Illinois General Assembly

  Bills & Resolutions  
  Compiled Statutes  
  Public Acts  
  Legislative Reports  
  IL Constitution  
  Legislative Guide  
  Legislative Glossary  

 Search By Number
 (example: HB0001)
Search Tips

Search By Keyword

Illinois Compiled Statutes

Information maintained by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Updating the database of the Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) is an ongoing process. Recent laws may not yet be included in the ILCS database, but they are found on this site as Public Acts soon after they become law. For information concerning the relationship between statutes and Public Acts, refer to the Guide.

Because the statute database is maintained primarily for legislative drafting purposes, statutory changes are sometimes included in the statute database before they take effect. If the source note at the end of a Section of the statutes includes a Public Act that has not yet taken effect, the version of the law that is currently in effect may have already been removed from the database and you should refer to that Public Act to see the changes made to the current law.

SCHOOLS
(105 ILCS 5/) School Code.

105 ILCS 5/14-8.01

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.01)
    Sec. 14-8.01. Supervision of special education buildings and facilities. All special educational facilities, building programs, housing, and all educational programs for the types of children with disabilities defined in Section 14-1.02 shall be under the supervision of and subject to the approval of the State Board of Education.
    All special education facilities, building programs, and housing shall comply with the building code authorized by Section 2-3.12.
    All educational programs for children with disabilities as defined in Section 14-1.02 administered by any State agency shall be under the general supervision of the State Board of Education. Such supervision shall be limited to insuring that such educational programs meet standards jointly developed and agreed to by both the State Board of Education and the operating State agency, including standards for educational personnel.
    Any State agency providing special educational programs for children with disabilities as defined in Section 14-1.02 shall promulgate rules and regulations, in consultation with the State Board of Education and pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act as now or hereafter amended, to insure that all such programs comply with this Section and Section 14-8.02.
    No otherwise qualified child with a disability receiving special education and related services under Article 14 shall solely by reason of his or her disability be excluded from the participation in or be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity provided by a State agency.
    State agencies providing special education and related services, including room and board, either directly or through grants or purchases of services shall continue to provide these services according to current law and practice. Room and board costs not provided by a State agency other than the State Board of Education shall be provided by the State Board of Education to the extent of available funds. An amount equal to one-half of the State education agency's share of IDEA PART B federal monies, or so much thereof as may actually be needed, shall annually be appropriated to pay for the additional costs of providing for room and board for those children placed pursuant to Section 14-7.02 of this Code and, after all such room and board costs are paid, for similar expenditures for children served pursuant to Section 14-7.02 or 14-7.02b of this Code. Any such excess room and board funds must first be directed to those school districts with students costing in excess of 4 times the district's per capita tuition charge and then to community based programs that serve as alternatives to residential placements.
    Beginning with Fiscal Year 1997 and continuing through Fiscal Year 2000, 100% of the former Chapter I, Section 89-313 federal funds shall be allocated by the State Board of Education in the same manner as IDEA, PART B "flow through" funding to local school districts, joint agreements, and special education cooperatives for the maintenance of instructional and related support services to students with disabilities. However, beginning with Fiscal Year 1998, the total IDEA Part B discretionary funds available to the State Board of Education shall not exceed the maximum permissible under federal law or 20% of the total federal funds available to the State, whichever is less. After all room and board payments and similar expenditures are made by the State Board of Education as required by this Section, the State Board of Education may use the remaining funds for administration and for providing discretionary activities. However, the State Board of Education may use no more than 25% of its available IDEA Part B discretionary funds for administrative services.
    Special education and related services included in the child's individualized educational program which are not provided by another State agency shall be included in the special education and related services provided by the State Board of Education and the local school district.
    The State Board of Education with the advice of the Advisory Council shall prescribe the standards and make the necessary rules and regulations for special education programs administered by local school boards, including but not limited to establishment of classes, training requirements of teachers and other professional personnel, eligibility and admission of pupils, the curriculum, class size limitation, building programs, housing, transportation, special equipment and instructional supplies, and the applications for claims for reimbursement. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations for annual evaluations of the effectiveness of all special education programs and annual evaluation by the local school district of the individualized educational program for each child for whom it provides special education services.
    A school district is responsible for the provision of educational services for all school age children residing within its boundaries excluding any student placed under the provisions of Section 14-7.02 or any student with a disability whose parent or guardian lives outside of the State of Illinois as described in Section 14-1.11.
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.02)
    Sec. 14-8.02. Identification, evaluation, and placement of children.
