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Public Act 098-0219
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| HB1446 Enrolled | LRB098 07744 NHT 37823 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections |
14-6.01 and 14-8.02 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/14-6.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-6.01)
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Sec. 14-6.01. Powers and duties of school boards. School |
boards of
one or more school districts establishing and |
maintaining any of the
educational facilities described in this |
Article shall, in connection
therewith, exercise similar |
powers and duties as are prescribed by law
for the |
establishment, maintenance and management of other recognized
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educational facilities. Such school boards shall include only |
eligible
children in the program and shall comply with all the |
requirements of
this Article and all rules and regulations |
established by the State
Board of Education. Such school boards |
shall accept in part-time
attendance children with |
disabilities of the types
described in Sections
14-1.02 through |
14-1.07 who are enrolled in nonpublic schools. A
request for |
part-time attendance must be submitted by a parent or
guardian |
of the disabled child and may be made
only to those public
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schools located in the district where the child attending the |
nonpublic
school resides; however, nothing in this Section |
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shall be construed as
prohibiting an agreement between the |
district where the child resides
and another public school |
district to provide special educational
services if such an |
arrangement is deemed more convenient and
economical. Special |
education and related services must be provided in accordance |
with the student's IEP no later than 10 school attendance days |
after notice is provided to the parents pursuant to Section |
300.503 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations and |
implementing rules adopted by the State Board of Education. |
Special educational services shall be provided to such
students |
as soon as possible after the identification, evaluation and
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placement procedures provided in Section 14-8.02, but no later |
than the
beginning of the next school semester following the |
completion of such
procedures. Transportation for students in |
part time attendance shall be
provided only if required in the |
child's individualized educational program
on the basis of the |
child's disabling condition or as the
special education
program |
location may require.
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A school board shall publish a public notice in its |
newsletter of
general circulation or in the newsletter of |
another governmental entity of
general circulation in the |
district or if neither is available in the
district, then in a |
newspaper of general circulation in the district, the
right of |
all children with disabilities to a free
appropriate public |
education
as provided under this Code. Such notice shall |
identify the location and
phone number of the office or agent |
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of the school district to whom
inquiries should be directed |
regarding the identification, assessment and
placement of such |
children.
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School boards shall immediately provide upon request by any |
person
written materials and other information that indicates |
the specific
policies, procedures, rules and regulations |
regarding the identification,
evaluation or educational |
placement of children with
disabilities under Section
14-8.02 |
of the School Code. Such information shall include information
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regarding all rights and entitlements of such children under |
this Code, and
of the opportunity to present complaints with |
respect to any matter
relating to educational placement of the |
student, or the provision of a
free appropriate public |
education and to have an impartial due process
hearing on the |
complaint. The notice shall inform the parents or guardian
in |
the parents' or guardian's native language, unless it is |
clearly not
feasible to do so, of their rights and all |
procedures available pursuant to
this Act and federal Public |
Law 94-142; it shall be the responsibility of
the State |
Superintendent to develop uniform notices setting forth the
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procedures available under this Act and federal Public Law |
94-142, as
amended, to be used by all school boards. The notice |
shall also inform the
parents or guardian of the availability |
upon request of a list of free or
low-cost legal and other |
relevant services available locally to assist
parents or |
guardians in exercising rights or entitlements under this Code.
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Any parent or guardian who is deaf, or does not normally |
communicate
using spoken English, who participates in a meeting |
with a representative
of a local educational agency for the |
purposes of developing an
individualized educational program |
shall be entitled to the services of
an interpreter.
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No disabled student may be denied promotion,
graduation or |
a general
diploma on the basis of failing a minimal competency |
test when such failure
can be directly related to the disabling
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condition of the student. For the
purpose of this Act, "minimal |
competency testing" is defined as tests which
are constructed |
to measure the acquisition of skills to or beyond a certain
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defined standard.
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Effective July 1, 1966, high school districts are |
financially
responsible for the education of pupils with |
disabilities who
are residents in their
districts when such |
pupils have reached age 15 but may admit
children with |
disabilities into special educational facilities without
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regard to graduation
from the eighth grade after such pupils |
have reached the age of 14 1/2 years.
Upon a disabled pupil's |
attaining the age of 14 1/2 years,
it shall be
the duty of the |
elementary school district in which the pupil resides to
notify |
the high school district in which the pupil resides of the |
pupil's
current eligibility for special education services, of |
the pupil's current
program, and of all evaluation data upon |
which the current program is
based. After an examination of |
that information the high school district
may accept the |
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current placement and all subsequent timelines shall be
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governed by the current individualized educational program; or |
the high
school district may elect to conduct its own |
evaluation and
multidisciplinary staff conference and |
formulate its own individualized
educational program, in which |
case the procedures and timelines contained
in Section 14-8.02 |
shall apply.
