Students suspended or expelled 154 times just in 2023-24 school year in Canton High School
In total, there were 155 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 154 were suspensions or expulsions, representing a rate of approximately 26.5 incidents per 100 of the school's enrolled students. There was an additional case of students being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.
The school reported that most in-school suspensions were given for incidents involving tobacco, with 20 recorded cases. There were also six incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 56 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.
There were 105 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 49 incidents involved female students.
All 153 suspensions issued in the Canton High School schools involved high school students.
Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving violence without physical injury, with 24 cases reported. Additionally, 24 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.
In terms of ethnicity, white students, which made up 90.4% of the Canton High School student body, were suspended the most in the school, with 134 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by multiracial students, who made up 4.5% of the student body, and received 11 suspensions.
Canton High School is located in the Canton Union School District 66, and has a main office in Canton.
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 | Expelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | - | - | - |
| Violence with injury | - | - | - |
| Violence without injury | 6 | 24 | - |
| Drug offenses | - | 13 | - |
| Firearm | - | - | - |
| Other dangerous weapons | - | 1 | - |
| Tobacco | 20 | 9 | - |
| Other reason | 56 | 24 | 1 |
| Total | 82 | 71 | 1 |
| Duration | In-School Suspension | Out-of-School Suspension |
|---|---|---|
| One day or less | - | - |
| 1-2 days | 32 | 8 |
| 2-3 days | 20 | 10 |
| 3-4 days | 28 | 37 |
| 4-10 days | 2 | 12 |
| More than 10 days | - | 4 |