West Cook News

Lyons Township High School District 204 reported 303 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 304 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 303 were suspensions representing a rate of approximately 8.2 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students. There was an additional case of a student 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 drugs, with 45 recorded cases. There were also 26 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 134 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 203 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 100 incidents involved female students.

All 303 suspensions issued in the district involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 35 cases reported. Additionally, six cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Hispanic students, who made up 26.2% of the Lyons Township High School District 204 student body, were suspended the most in the district, with 188 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by white students, who made up 64.8% of the student body, and received 71 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	1
Violence with injury	12	16
Violence without injury	26	35
Drug offenses	45	15
Firearm	-	1
Other dangerous weapons	2	3
Tobacco	-	-
Other reason	134	6
Total	226	77

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	-	-
1-2 days	218	46
2-3 days	6	20
3-4 days	2	7
4-10 days	-	2
More than 10 days	-	2