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(Source: P.A. 89-397, eff. 8-20-95.)
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(105 ILCS 5/14-8.02) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.02)
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Sec. 14-8.02. Identification, Evaluation and Placement of |
Children.
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(a) The State Board of Education shall make rules under |
which local school
boards shall determine the eligibility of |
children to receive special
education. Such rules shall ensure |
that a free appropriate public
education be available to all |
children with disabilities as
defined in
Section 14-1.02. The |
State Board of Education shall require local school
districts |
to administer non-discriminatory procedures or tests to
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limited English proficiency students coming from homes in which |
a language
other than English is used to determine their |
eligibility to receive special
education. The placement of low |
English proficiency students in special
education programs and |
facilities shall be made in accordance with the test
results |
reflecting the student's linguistic, cultural and special |
education
needs. For purposes of determining the eligibility of |
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children the State
Board of Education shall include in the |
rules definitions of "case study",
"staff conference", |
"individualized educational program", and "qualified
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specialist" appropriate to each category of children with
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disabilities as defined in
this Article. For purposes of |
determining the eligibility of children from
homes in which a |
language other than English is used, the State Board of
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Education shall include in the rules
definitions for "qualified |
bilingual specialists" and "linguistically and
culturally |
appropriate individualized educational programs". For purposes |
of this
Section, as well as Sections 14-8.02a, 14-8.02b, and |
14-8.02c of this Code,
"parent" means a parent as defined in |
the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 |
U.S.C. 1401(23)).
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(b) No child shall be eligible for special education |
facilities except
with a carefully completed case study fully |
reviewed by professional
personnel in a multidisciplinary |
staff conference and only upon the
recommendation of qualified |
specialists or a qualified bilingual specialist, if
available. |
At the conclusion of the multidisciplinary staff conference, |
the
parent of the child shall be given a copy of the |
multidisciplinary
conference summary report and |
recommendations, which includes options
considered, and be |
informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
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evaluation if they disagree with the evaluation findings |
conducted or obtained
by the school district. If the school |
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district's evaluation is shown to be
inappropriate, the school |
district shall reimburse the parent for the cost of
the |
independent evaluation. The State Board of Education shall, |
with advice
from the State Advisory Council on Education of |
Children with
Disabilities on the
inclusion of specific |
independent educational evaluators, prepare a list of
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suggested independent educational evaluators. The State Board |
of Education
shall include on the list clinical psychologists |
licensed pursuant to the
Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act. |
Such psychologists shall not be paid fees
in excess of the |
amount that would be received by a school psychologist for
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performing the same services. The State Board of Education |
shall supply school
districts with such list and make the list |
available to parents at their
request. School districts shall |
make the list available to parents at the time
they are |
informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
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evaluation. However, the school district may initiate an |
impartial
due process hearing under this Section within 5 days |
of any written parent
request for an independent educational |
evaluation to show that
its evaluation is appropriate. If the |
final decision is that the evaluation
is appropriate, the |
parent still has a right to an independent educational
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evaluation, but not at public expense. An independent |
educational
evaluation at public expense must be completed |
within 30 days of a parent
written request unless the school |
district initiates an
impartial due process hearing or the |
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parent or school district
offers reasonable grounds to show |
that such 30 day time period should be
extended. If the due |
process hearing decision indicates that the parent is entitled |
to an independent educational evaluation, it must be
completed |
within 30 days of the decision unless the parent or
the school |
district offers reasonable grounds to show that such 30 day
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period should be extended. If a parent disagrees with the |
summary report or
recommendations of the multidisciplinary |
conference or the findings of any
educational evaluation which |
results therefrom, the school
district shall not proceed with a |
placement based upon such evaluation and
the child shall remain |
in his or her regular classroom setting.
No child shall be |
eligible for admission to a
special class for the educable |
mentally disabled or for the
trainable
mentally disabled except |
with a psychological evaluation
and
recommendation by a school |
psychologist. Consent shall be obtained from
the parent of a |
child before any evaluation is conducted.
If consent is not |
given by the parent or if the parent disagrees with the |
findings of the evaluation, then the school
district may |
initiate an impartial due process hearing under this Section.
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The school district may evaluate the child if that is the |
decision
resulting from the impartial due process hearing and |
the decision is not
appealed or if the decision is affirmed on |
appeal.