    (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 English learners 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 children the State Board of Education shall include in the rules definitions of "case study", "staff conference", "individualized educational program", and "qualified specialist" appropriate to each category of children with 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 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)).
    (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 and, if the child is in the legal custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department's Office of Education and Transition Services shall be given a copy of the multidisciplinary conference summary report and recommendations, which includes options considered, and, in the case of the parent, be informed of his or her right to obtain an independent educational evaluation if he or she disagrees with the evaluation findings conducted or obtained by the school district. If the school 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 children with a mental disability who are educable or for children with a mental disability who are trainable 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. 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 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. The appropriate program pursuant to the individualized educational program of students whose native tongue is a language other than English shall reflect the 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, the State Board of Education, and, if applicable, the Department's Office of Education and Transition Services the nature of the services the child will receive for the regular school term while awaiting placement in the appropriate special education class. At the child's initial IEP meeting and at each annual review meeting, the child's IEP team shall provide the child's parent or guardian and, if applicable, the Department's Office of Education and Transition Services with a written notification that informs the parent or guardian or the Department's Office of Education and Transition Services that the IEP team is required to consider whether the child requires assistive technology in order to receive free, appropriate public education. The notification must also include a toll-free telephone number and internet address for the State's assistive technology program.
    If the child is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired or has an orthopedic impairment or physical disability and he or she might be eligible to receive services from the Illinois School for the Deaf, the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, or the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education-Roosevelt, 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.
    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.
        (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.
    If the student may be eligible to participate in the Home-Based Support Services Program for Adults with Mental Disabilities 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 educational services under this Article. The plans developed under this paragraph shall include specific actions to be taken by specified individuals, agencies, or officials.
    (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 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 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 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. 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.
    (d) To the maximum extent appropriate, the placement shall provide the child with the opportunity to be educated with children who do not have a disability; provided that children with 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 child with a disability from the regular educational environment shall occur only when the nature of the severity of the disability is such that education in the regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The placement of English learners with disabilities shall be in non-restrictive environments which provide for integration with peers who do not have disabilities 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 as prescribed in Section 2-3.30. If there is a disagreement between parties involved regarding the special education 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.
    (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.
    (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.
    (g) School boards or their designee shall provide to the parents of a child or, if applicable, the Department of Children and Family Services' Office of Education and Transition Services 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. For a parent, such written notification shall also inform the parent of the opportunity to present complaints with respect to any matter relating to the 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 in the parents' native language, 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 request of a list of free or low-cost legal and other relevant services available locally to assist parents in initiating an impartial due process hearing. The State Superintendent shall revise the uniform notices required by this subsection (g) to reflect current law and procedures at least once every 2 years. Any parent who is deaf or does not normally communicate using spoken English and who participates in a meeting with a representative of a local educational agency for the purposes of developing an individualized educational program or attends a multidisciplinary conference shall be entitled to the services of an interpreter. The State Board of Education must adopt rules to establish the criteria, standards, and competencies for a bilingual language interpreter who attends an individualized education program meeting under this subsection to assist a parent who has limited English proficiency.
    (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 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 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 services, program, or placement or to a proposed educational service, program, or placement.
    (h) In the development of the individualized education program or federal Section 504 plan for a student, if the student needs extra accommodation during emergencies, including natural disasters or an active shooter situation, then that accommodation shall be taken into account when developing the student's individualized education program or federal Section 504 plan.
(Source: P.A. 102-199, eff. 7-1-22; 102-264, eff. 8-6-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-1072, eff. 6-10-22; 103-197, eff. 1-1-24.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02a

