Lake County Gazette

Mundelein Consolidated High School District 120 reported 216 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 218 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 216 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 9.6 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 drugs, with 24 recorded cases. There were also seven incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 84 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 120 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 96 incidents involved female students.

All 216 suspensions issued in the district involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury, with 17 cases reported. Additionally, 33 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 48.6% of the Mundelein Consolidated High School District 120 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 156 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by white students, who made up 39.4% of the student body, and received 38 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	4	11
Violence with injury	-	17
Violence without injury	1	15
Drug offenses	24	15
Firearm	-	1
Other dangerous weapons	-	2
Tobacco	7	2
Other reason	84	33
Total	120	96

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	5	16
1-2 days	73	27
2-3 days	36	13
3-4 days	6	25
4-10 days	-	9
More than 10 days	-	6