Galesburg Reporter

School administrators within Knox County reportedly handed out 617 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 617 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of 0.1 actions per student in the county.

Among the 16 schools in the county, Galesburg High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 201—or 32.6% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving tobacco, with 46 recorded cases. There were also 42 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 107 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 448 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 169 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Knox County schools, 368 involved elementary or middle school students, while 249 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 146 cases reported. Additionally, 123 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 69.3% of the student body in Knox County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 296 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (48% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by Black students, who made up 10.5% of the student body, and received 142 suspensions (23%).

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.

Type of Incident	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
Alcohol	-	-
Violence with injury	15	71
Violence without injury	42	146
Drug offenses	2	31
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	4
Tobacco	46	30
Other reason	107	123
Total	212	405

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	76	30
1-2 days	121	120
2-3 days	6	77
3-4 days	8	117
4-10 days	1	53
More than 10 days	-	8