HB1446 EngrossedLRB098 07744 NHT 37823 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
514-6.01 and 14-8.02 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/14-6.01)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14-6.01)
7    Sec. 14-6.01. Powers and duties of school boards. School
8boards of one or more school districts establishing and
9maintaining any of the educational facilities described in this
10Article shall, in connection therewith, exercise similar
11powers and duties as are prescribed by law for the
12establishment, maintenance and management of other recognized
13educational facilities. Such school boards shall include only
14eligible children in the program and shall comply with all the
15requirements of this Article and all rules and regulations
16established by the State Board of Education. Such school boards
17shall accept in part-time attendance children with
18disabilities of the types described in Sections 14-1.02 through
1914-1.07 who are enrolled in nonpublic schools. A request for
20part-time attendance must be submitted by a parent or guardian
21of the disabled child and may be made only to those public
22schools located in the district where the child attending the
23nonpublic school resides; however, nothing in this Section

 

 

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1shall be construed as prohibiting an agreement between the
2district where the child resides and another public school
3district to provide special educational services if such an
4arrangement is deemed more convenient and economical. Special
5education and related services must be provided in accordance
6with the student's IEP no later than 10 school attendance days
7after notice is provided to the parents pursuant to Section
8300.503 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations and
9implementing rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
10Special educational services shall be provided to such students
11as soon as possible after the identification, evaluation and
12placement procedures provided in Section 14-8.02, but no later
13than the beginning of the next school semester following the
14completion of such procedures. Transportation for students in
15part time attendance shall be provided only if required in the
16child's individualized educational program on the basis of the
17child's disabling condition or as the special education program
18location may require.
19    A school board shall publish a public notice in its
20newsletter of general circulation or in the newsletter of
21another governmental entity of general circulation in the
22district or if neither is available in the district, then in a
23newspaper of general circulation in the district, the right of
24all children with disabilities to a free appropriate public
25education as provided under this Code. Such notice shall
26identify the location and phone number of the office or agent

 

 

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1of the school district to whom inquiries should be directed
2regarding the identification, assessment and placement of such
3children.
4    School boards shall immediately provide upon request by any
5person written materials and other information that indicates
6the specific policies, procedures, rules and regulations
7regarding the identification, evaluation or educational
8placement of children with disabilities under Section 14-8.02
9of the School Code. Such information shall include information
10regarding all rights and entitlements of such children under
11this Code, and of the opportunity to present complaints with
12respect to any matter relating to educational placement of the
13student, or the provision of a free appropriate public
14education and to have an impartial due process hearing on the
15complaint. The notice shall inform the parents or guardian in
16the parents' or guardian's native language, unless it is
17clearly not feasible to do so, of their rights and all
18procedures available pursuant to this Act and federal Public
19Law 94-142; it shall be the responsibility of the State
20Superintendent to develop uniform notices setting forth the
21procedures available under this Act and federal Public Law
2294-142, as amended, to be used by all school boards. The notice
23shall also inform the parents or guardian of the availability
24upon request of a list of free or low-cost legal and other
25relevant services available locally to assist parents or
26guardians in exercising rights or entitlements under this Code.

 

 

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1    Any parent or guardian who is deaf, or does not normally
2communicate using spoken English, who participates in a meeting
3with a representative of a local educational agency for the
4purposes of developing an individualized educational program
5shall be entitled to the services of an interpreter.
6    No disabled student may be denied promotion, graduation or
7a general diploma on the basis of failing a minimal competency
8test when such failure can be directly related to the disabling
9condition of the student. For the purpose of this Act, "minimal
10competency testing" is defined as tests which are constructed
11to measure the acquisition of skills to or beyond a certain
12defined standard.
13    Effective July 1, 1966, high school districts are
14financially responsible for the education of pupils with
15disabilities who are residents in their districts when such
16pupils have reached age 15 but may admit children with
17disabilities into special educational facilities without
18regard to graduation from the eighth grade after such pupils
19have reached the age of 14 1/2 years. Upon a disabled pupil's
20attaining the age of 14 1/2 years, it shall be the duty of the
21elementary school district in which the pupil resides to notify
22the high school district in which the pupil resides of the
23pupil's current eligibility for special education services, of
24the pupil's current program, and of all evaluation data upon
25which the current program is based. After an examination of
26that information the high school district may accept the