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02a)
    Sec. 14-8.02a. Impartial due process hearing; civil action.
    (a) This Section shall apply to all impartial due process hearings requested on or after July 1, 2005. Impartial due process hearings requested before July 1, 2005 shall be governed by the rules described in Public Act 89-652.
    (a-5) For purposes of this Section and Section 14-8.02b of this Code, days shall be computed in accordance with Section 1.11 of the Statute on Statutes.
    (b) The State Board of Education shall establish an impartial due process hearing system in accordance with this Section and may, with the advice and approval of the Advisory Council on Education of Children with Disabilities, promulgate rules and regulations consistent with this Section to establish the rules and procedures for due process hearings.
    (c) (Blank).
    (d) (Blank).
    (e) (Blank).
    (f) An impartial due process hearing shall be convened upon the request of a parent, student if at least 18 years of age or emancipated, or a school district. A school district shall make a request in writing to the State Board of Education and promptly mail a copy of the request to the parents or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) at the parent's or student's last known address. A request made by the parent or student shall be made in writing to the superintendent of the school district where the student resides. The superintendent shall forward the request to the State Board of Education within 5 days after receipt of the request. The request shall be filed no more than 2 years following the date the person or school district knew or should have known of the event or events forming the basis for the request. The request shall, at a minimum, contain all of the following:
        (1) The name of the student, the address of the
    
student's residence, and the name of the school the student is attending.
        (2) In the case of homeless children (as defined
    
under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2))), available contact information for the student and the name of the school the student is attending.
        (3) A description of the nature of the problem
    
relating to the actual or proposed placement, identification, services, or evaluation of the student, including facts relating to the problem.
        (4) A proposed resolution of the problem to the
    
extent known and available to the party at the time.
    (f-5) Within 3 days after receipt of the hearing request, the State Board of Education shall appoint a due process hearing officer using a rotating appointment system and shall notify the hearing officer of his or her appointment.
    For a school district other than a school district located in a municipality having a population exceeding 500,000, a hearing officer who is a current resident of the school district, special education cooperative, or other public entity involved in the hearing shall recuse himself or herself. A hearing officer who is a former employee of the school district, special education cooperative, or other public entity involved in the hearing shall immediately disclose the former employment to the parties and shall recuse himself or herself, unless the parties otherwise agree in writing. A hearing officer having a personal or professional interest that may conflict with his or her objectivity in the hearing shall disclose the conflict to the parties and shall recuse himself or herself unless the parties otherwise agree in writing. For purposes of this subsection an assigned hearing officer shall be considered to have a conflict of interest if, at any time prior to the issuance of his or her written decision, he or she knows or should know that he or she may receive remuneration from a party to the hearing within 3 years following the conclusion of the due process hearing.
    A party to a due process hearing shall be permitted one substitution of hearing officer as a matter of right, in accordance with procedures established by the rules adopted by the State Board of Education under this Section. The State Board of Education shall randomly select and appoint another hearing officer within 3 days after receiving notice that the appointed hearing officer is ineligible to serve or upon receiving a proper request for substitution of hearing officer. If a party withdraws its request for a due process hearing after a hearing officer has been appointed, that hearing officer shall retain jurisdiction over a subsequent hearing that involves the same parties and is requested within one year from the date of withdrawal of the previous request, unless that hearing officer is unavailable.
    Any party may raise facts that constitute a conflict of interest for the hearing officer at any time before or during the hearing and may move for recusal.
    (g) Impartial due process hearings shall be conducted pursuant to this Section and any rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education consistent with this Section and other governing laws and regulations. The hearing shall address only those issues properly raised in the hearing request under subsection (f) of this Section or, if applicable, in the amended hearing request under subsection (g-15) of this Section. The hearing shall be closed to the public unless the parents request that the hearing be open to the public. The parents involved in the hearing shall have the right to have the student who is the subject of the hearing present. The hearing shall be held at a time and place which are reasonably convenient to the parties involved. Upon the request of a party, the hearing officer shall hold the hearing at a location neutral to the parties if the hearing officer determines that there is no cost for securing the use of the neutral location. Once appointed, the impartial due process hearing officer shall not communicate with the State Board of Education or its employees concerning the hearing, except that, where circumstances require, communications for administrative purposes that do not deal with substantive or procedural matters or issues on the merits are authorized, provided that the hearing officer promptly notifies all parties of the substance of the communication as a matter of record.
    (g-5) Unless the school district has previously provided prior written notice to the parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) regarding the subject matter of the hearing request, the school district shall, within 10 days after receiving a hearing request initiated by a parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated), provide a written response to the request that shall include all of the following:
        (1) An explanation of why the school district
    
