Lake County Gazette

Antioch Community Consolidated School District 34 reported 249 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 253 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 249 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 9.4 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There were an additional four 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 36 recorded cases. There were also nine incidents involving violence that caused physical injury. Additionally, 131 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 202 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 47 incidents involved female students.

All 249 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 22 cases reported. Additionally, 38 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 66% of the Antioch Community Consolidated School District 34 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 149 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Black students, who made up 4.4% of the student body, and received 43 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	-	2
Violence with injury	9	3
Violence without injury	36	22
Drug offenses	-	1
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	3	4
Tobacco	-	-
Other reason	131	38
Total	179	70

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	58	4
1-2 days	112	37
2-3 days	3	21
3-4 days	6	2
4-10 days	-	6
More than 10 days	-	-