The determination of eligibility shall be made and the |
IEP meeting shall be completed within 60 school days
from the |
date of written parental consent. In those instances when |
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written parental consent is obtained with fewer than 60 pupil |
attendance days left in the school year,
the eligibility |
determination shall be made and the IEP meeting shall be |
completed prior to the first day of the
following school year. |
Special education and related services must be provided in |
accordance with the student's IEP no later than 10 school |
attendance days after notice is provided to the parents |
pursuant to Section 300.503 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal |
Regulations and implementing rules adopted by the State Board |
of Education. After a child has been determined to be eligible |
for a
special education class, such child must be placed in the |
appropriate
program pursuant to the individualized educational |
program by or no
later than the beginning of the next school |
semester. The appropriate
program pursuant to the |
individualized educational program of students
whose native |
tongue is a language other than English shall reflect the
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special education, cultural and linguistic needs. No later than |
September
1, 1993, the State Board of Education shall establish |
standards for the
development, implementation and monitoring |
of appropriate bilingual special
individualized educational |
programs. The State Board of Education shall
further |
incorporate appropriate monitoring procedures to verify |
implementation
of these standards. The district shall indicate |
to the parent and
the State Board of Education the nature of |
the services the child will receive
for the regular school term |
while waiting placement in the appropriate special
education |
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class.
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If the child is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually |
impaired and
he or she might be eligible to receive services |
from the Illinois School for
the Deaf or the Illinois School |
for the Visually Impaired, the school
district shall notify the |
parents, in writing, of the existence of
these schools
and the |
services
they provide and shall make a reasonable effort to |
inform the parents of the existence of other, local schools |
that provide similar services and the services that these other |
schools provide. This notification
shall
include without |
limitation information on school services, school
admissions |
criteria, and school contact information.
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In the development of the individualized education program |
for a student who has a disability on the autism spectrum |
(which includes autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, |
pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, |
childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett Syndrome, as |
defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental |
Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV, 2000)), the IEP team shall |
consider all of the following factors: |
(1) The verbal and nonverbal communication needs of the |
child. |
(2) The need to develop social interaction skills and |
proficiencies. |
(3) The needs resulting from the child's unusual |
responses to sensory experiences. |
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(4) The needs resulting from resistance to |
environmental change or change in daily routines. |
(5) The needs resulting from engagement in repetitive |
activities and stereotyped movements. |
(6) The need for any positive behavioral |
interventions, strategies, and supports to address any |
behavioral difficulties resulting from autism spectrum |
disorder. |
(7) Other needs resulting from the child's disability |
that impact progress in the general curriculum, including |
social and emotional development. |
Public Act 95-257
does not create any new entitlement to a |
service, program, or benefit, but must not affect any |
entitlement to a service, program, or benefit created by any |
other law.
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If the student may be eligible to participate in the |
Home-Based Support
Services Program for Mentally Disabled |
Adults authorized under the
Developmental Disability and |
Mental Disability Services Act upon becoming an
adult, the |
student's individualized education program shall include plans |
for
(i) determining the student's eligibility for those |
home-based services, (ii)
enrolling the student in the program |
of home-based services, and (iii)
developing a plan for the |
student's most effective use of the home-based
services after |
the student becomes an adult and no longer receives special
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educational services under this Article. The plans developed |
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under this
paragraph shall include specific actions to be taken |
by specified individuals,
agencies, or officials.
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(c) In the development of the individualized education |
program for a
student who is functionally blind, it shall be |
presumed that proficiency in
Braille reading and writing is |
essential for the student's satisfactory
educational progress. |
For purposes of this subsection, the State Board of
Education |
shall determine the criteria for a student to be classified as
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functionally blind. Students who are not currently identified |
as
functionally blind who are also entitled to Braille |
instruction include:
(i) those whose vision loss is so severe |
that they are unable to read and
write at a level comparable to |
their peers solely through the use of
vision, and (ii) those |
who show evidence of progressive vision loss that
may result in |
functional blindness. Each student who is functionally blind
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shall be entitled to Braille reading and writing instruction |
that is
sufficient to enable the student to communicate with |
the same level of
proficiency as other students of comparable |
ability. Instruction should be
provided to the extent that the |
student is physically and cognitively able
to use Braille. |
Braille instruction may be used in combination with other
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special education services appropriate to the student's |
educational needs.
The assessment of each student who is |
functionally blind for the purpose of
developing the student's |
individualized education program shall include
documentation |
of the student's strengths and weaknesses in Braille skills.
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Each person assisting in the development of the individualized |
education
program for a student who is functionally blind shall |
receive information
describing the benefits of Braille |
instruction. The individualized
education program for each |
student who is functionally blind shall
specify the appropriate |
learning medium or media based on the assessment
report.
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(d) To the maximum extent appropriate, the placement shall |
provide the
child with the opportunity to be educated with |
children who are not
disabled; provided that children with
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disabilities who are recommended to be
placed into regular |
education classrooms are provided with supplementary
services |
to assist the children with disabilities to benefit
from the |
regular
classroom instruction and are included on the teacher's |
regular education class
register. Subject to the limitation of |
the preceding sentence, placement in
special classes, separate |
schools or other removal of the disabled child
from the regular |
educational environment shall occur only when the nature of
the |
severity of the disability is such that education in the
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regular classes with
the use of supplementary aids and services |
cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
The placement of limited |
English proficiency students with disabilities shall
be in |
non-restrictive environments which provide for integration |
with
non-disabled peers in bilingual classrooms. Annually, |
each January, school districts shall report data on students |
from non-English
speaking backgrounds receiving special |
education and related services in
public and private facilities |
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as prescribed in Section 2-3.30. If there
is a disagreement |
between parties involved regarding the special education
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placement of any child, either in-state or out-of-state, the |
placement is
subject to impartial due process procedures |
described in Article 10 of the
Rules and Regulations to Govern |
the Administration and Operation of Special
Education.