proposed or refused to take the action or actions described in the hearing request.
        (2) A description of other options the IEP team
    
considered and the reasons why those options were rejected.
        (3) A description of each evaluation procedure,
    
assessment, record, report, or other evidence the school district used as the basis for the proposed or refused action or actions.
        (4) A description of the factors that are or were
    
relevant to the school district's proposed or refused action or actions.
    (g-10) When the hearing request has been initiated by a school district, within 10 days after receiving the request, the parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) shall provide the school district with a response that specifically addresses the issues raised in the school district's hearing request. The parent's or student's response shall be provided in writing, unless he or she is illiterate or has a disability that prevents him or her from providing a written response. The parent's or student's response may be provided in his or her native language, if other than English. In the event that illiteracy or another disabling condition prevents the parent or student from providing a written response, the school district shall assist the parent or student in providing the written response.
    (g-15) Within 15 days after receiving notice of the hearing request, the non-requesting party may challenge the sufficiency of the request by submitting its challenge in writing to the hearing officer. Within 5 days after receiving the challenge to the sufficiency of the request, the hearing officer shall issue a determination of the challenge in writing to the parties. In the event that the hearing officer upholds the challenge, the party who requested the hearing may, with the consent of the non-requesting party or hearing officer, file an amended request. Amendments are permissible for the purpose of raising issues beyond those in the initial hearing request. In addition, the party who requested the hearing may amend the request once as a matter of right by filing the amended request within 5 days after filing the initial request. An amended request, other than an amended request as a matter of right, shall be filed by the date determined by the hearing officer, but in no event any later than 5 days prior to the date of the hearing. If an amended request, other than an amended request as a matter of right, raises issues that were not part of the initial request, the applicable timeline for a hearing, including the timeline under subsection (g-20) of this Section, shall recommence.
    (g-20) Within 15 days after receiving a request for a hearing from a parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) or, in the event that the school district requests a hearing, within 15 days after initiating the request, the school district shall convene a resolution meeting with the parent and relevant members of the IEP team who have specific knowledge of the facts contained in the request for the purpose of resolving the problem that resulted in the request. The resolution meeting shall include a representative of the school district who has decision-making authority on behalf of the school district. Unless the parent is accompanied by an attorney at the resolution meeting, the school district may not include an attorney representing the school district.
    The resolution meeting may not be waived unless agreed to in writing by the school district and the parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) or the parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) and the school district agree in writing to utilize mediation in place of the resolution meeting. If either party fails to cooperate in the scheduling or convening of the resolution meeting, the hearing officer may order an extension of the timeline for completion of the resolution meeting or, upon the motion of a party and at least 7 days after ordering the non-cooperating party to cooperate, order the dismissal of the hearing request or the granting of all relief set forth in the request, as appropriate.
    In the event that the school district and the parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) agree to a resolution of the problem that resulted in the hearing request, the terms of the resolution shall be committed to writing and signed by the parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) and the representative of the school district with decision-making authority. The agreement shall be legally binding and shall be enforceable in any State or federal court of competent jurisdiction. In the event that the parties utilize the resolution meeting process, the process shall continue until no later than the 30th day following the receipt of the hearing request by the non-requesting party (or as properly extended by order of the hearing officer) to resolve the issues underlying the request, at which time the timeline for completion of the impartial due process hearing shall commence. The State Board of Education may, by rule, establish additional procedures for the conduct of resolution meetings.
    (g-25) If mutually agreed to in writing, the parties to a hearing request may request State-sponsored mediation as a substitute for the resolution process described in subsection (g-20) of this Section or may utilize mediation at the close of the resolution process if all issues underlying the hearing request have not been resolved through the resolution process.
    (g-30) If mutually agreed to in writing, the parties to a hearing request may waive the resolution process described in subsection (g-20) of this Section. Upon signing a written agreement to waive the resolution process, the parties shall be required to forward the written waiver to the hearing officer appointed to the case within 2 business days following the signing of the waiver by the parties. The timeline for the impartial due process hearing shall commence on the date of the signing of the waiver by the parties.
    (g-35) The timeline for completing the impartial due process hearing, as set forth in subsection (h) of this Section, shall be initiated upon the occurrence of any one of the following events:
        (1) The unsuccessful completion of the resolution
    
