Kankakee Times

Bourbonnais School District 53 reported 141 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 143 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 141 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 6 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There were an additional two 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 six recorded cases. There was also one incident involving a dangerous weapon other than a firearm. Additionally, 41 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 110 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 31 incidents involved female students.

All 141 suspensions issued in the district involved elementary or middle school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 47 cases reported. Additionally, 44 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 60.5% of the Bourbonnais School District 53 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 63 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 15% of the student body, and received 35 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	6	47
Violence without injury	-	-
Drug offenses	-	-
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	1	2
Tobacco	-	-
Other reason	41	44
Total	48	93

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	18	10
1-2 days	29	30
2-3 days	-	18
3-4 days	-	33
4-10 days	1	2
More than 10 days	-	-