Lake County Gazette

Warren Township High School District 121 reported 136 suspensions and two expulsions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 139 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 138 were suspensions or expulsions, representing a rate of approximately 3.9 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

The expulsions were issued for an incident involving violence without physical injury and an incident involving drugs.

There were 70 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 68 incidents involved female students.

All 136 suspensions issued in the district involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 61 cases reported. Additionally, 25 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 38.1% of the Warren Township High School District 121 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 61 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 14% of the student body, and received 50 suspensions and were expelled once.

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	-	1	-
Violence with injury	-	4	-
Violence without injury	-	61	1
Drug offenses	-	45	1
Firearm	-	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	-	-
Tobacco	-	-	-
Other reason	-	25	-
Total	-	136	2

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	-	-
1-2 days	-	16
2-3 days	-	38
3-4 days	-	42
4-10 days	-	37
More than 10 days	-	3