Section 401.30  Changes in Approval Status

Programs approved to serve students with disabilities under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code, whether located in Illinois or out of state, shall be evaluated periodically by the State Board of Education.  Such evaluation may take place for any reason, with or without prior notice to the provider, and at the sole discretion of the State Board of Education and may or may not involve an on-site review.  Such evaluation shall result in either retention of approved status or assignment of one of the following.

a)         A status of "Approved with Administrative Review" shall be assigned when an instance of noncompliance by an approved program is first identified during a school year and the State Superintendent determines that such noncompliance does not substantially affect the safety of, or provision of appropriate education to, the students enrolled.  The provider shall have 60 calendar days to remedy the noncompliance.

1)         No more than 30 calendar days after notification that it is approved with administrative review, an affected provider shall file with the State Superintendent of Education a progress report describing actions taken to correct the instances of noncompliance identified.

2)         If the State Superintendent determines that the provider has corrected the instances of noncompliance within the time allotted, the program's "Approved" status shall be restored.

3)         If the State Superintendent determines that the provider has failed to correct the instances of noncompliance within the time allotted, the provider shall not accept any new students from public school districts into the affected programs, nor shall it be approved for any programs for the next school year unless the noncompliance has been resolved.

b)         A status of "Pending Further Review" shall be assigned whenever a program is determined to be in noncompliance with one or more requirements of this Part that may substantially affect the safety of or provision of appropriate education to students but that does not constitute imminent danger, or exhibits recurrent instances of minor noncompliance.  The provider shall have 30 calendar days to remedy the noncompliance.

1)         No more than seven calendar days after receipt of notification from the State Superintendent of Education that program approval status is pending further review, an affected provider shall submit a written report to the State Superintendent describing its plans for correcting the noncompliance identified and the actions taken to correct it.

2)         If the provider demonstrates that it has corrected the instances of noncompliance within the time allotted, its "Approved" status shall be restored.

3)         If the provider fails to demonstrate that it has corrected the instances of noncompliance within the time allotted, its status shall be changed to "Nonapproved."

4)         A provider that is subject to the requirements of this Part shall not accept any new students from public school districts into any program whose status is "Pending Further Review"  and public school districts shall not make new placements into such programs.  Upon notification of the designation of "Pending Further Review" status, a public school district shall identify alternative arrangements for its students in the program, for implementation in the event that the State Superintendent of Education notifies the district that the violations are not remedied.  Notification of "Pending Further Review" status shall not be used as a basis for removing students from the program by the public school district.

c)         A status of "Nonapproved" shall be assigned to a program or programs previously assigned a status of "Approved with Administrative Review" or "Pending Further Review" when the nonpublic facility or any of its programs exhibits substantial and/or recurrent instances of noncompliance, showing that the provider is consistently unable to meet the approval requirements of this Part. A program may be determined "Nonapproved" without previously having been assigned a status of "Approved with Administrative Review" or "Pending Further Review," if any instances of noncompliance that present imminent danger to the students exist or if the State Superintendent verifies that the provider has unilaterally and intentionally ceased providing appropriate education pursuant to a school district's contracts and one or more students' IEPs.

1)         A status of "Nonapproved" voids the provider's eligibility to contract with Illinois public school districts to serve students and receive funds under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code in the nonapproved programs for the remainder of that school year.

2)         Providers shall be given ten business days' notice by the State Superintendent before nonapproval becomes effective, unless imminent danger to students precludes such notice.  The State Superintendent shall also give ten business days' notice to affected school districts to enable them to implement other arrangements prior to the effective date of nonapproval, as required.

3)         The provider of any previously approved program placed on nonapproved status shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and the State Board's rules for Contested Cases and Other Formal Hearings.  Unless the State Superintendent identifies that the reasons for nonapproved status are a danger to student health or safety, a request for a hearing shall stay the effect of the change in status and the program shall remain approved pending the hearing.

d)         Any provider whose license or approval to operate a residential program is revoked shall immediately have its residential programs nonapproved and will be ineligible to provide residential services to students under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code.

e)         Any out-of-state provider whose license or approval to operate a program is revoked by the responsible authority in the state where its facility is located shall immediately have its affected programs nonapproved and will be ineligible to contract with Illinois public school districts to serve students under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code.

f)          Nonapproval of a program during a school year shall be cause for termination of all the provider's contracts with Illinois school districts for that program, and the provider shall be ineligible to contract with Illinois public school districts for the nonapproved program for the remainder of the school year in question.

(Source:  Amended at 30 Ill. Reg. 8818, effective April 25, 2006)