process as described in subsection (g-20) of this Section.
        (2) The mutual agreement of the parties to waive the
    
resolution process as described in subsection (g-25) or (g-30) of this Section.
    (g-40) The hearing officer shall convene a prehearing conference no later than 14 days before the scheduled date for the due process hearing for the general purpose of aiding in the fair, orderly, and expeditious conduct of the hearing. The hearing officer shall provide the parties with written notice of the prehearing conference at least 7 days in advance of the conference. The written notice shall require the parties to notify the hearing officer by a date certain whether they intend to participate in the prehearing conference. The hearing officer may conduct the prehearing conference in person or by telephone. Each party shall at the prehearing conference (1) disclose whether it is represented by legal counsel or intends to retain legal counsel; (2) clarify matters it believes to be in dispute in the case and the specific relief being sought; (3) disclose whether there are any additional evaluations for the student that it intends to introduce into the hearing record that have not been previously disclosed to the other parties; (4) disclose a list of all documents it intends to introduce into the hearing record, including the date and a brief description of each document; and (5) disclose the names of all witnesses it intends to call to testify at the hearing. The hearing officer shall specify the order of presentation to be used at the hearing. If the prehearing conference is held by telephone, the parties shall transmit the information required in this paragraph in such a manner that it is available to all parties at the time of the prehearing conference. The State Board of Education may, by rule, establish additional procedures for the conduct of prehearing conferences.
    (g-45) The impartial due process hearing officer shall not initiate or participate in any ex parte communications with the parties, except to arrange the date, time, and location of the prehearing conference, due process hearing, or other status conferences convened at the discretion of the hearing officer and to receive confirmation of whether a party intends to participate in the prehearing conference.
    (g-50) The parties shall disclose and provide to each other any evidence which they intend to submit into the hearing record no later than 5 days before the hearing. Any party to a hearing has the right to prohibit the introduction of any evidence at the hearing that has not been disclosed to that party at least 5 days before the hearing. The party requesting a hearing shall not be permitted at the hearing to raise issues that were not raised in the party's initial or amended request, unless otherwise permitted in this Section.
    (g-55) All reasonable efforts must be made by the parties to present their respective cases at the hearing within a cumulative period of 7 days. When scheduling hearing dates, the hearing officer shall schedule the final day of the hearing no more than 30 calendar days after the first day of the hearing unless good cause is shown. This subsection (g-55) shall not be applied in a manner that (i) denies any party to the hearing a fair and reasonable allocation of time and opportunity to present its case in its entirety or (ii) deprives any party to the hearing of the safeguards accorded under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-446), regulations promulgated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, or any other applicable law. The school district shall present evidence that the special education needs of the child have been appropriately identified and that the special education program and related services proposed to meet the needs of the child are adequate, appropriate, and available. Any party to the hearing shall have the right to (1) be represented by counsel and be accompanied and advised by individuals with special knowledge or training with respect to the problems of children with disabilities, at the party's own expense; (2) present evidence and confront and cross-examine witnesses; (3) move for the exclusion of witnesses from the hearing until they are called to testify, provided, however, that this provision may not be invoked to exclude the individual designated by a party to assist that party or its representative in the presentation of the case; (4) obtain a written or electronic verbatim record of the proceedings within 30 days of receipt of a written request from the parents by the school district; and (5) obtain a written decision, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 10 calendar days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and any State holiday, after the conclusion of the hearing. If at issue, the school district shall present evidence that it has properly identified and evaluated the nature and severity of the student's suspected or identified disability and that, if the student has been or should have been determined eligible for special education and related services, that it is providing or has offered a free appropriate public education to the student in the least restrictive environment, consistent with procedural safeguards and in accordance with an individualized educational program. At any time prior to the conclusion of the hearing, the impartial due process hearing officer shall have the authority to require additional information and order independent evaluations for the student at the expense of the school district. The State Board of Education and the school district shall share equally the costs of providing a written or electronic verbatim record of the proceedings. Any party may request that the due process hearing officer issue a subpoena to compel the testimony of witnesses or the production of documents relevant to the resolution of the hearing. Whenever a person refuses to comply with any subpoena issued under this Section, the circuit court of the county in which that hearing is pending, on application of the impartial hearing officer or the party requesting the issuance of the subpoena, may compel compliance through the contempt powers of the court in the same manner as if the requirements of a subpoena issued by the court had been disobeyed.
