Carbondale Reporter

Herrin Community Unit School District 4 reported 176 suspensions or expulsions for the 2021-22 school year, according to the latest student discipline report by the Illinois State Board of Education.

The district removed two students to alternative settings instead of suspending or expelling them. This equates to less than one percent of the 2,337 students enrolled.

Students were expelled for 11 incidents with violence that caused physical injury, 64 incidents with violence without physical injury, two incidents with alcohol and tobacco, eight incidents with drugs, two incidents witha dangerous weapon firearm,seven incidents with a dangerous weapon, other than a firearm.

Boy students received 118 suspensions, while 58 girls were suspended.

There were 132 elementary or middle school students, and 44 high school students suspended in 2021-22 school year.

The district reported that most out-of-school suspensions were given for unspecified reasons, of which there were 82. There were 64 incidents of violence without injury. For 100 incidents, students were suspended for three to four days.

Illinois ranks as the 5th state in terms of the overall number of schools and student enrollment among all states.

Illinois lawmakers enacted laws in 2015 to restrict schools from disciplining a disproportionate number of Black and minority students out of school and into the criminal justice system, often for minor misbehavior.

	In-school Suspension	Out-of-school Suspension
Alcohol		0
Violence with injury		11
Violence without injury		64
Drug offenses		8
Firearm		2
Other dangerous weapons		7
Tobacco		2
Other reason		82
Total		176

	In-school Suspension	Out-of-school Suspension
One day or less		0
1-2 days		14
2-3 days		25
3-4 days		100
4-10 days		37
More than 10 days		0