Section 401.10  Application for Eligibility

Each provider seeking to become eligible to contract with Illinois public school districts to serve students with disabilities under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/14-7.02] shall be subject to the program approval process described in this Section.  Approval shall be specific to individual programs offered by a provider, and the same type of program conducted at two separate facilities shall be treated as two separate programs for purposes of approval.  A program not approved in accordance with the requirements of this Part shall not be used by school districts to serve students with disabilities under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code.

a)         An application for initial approval of educational programs and/or residential programs, presented on forms supplied by the State Superintendent of Education and containing all the items enumerated in this subsection (a), shall be submitted to the State Superintendent.  Each application shall include:

1)         An accurate, written description of each program for which approval is requested, which shall indicate the categories and ages of students with disabilities for whom it is specifically intended, the data that will be collected on the outcomes achieved by those students, which must reflect the students' learning goals as described in their respective IEPs, and the maximum number of students the program is intended to accommodate.

2)         A written plan for the administration and organization of the programs, including but not limited to:

A)        The stated purpose and scope of the facility and its programs;

B)        A plan for the allocation of space solely for program purposes; and

C)        An organizational chart that reflects the provider's governance, administrative, and educational structures.

3)         The provider's proposed calendar for the program for which approval is sought, setting forth an operating schedule reflecting at least 176 days of operation, for at least five hours per school day during the regular school year and, with respect to a summer session, if any is to be offered, at least 120 hours of operation if the facility is located in Illinois or, if the facility is located in another state, the number of hours approved by the responsible authority in that state.

4)         A copy of the State Fire Marshal's most recent inspection report for the facility, which shall be no more than 24 months old at the time of application and shall indicate no violations, or, as applicable:

A)        for an Illinois facility that is subject to the provisions of 23 Ill. Adm. Code 180 (Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools), the report of the regional superintendent's most recent inspection conducted pursuant to Section 3-14.21 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/3-14.21]; or

B)        for an out-of-state facility, equivalent, current documentation of compliance with applicable state fire codes, or if there is no state fire code the applicable local fire code, clearly identifying the issuing authority.

5)         Assurances, signed by the facility's chief administrator, conveying such information as the State Superintendent of Education may require regarding the facility's compliance with other applicable federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, and regulations (such as public health and safety codes, building codes, and licensure requirements).

6)         If the facility is located in Illinois and offers a residential component, evidence of the facility's current licensure or approval by the responsible agency of Illinois government, if applicable.

7)         If the facility is located outside Illinois, evidence of the facility's current licensure, certification, or approval to operate its educational and/or residential programs in the state where it is located, including a copy of the standards or criteria used by the responsible agency in that state.

8)         For instructional programs, summary information about all professional staff positions, and copies of the relevant credentials of persons employed in those positions, which demonstrate that the facility has sufficient staff available who are qualified pursuant to the requirements of Section 401.240 of this Part in order to operate the program.

9)         For instructional programs, summaries of related services provided by the facility's professional staff or available to the provider under contract, demonstrating that the provider has sufficient related services available to operate the program.

10)        For programs serving students for whom behavioral interventions may be appropriate, a description of the provider's formalized approach to the use of these interventions, subject to the limitation stated in Section 401.140(a) of this Part.

b)         If the application is complete and the facility is located in Illinois or within 50 miles of Illinois, State Board staff shall conduct an on-site review and evaluate the facility and the programs offered for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the application, evaluating their conformance with the other requirements of this Part, and recommending approval or disapproval of the programs.

1)         An out-of-state program conducted more than 50 miles outside of Illinois shall be approved without a site visit from an Illinois representative if:

A)        the educational program is an approved special education program in the state where the facility is located and this approval was granted in light of the information gathered during a site visit by a representative of the responsible agency;

B)        the residential component, if any, is licensed by the responsible agency in the state where the facility is located; and

C)        the application provides evidence that the requirements of Section 410.140 of this Part will be met.

2)         An out-of-state program conducted more than 50 miles outside of Illinois that was approved in the state where the facility is located without a site visit by the responsible agency shall be visited by a representative of the Illinois State Board of Education in order to verify the accuracy of the application and determine whether the requirements of this Part have been met so that Illinois approval can be granted.

c)         A program determined to comply with the requirements of this Part shall be designated as "Approved" and shall be available to Illinois public school districts to serve students with disabilities under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code beginning on the day the application is approved, provided that the other requirements of Section 401.110 of this Part have also been met.  The provider operating the facility shall be notified in writing of the date of program approval.

1)         Initial approval shall end on the last day of the program's approved calendar for the school year in question, unless approval is changed pursuant to Section 401.30 of this Part.

2)         A program shall serve only the specific student populations described in the approved application.

d)         The nonapproval of an initial application shall include a notice of the specific deficiencies that caused the nonapproval and the opportunity for the provider to request a hearing pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act [5 ILCS 100] and the State Board's rules for Contested Cases and Other Formal Hearings (23 Ill. Adm. Code 475).

e)         An application for renewal of approval, consisting of all the components set forth in subsection (a) of this Section, must be submitted for any subsequent period in which a provider seeks to contract with Illinois public school districts to serve students with disabilities in the facility under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code.  The submission deadline shall be the April 15 prior to the beginning of the school year in question.  If April 15 is not a business day, the deadline shall fall on the next business day.  The approval process for any such subsequent period may also involve on-site reviews, at the sole discretion of the State Superintendent of Education. 

1)         The denial of an application for renewal of approval shall cause the program approval status to change to "nonapproved" subject to the procedures set forth in Section 401.30(c) of this Part.

2)         Renewed approval granted for the 2006-2007 school year or later shall generally be valid for two school years, ending on the last day of the program's approved calendar for the second school year, unless approval is changed pursuant to Section 401.30 of this Part.  However, the State Superintendent of Education shall approve approximately half the renewal applicants for the 2006-2007 school year for one year only, in order to stagger the two-year renewal process for subsequent periods.

A)        Applications shall be selected at random, provided that, once one program offered by a particular provider has been selected, all that provider's programs will be placed on the same renewal schedule.

B)        The first renewal of approval for a new program offered by a provider that already operates other approved programs shall be granted for the number of years that will place it on the cycle already established for that provider.

3)         A program shall not be eligible for two-year renewed approval if it was not approved for the immediately preceding year, or if it was approved "pending further review" at any time during the immediately preceding period of approval.  Applications for approval of such programs shall be treated as for initial approval.

            (Source:  Amended at 31 Ill. Reg. 14050, effective September 24, 2007)