Lake County Gazette

Grayslake Community High School District 127 reported 412 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 414 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 412 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 16.5 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 tobacco, with 18 recorded cases. There were also five incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 250 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 260 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 152 incidents involved female students.

All 412 suspensions issued in the district involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving drugs, with 34 cases reported. Additionally, 66 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 28.4% of the Grayslake Community High School District 127 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 212 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by white students, who made up 53.6% of the student body, and received 107 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	-	7
Violence with injury	2	12
Violence without injury	5	15
Drug offenses	2	34
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	1
Tobacco	18	-
Other reason	250	66
Total	277	135

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	-	-
1-2 days	258	42
2-3 days	18	27
3-4 days	-	26
4-10 days	1	29
More than 10 days	-	11