Kankakee Times

Bradley School District 61 reported 219 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 219 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 17 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

Among in-school suspensions where a reason was specified, the most common cause was incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 19 recorded cases. There were also two incidents involving drugs and violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 79 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 167 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 52 incidents involved female students.

All 219 suspensions issued in the district involved elementary or middle school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 46 cases reported. Additionally, 64 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Black students, who made up 13.6% of the Bradley School District 61 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 86 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by white students, who made up 53.1% of the student body, and received 60 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	1	3
Violence without injury	19	46
Drug offenses	1	5
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	-
Tobacco	-	1
Other reason	79	64
Total	100	119

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	32	5
1-2 days	53	37
2-3 days	14	30
3-4 days	1	34
4-10 days	-	13
More than 10 days	-	-