Plainfield East High School reports 413 incidents of students being suspended or expelled just in 2023-24 school year

Plainfield East High School reported 412 suspensions and an expulsion just during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 433 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 413 were suspensions or expulsions, representing a rate of approximately 22.7 incidents per 100 of the school's enrolled students. There were an additional 20 cases 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 drugs, with 20 recorded cases. There were also 15 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 284 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 321 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 92 incidents involved female students.

All 412 suspensions issued in the Plainfield East High School schools involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving drugs, with 14 cases reported. Additionally, 55 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, Black students, which made up 19% of the Plainfield East High School student body, were suspended or expelled the most in the school, with 158 suspensions and one expulsion reported during the 2023-24 school year. They were followed by Hispanic students, who made up 26.7% of the student body, and received 151 suspensions.

Plainfield East High School is located in the Plainfield School District 202, and has a main office in Plainfield.

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.