School administrators within Hardin County reportedly handed out 150 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.
In total, there were 150 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing an average of 0.3 actions per student in the county.
Among the three schools in the county, Hardin County Elementary School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 58—or 38.7% 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 23 recorded cases. There were also 11 incidents involving tobacco. Additionally, 79 cases were classified under “other reason” or left unspecified.
There were 118 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 32 incidents involved female students.
Of all suspensions issued in the Hardin County schools, 102 involved elementary or middle school students, while 48 involved high school students.
Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 17 cases reported. Additionally, 17 cases were classified under the “other reason” category.
All of the students suspended during the 2023-24 school year in Hardin County schools were white, who made up 91.8% of the county’s student population.
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 | – | 2 |
| Violence without injury | 23 | 17 |
| Drug offenses | – | 1 |
| Firearm | – | – |
| Other dangerous weapons | – | – |
| Tobacco | 11 | – |
| Other reason | 79 | 17 |
| Total | 113 | 37 |
| Duration | In-School Suspension | Out-of-School Suspension |
|---|---|---|
| One day or less | 1 | – |
| 1-2 days | 100 | 16 |
| 2-3 days | 9 | 10 |
| 3-4 days | 3 | 10 |
| 4-10 days | – | 1 |
| More than 10 days | – | – |
