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Wednesday, October 1, 2025

How many times were students suspended in Johnson County schools during 2023-24 school year?

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Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website

School administrators within Johnson County reportedly handed out 35 suspensions during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 36 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 35 were suspensions representing an average of less than 0.1 actions per student in the county. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among the seven schools in the county, Vienna High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 18—or 50% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving tobacco, with three recorded cases. There were also two incidents involving violence that caused physical injury and alcohol. Additionally, 13 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 25 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 10 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Johnson County schools, 17 involved elementary or middle school students, while 18 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence that caused physical injury and drugs, with two cases reported. Additionally, 15 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 93.4% of the student body in Johnson County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 29 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (82.9% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by multiracial students, who made up 2.8% of the student body, and received five suspensions (14.3%).

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.

Johnson County Student Discipline Report in 2023-24 School Year
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol1-
Violence with injury11
Violence without injury--
Drug offenses-1
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco3-
Other reason1315
Total1817
Length of Suspensions in Johnson County in 2023-24 School Year
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less21
1-2 days95
2-3 days15
3-4 days64
4-10 days--
More than 10 days-2

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