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(e) No child who comes from a home in which a language |
other than English
is the principal language used may be |
assigned to any class or program
under this Article until he |
has been given, in the principal language
used by the child and |
used in his home, tests reasonably related to his
cultural |
environment. All testing and evaluation materials and |
procedures
utilized for evaluation and placement shall not be |
linguistically, racially or
culturally discriminatory.
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(f) Nothing in this Article shall be construed to require |
any child to
undergo any physical examination or medical |
treatment whose parents object thereto on the grounds that such |
examination or
treatment conflicts with his religious beliefs.
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(g) School boards or their designee shall provide to the |
parents of a child prior written notice of any decision (a) |
proposing
to initiate or change, or (b) refusing to initiate or |
change, the
identification, evaluation, or educational |
placement of the child or the
provision of a free appropriate |
public education to their child, and the
reasons therefor. Such |
written notification shall also inform the
parent of the |
opportunity to present complaints with respect
to any matter |
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relating to the educational placement of the student, or
the |
provision of a free appropriate public education and to have an
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impartial due process hearing on the complaint. The notice |
shall inform
the parents in the parents' native language,
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unless it is clearly not feasible to do so, of their rights and |
all
procedures available pursuant to this Act and the federal |
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of |
2004 (Public Law 108-446); it
shall be the responsibility of |
the State Superintendent to develop
uniform notices setting |
forth the procedures available under this Act
and the federal |
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of |
2004 (Public Law 108-446) to be used by all school boards. The |
notice
shall also inform the parents of the availability upon
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request of a list of free or low-cost legal and other relevant |
services
available locally to assist parents in initiating an
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impartial due process hearing. Any parent who is deaf, or
does |
not normally communicate using spoken English, who |
participates in
a meeting with a representative of a local |
educational agency for the
purposes of developing an |
individualized educational program shall be
entitled to the |
services of an interpreter.
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(g-5) For purposes of this subsection (g-5), "qualified |
professional" means an individual who holds credentials to |
evaluate the child in the domain or domains for which an |
evaluation is sought or an intern working under the direct |
supervision of a qualified professional, including a master's |
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or doctoral degree candidate. |
To ensure that a parent can participate fully and |
effectively with school personnel in the development of |
appropriate educational and related services for his or her |
child, the parent, an independent educational evaluator, or a |
qualified professional retained by or on behalf of a parent or |
child must be afforded reasonable access to educational |
facilities, personnel, classrooms, and buildings and to the |
child as provided in this subsection (g-5). The requirements of |
this subsection (g-5) apply to any public school facility, |
building, or program and to any facility, building, or program |
supported in whole or in part by public funds. Prior to |
visiting a school, school building, or school facility, the |
parent, independent educational evaluator, or qualified |
professional may be required by the school district to inform |
the building principal or supervisor in writing of the proposed |
visit, the purpose of the visit, and the approximate duration |
of the visit. The visitor and the school district shall arrange |
the visit or visits at times that are mutually agreeable. |
Visitors shall comply with school safety, security, and |
visitation policies at all times. School district visitation |
policies must not conflict with this subsection (g-5). Visitors |
shall be required to comply with the requirements of applicable |
privacy laws, including those laws protecting the |
confidentiality of education records such as the federal Family |
Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Illinois School |
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Student Records Act. The visitor shall not disrupt the |
educational process. |
(1) A parent must be afforded reasonable access of |
sufficient duration and scope for the purpose of observing |
his or her child in the child's current educational |
placement, services, or program or for the purpose of |
visiting an educational placement or program proposed for |
the child. |
(2) An independent educational evaluator or a |
qualified professional retained by or on behalf of a parent |
or child must be afforded reasonable access of sufficient |
duration and scope for the purpose of conducting an |
evaluation of the child, the child's performance, the |
child's current educational program, placement, services, |
or environment, or any educational program, placement, |
services, or environment proposed for the child, including |
interviews of educational personnel, child observations, |
assessments, tests or assessments of the child's |
educational program, services, or placement or of any |
proposed educational program, services, or placement. If |
one or more interviews of school personnel are part of the |
evaluation, the interviews must be conducted at a mutually |
agreed upon time, date, and place that do not interfere |
with the school employee's school duties. The school |
district may limit interviews to personnel having |
information relevant to the child's current educational |