Oak Park and River Forest High School continues to address student discipline issues, including the chronic racial disparity in how Black students turn up in the discipline system at numbers greater than the percentage of Black enrollment. The school has also identified students transferring into OPRF as a group where added early focus might reduce discipline incidents.
Overall, disciplinary incidents rose by 7.5% last year and out of school suspensions increased from 19 to 29 at OPRF according to a report delivered to the school board at its Sept. 24 meeting. In total, 382 separate students, up from 342 students last year, were involved in disciplinary incidents during the 2025-26 school year.
There continues to be a significant racial disparity in which OPRF students are involved in disciplinary incidents. While Black students make up 17% of the OPRF student population 38% of the students involved in disciplinary incidents at OPRF during the 2025-26 school year were Black. White students, who account for just over 52% of the student body, accounted for 29% of disciplinary incidents. Hispanic students, who make up just over 16% of the student population were involved in 20% of the disciplinary incidents.
Black students were also disproportionally represented among the 29 students who received out of school suspensions last year. Sixteen Black students received out of school suspensions last year while 3 white students and 6 Hispanic students received out of school suspensions last year.
“The disproportionate participation of our African American students in disciplinary incidents continues to be an area of concern,” states the report that was presented to the school board by Assistant Principal for Operations David Narain and Principal Lynda Parker.
Because of the racial disproportionality of its out of school suspensions OPRF is required to submit a discipline improvement plan to the state of Illinois under the state’s Exclusionary Discipline Plan. OPRF, like other schools in Illinois, have been trying to reduce out of school suspensions in response to a law enacted a little more than 10 years ago intended to limit the number of out of school suspensions and expulsions. The OPRF administration has been trying to reduce the racial disproportionality of its suspensions to satisfy the state’s requirements.
“We made it our mission to reduce the number of incidents that would lead to suspension in the hopes that that would improve our disparity rate,” Narain told the school board.
OPRF has been making progress on reducing the number of out of school suspensions and the percentage of Black students who are suspended. In the 2022-23 school year 66 OPRF students received out of school suspensions and 86% of those were Black compared to the 29 suspensions, 55% of whom were Black, last year.
The report presented a chart that showed that OPRF had fewer, most often significantly fewer, out of school suspensions than at what was presented as demographically similar high schools. While less than 1% of OPRF students received an out of school suspension last year the out of school suspension rate at Evanston Township High School was 4.72%. The low number of out of school suspensions at OPRF led to an incisive question by one of the student delegates to the school board.
“Is that just because we’re putting more kids in school reflection or is it because we’re actually having less incidents that are leading to that action,” sophomore Jackson Carroll asked Narain.
Narain didn’t directly answer but said that OPRF doesn’t suspend students for vaping. Instead it tries to educate them.
“If we were to, let’s say, use out of school suspension for something like vaping, our out of school numbers would be like more like other districts, but would that be equitable and would that be just,” said Narain in response to Carroll’s question explaining that OPRF uses a restorative justice approach. “Putting a student out of school is damaging to them academically and not beneficial to them in terms of learning.”
The number of incidents of physical violence at OPRF last year was essentially unchanged from the 2024-25 school year with 72 incidents last year compared to 71 in the 2024-25 school year. There were 25 one on one fights last year, 37 incidents of what is referred to “physical force against another student” four incidents of physical force against staff, which were all described as students pushing against staff who were trying to restrict their movement or actions of emotional distress, and there were six incidents of multiple students fighting, down from 10 the previous year.
“The number of one-on-one mutual fights remains a metric that we hope to improve upon, however the number and impact of these incidents remains minor in comparison to similar schools,” the report states.
Students involved in fights or the use of physical force are referred to a social worker who gives the student a behavioral and emotional screening. Depending on the results of the screening the student might be referred to a social work intervention group.
OPRF emphasizes working with students to change behavior. Narain said that a student’s sense of belonging at the school has a big impact on their behavior and the school is actively working to increase that sense of belonging with students who have gotten in trouble in the past. Students are encouraged to become part of school activities. Narain pointed to a few success stories saying that there were some students who last year caused lots of problems but this year are engaged in school activities such as playing on the football team or being involved in other activities. He said that their behavior has markedly improved.
“We are trying to prevent minor discipline from becoming serious and we are already seeing the results of that four weeks into this school year,” Narain said.
OPRF employs a student support specialist who works closely with students who might be problematic or have issues. Narain said that her work is having an impact.
“She’s a very popular person,” Narain said. “She has a very small office but it is always full of students.”
The school is also taking steps to engage with transfer students after discovering that students who don’t come from, or did not spend the majority of their pre-high school education, in OPRF’s feeder districts seem to be more likely to get in trouble.
Parker said that there already has been three events for transfer students including a separate book pick up and get your class schedule time and a separate parent night in an effort to build rapport.
“We made a concentrated effort so that we are working with those students intentionally from the start of school,” Parker said.
Younger students are more likely to be involved in a disciplinary incidents with freshmen accounting for 30% of incidents, sophomores 31%, juniors 23% and seniors just 16%. Boys accounted for 65% of the disciplinary incidents.
Narain pointed that the overwhelming majority of students at OPRF were not involved in any incidents that required discipline.
“We’re really proud of the fact that 89% of our approximately 3,300 students were not involved in any incidents at all,” Narain said adding that number would increase to 95% if you take out minor one time infractions.
Vaping continues to be a problem with 93 students referred for discipline last year for the use THC vapes, nicotine or alcohol compared to 81 the year before. Students are caught vaping or engaged in other addictive behaviors are referred to the Way Back Inn treatment center and must attend two group sessions.
Parker said that last year’s changes to the bathrooms, removing the bathrooms’ exterior doors, has resulted in increased access to the bathrooms.
“It’s not groups and clusters of kids anymore,” Parker said.
Six incidents led to expulsion review for 10 students last year. According to the report five of those incidents involved an object used or attempted to be used as a weapon while the sixth incident was a group fight. There were no incidents involving guns or look-alike weapons at OPRF last year. Two students were recommended for expulsion while two others were recommended for a more appropriate setting based on their Individual Education Plans (IEP’s).
“The remaining six students were not expelled and were permitted to return to school with appropriate supports in place,” the report states.
School board members seemed pleased with the report.
“It does sound like we’re heading in the right direction,” said Josh Gertz.