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Thursday, July 17, 2025

Betty Shabazz International Charter School Report: Suspensions in Betty Shabazz International Charter School totaled 122 just in 2023-24 school year

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Dr. Donna Leak Vice-Chair - Flossmoor | firststudentinc.com

Dr. Donna Leak Vice-Chair - Flossmoor | firststudentinc.com

Betty Shabazz International Charter School reported 122 suspensions just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 122 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, representing a rate of approximately 21.2 incidents per 100 of the district’s enrolled students.

There were 69 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 53 incidents involved female students.

All 122 suspensions issued in the district involved elementary or middle school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 39 cases reported. Additionally, 59 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

All of the students suspended during the 2023-24 school year in Betty Shabazz International Charter School were Black, who made up 97.7% of the district’s student population.

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.

Betty Shabazz International Charter School Student Discipline Report
Type of IncidentIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
Alcohol--
Violence with injury-22
Violence without injury-39
Drug offenses-2
Firearm--
Other dangerous weapons--
Tobacco--
Other reason-59
Total-122
Length of Suspensions
DurationIn-School SuspensionOut-of-School Suspension
One day or less--
1-2 days-64
2-3 days-26
3-4 days-14
4-10 days-17
More than 10 days-1

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