 

 

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1current placement and all subsequent timelines shall be
2governed by the current individualized educational program; or
3the high school district may elect to conduct its own
4evaluation and multidisciplinary staff conference and
5formulate its own individualized educational program, in which
6case the procedures and timelines contained in Section 14-8.02
7shall apply.
8(Source: P.A. 89-397, eff. 8-20-95.)
 
9    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.02)
10    Sec. 14-8.02. Identification, Evaluation and Placement of
11Children.
12    (a) The State Board of Education shall make rules under
13which local school boards shall determine the eligibility of
14children to receive special education. Such rules shall ensure
15that a free appropriate public education be available to all
16children with disabilities as defined in Section 14-1.02. The
17State Board of Education shall require local school districts
18to administer non-discriminatory procedures or tests to
19limited English proficiency students coming from homes in which
20a language other than English is used to determine their
21eligibility to receive special education. The placement of low
22English proficiency students in special education programs and
23facilities shall be made in accordance with the test results
24reflecting the student's linguistic, cultural and special
25education needs. For purposes of determining the eligibility of

 

 

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1children the State Board of Education shall include in the
2rules definitions of "case study", "staff conference",
3"individualized educational program", and "qualified
4specialist" appropriate to each category of children with
5disabilities as defined in this Article. For purposes of
6determining the eligibility of children from homes in which a
7language other than English is used, the State Board of
8Education shall include in the rules definitions for "qualified
9bilingual specialists" and "linguistically and culturally
10appropriate individualized educational programs". For purposes
11of this Section, as well as Sections 14-8.02a, 14-8.02b, and
1214-8.02c of this Code, "parent" means a parent as defined in
13the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
14U.S.C. 1401(23)).
15    (b) No child shall be eligible for special education
16facilities except with a carefully completed case study fully
17reviewed by professional personnel in a multidisciplinary
18staff conference and only upon the recommendation of qualified
19specialists or a qualified bilingual specialist, if available.
20At the conclusion of the multidisciplinary staff conference,
21the parent of the child shall be given a copy of the
22multidisciplinary conference summary report and
23recommendations, which includes options considered, and be
24informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
25evaluation if they disagree with the evaluation findings
26conducted or obtained by the school district. If the school

 

 

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1district's evaluation is shown to be inappropriate, the school
2district shall reimburse the parent for the cost of the
3independent evaluation. The State Board of Education shall,
4with advice from the State Advisory Council on Education of
5Children with Disabilities on the inclusion of specific
6independent educational evaluators, prepare a list of
7suggested independent educational evaluators. The State Board
8of Education shall include on the list clinical psychologists
9licensed pursuant to the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act.
10Such psychologists shall not be paid fees in excess of the
11amount that would be received by a school psychologist for
12performing the same services. The State Board of Education
13shall supply school districts with such list and make the list
14available to parents at their request. School districts shall
15make the list available to parents at the time they are
16informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
17evaluation. However, the school district may initiate an
18impartial due process hearing under this Section within 5 days
19of any written parent request for an independent educational
20evaluation to show that its evaluation is appropriate. If the
21final decision is that the evaluation is appropriate, the
22parent still has a right to an independent educational
23evaluation, but not at public expense. An independent
24educational evaluation at public expense must be completed
25within 30 days of a parent written request unless the school
26district initiates an impartial due process hearing or the

 

 

