JTHS District 204 board orders expulsions but stays them so students may continue at Lincoln School

At its Oct. 21 meeting the Joliet Township High School District 204 Board of Trustees voted to expel two students but immediately stayed each expulsion so the students could continue their education at Lincoln School.

Dan Coffey, a board member, outlined the board's deliberative role before moving the first expulsion. "After receiving and deliberating the information contained in the hearing officer's report, the Board of Education is charged with deciding: 1. Whether removing the child from his or her learning environment is in the best interest of the school; 2. What the rationale is for the specific duration of the recommended expulsion; 3. Whether all appropriate and available behavioral and disciplinary interventions were exhausted; and 4. Whether the continued presence in school would either; (a) pose a threat to the safety of other students, staff, or members of the school community, or (b) substantially disrupt, impede, or interfere with the operation of the school." He then moved to expel Student W252601 until June 2026 and the board carried the motion by roll call; the board stayed the expulsion so the student may attend Lincoln School and may reenroll at Joliet Township High School District 204 in June 2026.

Coffey made a second motion to expel Student C252602 until June 2027 and to stay that expulsion as well so the student may continue education at Lincoln School; the motion was seconded by Matthew Kennedy and carried by roll call with all trustees voting aye. The minutes record the board's procedural findings as part of the student-discipline deliberation and the outcomes above.

The minutes do not provide detailed factual summaries from the hearing officer's report or any individualized rationale beyond the board's standard deliberative criteria; they also do not record appeals or next-step timelines beyond the students' eligibility to reenroll in June of the stated years.