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Tonica CCSD 79: special education scorecard

La Salle County, IL · 119 students

In 2024–25, 83.3% of Tonica CCSD 79's students with IEPs spent at least 80% of the school day in general-education classrooms, compared with the Illinois district median of 55.7%.

Updated September 27, 2026Inclusion & outcomes: ISBE 2024–25Discipline, restraint & seclusion: CRDC 2023–24MethodologyReport an error

How inclusive is Tonica CCSD 79 for students with IEPs?

Federal law (the IDEA, 20 U.S.C. §1412(a)(5) the law ) says children with disabilities should learn alongside their classmates without disabilities as much as is right for them — what the law calls the “Least Restrictive Environment.” The bar below shows how this district actually places its students with IEPs, from a regular classroom most of the day to a fully separate school. There's no single right answer — some children genuinely need a more specialized setting — but districts that include more students in the regular classroom usually have the staffing and support to do it well.

83.3%are in a regular classroom most of the day (ISBE 2024–25)
Too few students with IEPs (n/a) to rank fairly against other districts · state median 55.7%
83.3%In a regular classroom most of the day — 80%+ of the time — the most included
0.0%Split between a regular class and a separate room — 40–79% of the day in general ed
0.0%Mostly in a separate special-education room — less than 40% of the day in general ed
16.7%In a separate school for students with disabilities — a different building entirely — the most separated
Where IEP students spend the school day, all four settings. ISBE Illinois Report Card 2025 — Special Education data set 2026-06-10

How often does Tonica CCSD 79 suspend, restrain or seclude students with disabilities?

How the district responds when a child with a disability struggles, from the federal civil-rights collection (CRDC). Suspension/expulsion remove a child from school; a police referral or arrest brings law enforcement into a school matter; physical restraint is staff holding a child immobile; seclusion is confining a child alone in a room they can't leave. The government tracks these because students with disabilities face them far out of proportion: nationally they are about 12% of students but 75% of those physically restrained and 58% of those secluded, and are suspended at roughly twice the rate of students without disabilities. U.S. Dept. of Education / OCR High numbers can flag a district that meets behavior with force or exclusion rather than support — read them as something to ask about, not a verdict.

Students w/ disabilities suspended out of school
0 students (state avg 2.2×) (CRDC 2023–24) U.S. DOE OCR — Civil Rights Data Collection 2023-24 2026-09-26
“× the rate” compares how often students with disabilities face this vs. students without disabilities in the same district — the clearest sign of disproportionate discipline. Nationally the suspension gap is about 2×.
Students w/ disabilities suspended in school
0 students (state avg 1.9×) (CRDC 2023–24) U.S. DOE OCR — Civil Rights Data Collection 2023-24 2026-09-26
In-school suspension keeps a child in the building but out of their classroom — still lost instruction.
Students w/ disabilities expelled
0 students (state avg 1.8×) (CRDC 2023–24) U.S. DOE OCR — Civil Rights Data Collection 2023-24 2026-09-26
Expulsion (with or without continued services, including zero-tolerance) — the most severe exclusion.
Students w/ disabilities physically restrained
0 students · state avg 8.9 (CRDC 2023–24) U.S. DOE OCR — Civil Rights Data Collection 2023-24 2026-09-26
Unduplicated student counts, self-reported to OCR by 1 of 1 schools. A reported 0 can mean none — or under-reporting. Counts are not a verdict on a district.
Students w/ disabilities placed in seclusion
0 students · state avg 3.9 (CRDC 2023–24) U.S. DOE OCR — Civil Rights Data Collection 2023-24 2026-09-26
Due-process record
Illinois statewide summary · How a hearing works
Formal disputes between parents and districts that reached a hearing. ISBE anonymizes the district, so we summarize them statewide.

How many students have IEPs, and who supports them?

Enrollment
119 U.S. DOE OCR — Civil Rights Data Collection 2023-24 2026-09-26
Students with IEPs
10.8% of enrollment ISBE Illinois Report Card 2025 — Special Education data set 2026-06-10
Support staff
value pending — see source U.S. DOE OCR — Civil Rights Data Collection 2023-24 2026-09-26
School psychologists, social workers, counselors and nurses — the people who evaluate children, deliver the counseling/related services written into an IEP, and keep kids supported. More staff per student means more capacity to serve.

Questions parents ask about Tonica CCSD 79

What does "83% in general education 80% or more" mean for Tonica CCSD 79?
It means 83.3% of Tonica CCSD 79's students with IEPs spend at least 80% of the school day in regular classes with classmates who don't have disabilities. Federal law (IDEA) requires schools to educate children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment appropriate for them, so this is the standard measure of inclusion. The Illinois district median is 55.7%.
Where does the restraint and suspension data come from, and how current is it?
It comes from the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection for 2023–24, the most recent release. Districts report these counts themselves every two years, and the data is published about two years later. Illinois restricted physical restraint and banned locked seclusion in 2021, so 2023–24 reflects practice under the newer rules.
How do I get my child's restraint or time-out records from Tonica CCSD 79?
Ask the school in writing for your child's education records, including any restraint or time-out documentation. Under Illinois rules the school must notify parents after these incidents, and under FERPA you can request your child's records. A parent training center or Equip for Equality can help if you run into trouble.
How do I request a special-education evaluation from Tonica CCSD 79?
Put the request in writing to your child's school or the district's special-education office, describe your concerns, and keep a copy. In Illinois the district must decide within 14 school days whether to evaluate, and complete the evaluation within 60 school days of your consent. See our step-by-step IEP guide for details.

Other LaSalle County districts

Ottawa ESD 141 70% incl.
Streator ESD 44 53% incl.
Peru ESD 124 64% incl.
Serena CUSD 2 63% incl.
Oglesby ESD 125 36% incl.

Compare all LaSalle County districts

Data vintage — and why some of it lags

Each figure is a public record, linked to its source with a retrieval date. Vintages differ because the agencies publish on different cycles:

  • Inclusion / LRE, % with an IEP, and the academic outcomes for students with disabilities (proficiency, graduation, dropout, chronic absenteeism, mobility, 9th-grade-on-track) — ISBE Illinois Report Card, 2024–25 (current). The state publishes annually each fall.
  • Discipline, restraint & seclusion, staffing — federal CRDC, 2023–24. The most recent collection: the CRDC runs every two years and is released about two years later. Counts are self-reported by districts to the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Due-process decisions — ISBE, through FY 2026 (current). Statewide, because ISBE anonymizes the district.

Verify the numbers yourself. Every figure is computed from the agencies' public-use files and linked above (OCR: civilrightsdata.ed.gov ). PedsList computes the rates, ratios, percentiles and green/orange comparisons from those public files; see the methodology.