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1parent or school district offers reasonable grounds to show
2that such 30 day time period should be extended. If the due
3process hearing decision indicates that the parent is entitled
4to an independent educational evaluation, it must be completed
5within 30 days of the decision unless the parent or the school
6district offers reasonable grounds to show that such 30 day
7period should be extended. If a parent disagrees with the
8summary report or recommendations of the multidisciplinary
9conference or the findings of any educational evaluation which
10results therefrom, the school district shall not proceed with a
11placement based upon such evaluation and the child shall remain
12in his or her regular classroom setting. No child shall be
13eligible for admission to a special class for the educable
14mentally disabled or for the trainable mentally disabled except
15with a psychological evaluation and recommendation by a school
16psychologist. Consent shall be obtained from the parent of a
17child before any evaluation is conducted. If consent is not
18given by the parent or if the parent disagrees with the
19findings of the evaluation, then the school district may
20initiate an impartial due process hearing under this Section.
21The school district may evaluate the child if that is the
22decision resulting from the impartial due process hearing and
23the decision is not appealed or if the decision is affirmed on
24appeal. The determination of eligibility shall be made and the
25IEP meeting shall be completed within 60 school days from the
26date of written parental consent. In those instances when

 

 

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1written parental consent is obtained with fewer than 60 pupil
2attendance days left in the school year, the eligibility
3determination shall be made and the IEP meeting shall be
4completed prior to the first day of the following school year.
5Special education and related services must be provided in
6accordance with the student's IEP no later than 10 school
7attendance days after notice is provided to the parents
8pursuant to Section 300.503 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal
9Regulations and implementing rules adopted by the State Board
10of Education. After a child has been determined to be eligible
11for a special education class, such child must be placed in the
12appropriate program pursuant to the individualized educational
13program by or no later than the beginning of the next school
14semester. The appropriate program pursuant to the
15individualized educational program of students whose native
16tongue is a language other than English shall reflect the
17special education, cultural and linguistic needs. No later than
18September 1, 1993, the State Board of Education shall establish
19standards for the development, implementation and monitoring
20of appropriate bilingual special individualized educational
21programs. The State Board of Education shall further
22incorporate appropriate monitoring procedures to verify
23implementation of these standards. The district shall indicate
24to the parent and the State Board of Education the nature of
25the services the child will receive for the regular school term
26while waiting placement in the appropriate special education

 

 

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1class.
2    If the child is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually
3impaired and he or she might be eligible to receive services
4from the Illinois School for the Deaf or the Illinois School
5for the Visually Impaired, the school district shall notify the
6parents, in writing, of the existence of these schools and the
7services they provide and shall make a reasonable effort to
8inform the parents of the existence of other, local schools
9that provide similar services and the services that these other
10schools provide. This notification shall include without
11limitation information on school services, school admissions
12criteria, and school contact information.
13    In the development of the individualized education program
14for a student who has a disability on the autism spectrum
15(which includes autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder,
16pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified,
17childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett Syndrome, as
18defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
19Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV, 2000)), the IEP team shall
20consider all of the following factors:
21        (1) The verbal and nonverbal communication needs of the
22    child.
23        (2) The need to develop social interaction skills and
24    proficiencies.
25        (3) The needs resulting from the child's unusual
26    responses to sensory experiences.

 

 

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1        (4) The needs resulting from resistance to
2    environmental change or change in daily routines.
3        (5) The needs resulting from engagement in repetitive
4    activities and stereotyped movements.
5        (6) The need for any positive behavioral
6    interventions, strategies, and supports to address any
7    behavioral difficulties resulting from autism spectrum
8    disorder.
9        (7) Other needs resulting from the child's disability
10    that impact progress in the general curriculum, including
11    social and emotional development.
12Public Act 95-257 does not create any new entitlement to a
13service, program, or benefit, but must not affect any
14entitlement to a service, program, or benefit created by any
15other law.
16    If the student may be eligible to participate in the
17Home-Based Support Services Program for Mentally Disabled
18Adults authorized under the Developmental Disability and
19Mental Disability Services Act upon becoming an adult, the
20student's individualized education program shall include plans
21for (i) determining the student's eligibility for those
22home-based services, (ii) enrolling the student in the program
23of home-based services, and (iii) developing a plan for the
24student's most effective use of the home-based services after
25the student becomes an adult and no longer receives special
26educational services under this Article. The plans developed

