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Galesburg Reporter

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Warren County students suspended 249 times solely in 2023-24 school year

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Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com

Steven Isoye State Board of Education Chairperson | linkedin.com

School administrators within Warren County reportedly handed out 249 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 249 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of 0.1 actions per student in the county.

Among the nine schools in the county, Lincoln Early Childhood School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 61—or 24.5% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 44 recorded cases. There were also three incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 27 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 178 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 71 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Warren County schools, 211 involved elementary or middle school students, while 38 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 133 cases reported. Additionally, six cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 67% of the student body in Warren County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 143 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (57.4% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 20% of the student body, and received 36 suspensions (14.5%).

Some schools or districts may not publish complete disciplinary data due to privacy protections or reporting limitations, which could affect the totals.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school 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.

Warren County Student Discipline Report in 2023-24 School Year
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol--
Violence with injury-2
Violence without injury44133
Drug offenses-5
Firearm-1
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco328
Other reason276
Total74175
Length of Suspensions in Warren County in 2023-24 School Year
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less2956
1-2 days4146
2-3 days225
3-4 days224
4-10 days-21
More than 10 days-3

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