Board votes to expel two students but stays expulsions so they can continue at Lincoln School

The Joliet Township High School District 204 Board of Trustees voted June 16 to expel two students, W252622 and C252623, from all district programs through January 2027 but immediately stayed both expulsions so each student could continue their education at Lincoln School during the expulsion period.

Board member Dan Coffey framed the board's duty before the vote, saying, "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." The board then voted on each individual expulsion motion.

Both motions were made by Coffey and seconded by President Matthew Kennedy. Roll call for Student W252622 recorded Ayes: Dr. Angela Huntington, Mr. Dan Coffey, Mr. Matthew Kennedy, Mrs. Christine Lynn, and Mrs. Lorraine Guerrero Neumayer; Nays: None. An identical roll call result was recorded for Student C252623. The motions stayed the expulsions to permit placement at Lincoln School; the board recorded that each student may reenroll in Joliet Township High School District 204 in January 2027.

The board's action follows the procedural guidance described during the meeting that the board must consider safety, the exhaustion of interventions, and the appropriate duration of discipline before ordering an expulsion. No further hearings or appeals were described in the public portion of the meeting.