 

 

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1under this paragraph shall include specific actions to be taken
2by specified individuals, agencies, or officials.
3    (c) In the development of the individualized education
4program for a student who is functionally blind, it shall be
5presumed that proficiency in Braille reading and writing is
6essential for the student's satisfactory educational progress.
7For purposes of this subsection, the State Board of Education
8shall determine the criteria for a student to be classified as
9functionally blind. Students who are not currently identified
10as functionally blind who are also entitled to Braille
11instruction include: (i) those whose vision loss is so severe
12that they are unable to read and write at a level comparable to
13their peers solely through the use of vision, and (ii) those
14who show evidence of progressive vision loss that may result in
15functional blindness. Each student who is functionally blind
16shall be entitled to Braille reading and writing instruction
17that is sufficient to enable the student to communicate with
18the same level of proficiency as other students of comparable
19ability. Instruction should be provided to the extent that the
20student is physically and cognitively able to use Braille.
21Braille instruction may be used in combination with other
22special education services appropriate to the student's
23educational needs. The assessment of each student who is
24functionally blind for the purpose of developing the student's
25individualized education program shall include documentation
26of the student's strengths and weaknesses in Braille skills.

 

 

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1Each person assisting in the development of the individualized
2education program for a student who is functionally blind shall
3receive information describing the benefits of Braille
4instruction. The individualized education program for each
5student who is functionally blind shall specify the appropriate
6learning medium or media based on the assessment report.
7    (d) To the maximum extent appropriate, the placement shall
8provide the child with the opportunity to be educated with
9children who are not disabled; provided that children with
10disabilities who are recommended to be placed into regular
11education classrooms are provided with supplementary services
12to assist the children with disabilities to benefit from the
13regular classroom instruction and are included on the teacher's
14regular education class register. Subject to the limitation of
15the preceding sentence, placement in special classes, separate
16schools or other removal of the disabled child from the regular
17educational environment shall occur only when the nature of the
18severity of the disability is such that education in the
19regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services
20cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The placement of limited
21English proficiency students with disabilities shall be in
22non-restrictive environments which provide for integration
23with non-disabled peers in bilingual classrooms. Annually,
24each January, school districts shall report data on students
25from non-English speaking backgrounds receiving special
26education and related services in public and private facilities

 

 

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1as prescribed in Section 2-3.30. If there is a disagreement
2between parties involved regarding the special education
3placement of any child, either in-state or out-of-state, the
4placement is subject to impartial due process procedures
5described in Article 10 of the Rules and Regulations to Govern
6the Administration and Operation of Special Education.
7    (e) No child who comes from a home in which a language
8other than English is the principal language used may be
9assigned to any class or program under this Article until he
10has been given, in the principal language used by the child and
11used in his home, tests reasonably related to his cultural
12environment. All testing and evaluation materials and
13procedures utilized for evaluation and placement shall not be
14linguistically, racially or culturally discriminatory.
15    (f) Nothing in this Article shall be construed to require
16any child to undergo any physical examination or medical
17treatment whose parents object thereto on the grounds that such
18examination or treatment conflicts with his religious beliefs.
19    (g) School boards or their designee shall provide to the
20parents of a child prior written notice of any decision (a)
21proposing to initiate or change, or (b) refusing to initiate or
22change, the identification, evaluation, or educational
23placement of the child or the provision of a free appropriate
24public education to their child, and the reasons therefor. Such
25written notification shall also inform the parent of the
26opportunity to present complaints with respect to any matter

