | 466 | 132 |
| Total | 713 | 407 |
| Duration | In-School Suspension | Out-of-School Suspension |
|---|---|---|
| One day or less | 191 | 10 |
| 1-2 days | 353 | 135 |
| 2-3 days | 111 | 101 |
| 3-4 days | 47 | 99 |
| 4-10 days | 11 | 25 |
| More than 10 days | – | 37 |
