Decatur SD 61 board approves expulsions for five students, all votes unanimous
Summary
At a Nov. 17, 2025 special open session, the Decatur SD 61 Board of Education authorized expulsions for five students, voting 7–0 on each case. The expulsions remove students for the remainder of the 2025–26 school year and all of 2026–27, with eligibility to return at the start of 2027–28.
At its Nov. 17, 2025 special open session, the Decatur SD 61 Board of Education approved expulsions for five students after recommendations from district staff and the hearing officer's reports.
District staff told the board it recommended that each student — identified in the meeting by case numbers 2526-0003, 2526-0004, 2526-0005, 2526-0006 and 2526-0007 — be expelled "consistent with the findings from the hearing officer's report." For each case, staff recommended suspension from all district events, property and activities for the remainder of the 2025–26 school year and all of the 2026–27 school year, with the students eligible to return on the first day of the 2027–28 school year once the 2027–28 calendar is approved and parents are notified.
Board members moved and seconded each recommendation and approved all five expulsions by unanimous roll-call votes. The recorded roll calls for these items show the seven voting members responded "Aye" for each motion. No motions failed or were tabled.
Board members paused after the roll calls. One board member acknowledged the human cost of the decisions, saying, "Expulsions are hard on everyone," and thanked staff and colleagues for their work during the hearings.
What the board approved was procedural and disciplinary: each action implemented the hearing officer's findings and removed the named students from district programs for the stated periods. The recommendations and votes were limited to the disciplinary outcomes laid out in the hearing officer reports; board members did not provide additional written sanctions or alternate placements in the open session.
The next regular meeting of the board is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2025, where related administrative items may be discussed.
Votes at a glance • Student 2526-0003 — Approved, 7–0 (expulsion remainder of 2025–26 and all of 2026–27; eligible to return start of 2027–28). • Student 2526-0004 — Approved, 7–0 (same terms). • Student 2526-0005 — Approved, 7–0 (same terms). • Student 2526-0006 — Approved, 7–0 (same terms). • Student 2526-0007 — Approved, 7–0 (same terms).
The board’s publicly stated actions on these cases were limited to the formal expulsions recorded at the Nov. 17 session; the hearing officer reports were cited as the basis for each decision.