 

 

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1relating to the educational placement of the student, or the
2provision of a free appropriate public education and to have an
3impartial due process hearing on the complaint. The notice
4shall inform the parents in the parents' native language,
5unless it is clearly not feasible to do so, of their rights and
6all procedures available pursuant to this Act and the federal
7Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of
82004 (Public Law 108-446); it shall be the responsibility of
9the State Superintendent to develop uniform notices setting
10forth the procedures available under this Act and the federal
11Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of
122004 (Public Law 108-446) to be used by all school boards. The
13notice shall also inform the parents of the availability upon
14request of a list of free or low-cost legal and other relevant
15services available locally to assist parents in initiating an
16impartial due process hearing. Any parent who is deaf, or does
17not normally communicate using spoken English, who
18participates in a meeting with a representative of a local
19educational agency for the purposes of developing an
20individualized educational program shall be entitled to the
21services of an interpreter.
22    (g-5) For purposes of this subsection (g-5), "qualified
23professional" means an individual who holds credentials to
24evaluate the child in the domain or domains for which an
25evaluation is sought or an intern working under the direct
26supervision of a qualified professional, including a master's

 

 

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1or doctoral degree candidate.
2    To ensure that a parent can participate fully and
3effectively with school personnel in the development of
4appropriate educational and related services for his or her
5child, the parent, an independent educational evaluator, or a
6qualified professional retained by or on behalf of a parent or
7child must be afforded reasonable access to educational
8facilities, personnel, classrooms, and buildings and to the
9child as provided in this subsection (g-5). The requirements of
10this subsection (g-5) apply to any public school facility,
11building, or program and to any facility, building, or program
12supported in whole or in part by public funds. Prior to
13visiting a school, school building, or school facility, the
14parent, independent educational evaluator, or qualified
15professional may be required by the school district to inform
16the building principal or supervisor in writing of the proposed
17visit, the purpose of the visit, and the approximate duration
18of the visit. The visitor and the school district shall arrange
19the visit or visits at times that are mutually agreeable.
20Visitors shall comply with school safety, security, and
21visitation policies at all times. School district visitation
22policies must not conflict with this subsection (g-5). Visitors
23shall be required to comply with the requirements of applicable
24privacy laws, including those laws protecting the
25confidentiality of education records such as the federal Family
26Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Illinois School

 

 

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1Student Records Act. The visitor shall not disrupt the
2educational process.
3        (1) A parent must be afforded reasonable access of
4    sufficient duration and scope for the purpose of observing
5    his or her child in the child's current educational
6    placement, services, or program or for the purpose of
7    visiting an educational placement or program proposed for
8    the child.
9        (2) An independent educational evaluator or a
10    qualified professional retained by or on behalf of a parent
11    or child must be afforded reasonable access of sufficient
12    duration and scope for the purpose of conducting an
13    evaluation of the child, the child's performance, the
14    child's current educational program, placement, services,
15    or environment, or any educational program, placement,
16    services, or environment proposed for the child, including
17    interviews of educational personnel, child observations,
18    assessments, tests or assessments of the child's
19    educational program, services, or placement or of any
20    proposed educational program, services, or placement. If
21    one or more interviews of school personnel are part of the
22    evaluation, the interviews must be conducted at a mutually
23    agreed upon time, date, and place that do not interfere
24    with the school employee's school duties. The school
25    district may limit interviews to personnel having
26    information relevant to the child's current educational

 

 

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1    services, program, or placement or to a proposed
2    educational service, program, or placement.
3    (h) (Blank).
4    (i) (Blank).
5    (j) (Blank).
6    (k) (Blank).
7    (l) (Blank).
8    (m) (Blank).
9    (n) (Blank).
10    (o) (Blank).
11(Source: P.A. 95-257, eff. 1-1-08; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08;
1296-657, eff. 8-25-09.)
 
13    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
14becoming law.