    (h) The impartial hearing officer shall issue a written decision, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 10 calendar days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and any State holiday, after the conclusion of the hearing and send by certified mail a copy of the decision to the parents or student (if the student requests the hearing), the school district, the director of special education, legal representatives of the parties, and the State Board of Education. Unless the hearing officer has granted specific extensions of time at the request of a party, a final decision, including the clarification of a decision requested under this subsection, shall be reached and mailed to the parties named above not later than 45 days after the initiation of the timeline for conducting the hearing, as described in subsection (g-35) of this Section. The decision shall specify the educational and related services that shall be provided to the student in accordance with the student's needs and the timeline for which the school district shall submit evidence to the State Board of Education to demonstrate compliance with the hearing officer's decision in the event that the decision orders the school district to undertake corrective action. The hearing officer shall retain jurisdiction for the sole purpose of considering a request for clarification of the final decision submitted in writing by a party to the impartial hearing officer within 5 days after receipt of the decision. A copy of the request for clarification shall specify the portions of the decision for which clarification is sought and shall be mailed to all parties of record and to the State Board of Education. The request shall operate to stay implementation of those portions of the decision for which clarification is sought, pending action on the request by the hearing officer, unless the parties otherwise agree. The hearing officer shall issue a clarification of the specified portion of the decision or issue a partial or full denial of the request in writing within 10 days of receipt of the request and mail copies to all parties to whom the decision was mailed. This subsection does not permit a party to request, or authorize a hearing officer to entertain, reconsideration of the decision itself. The statute of limitations for seeking review of the decision shall be tolled from the date the request is submitted until the date the hearing officer acts upon the request. The hearing officer's decision shall be binding upon the school district and the parents unless a civil action is commenced.
    (i) Any party to an impartial due process hearing aggrieved by the final written decision of the impartial due process hearing officer shall have the right to commence a civil action with respect to the issues presented in the impartial due process hearing. That civil action shall be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction within 120 days after a copy of the decision of the impartial due process hearing officer is mailed to the party as provided in subsection (h). The civil action authorized by this subsection shall not be exclusive of any rights or causes of action otherwise available. The commencement of a civil action under this subsection shall operate as a supersedeas. In any action brought under this subsection the Court shall receive the records of the impartial due process hearing, shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party, and, basing its decision on the preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief as the court determines is appropriate. In any instance where a school district willfully disregards applicable regulations or statutes regarding a child covered by this Article, and which disregard has been detrimental to the child, the school district shall be liable for any reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the parent in connection with proceedings under this Section.
    (j) During the pendency of any administrative or judicial proceeding conducted pursuant to this Section, including mediation (if the school district or other public entity voluntarily agrees to participate in mediation), unless the school district and the parents or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) otherwise agree, the student shall remain in his or her present educational placement and continue in his or her present eligibility status and special education and related services, if any. If mediation fails to resolve the dispute between the parties, or if the parties do not agree to use mediation, the parent (or student if 18 years of age or older or emancipated) shall have 10 days after the mediation concludes, or after a party declines to use mediation, to file a request for a due process hearing in order to continue to invoke the "stay-put" provisions of this subsection (j). If applying for initial admission to the school district, the student shall, with the consent of the parents (if the student is not at least 18 years of age or emancipated), be placed in the school district program until all such proceedings have been completed. The costs for any special education and related services or placement incurred following 60 school days after the initial request for evaluation shall be borne by the school district if the services or placement is in accordance with the final determination as to the special education and related services or placement that must be provided to the child, provided that during that 60-day period there have been no delays caused by the child's parent. The requirements and procedures of this subsection (j) shall be included in the uniform notices developed by the State Superintendent under subsection (g) of Section 14-8.02 of this Code.
    (k) Whenever the parents of a child of the type described in Section 14-1.02 are not known or are unavailable or the child is a youth in care as defined in Section 4d of the Children and Family Services Act, a person shall be assigned to serve as surrogate parent for the child in matters relating to the identification, evaluation, and educational placement of the child and the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child. Persons shall be assigned as surrogate parents by the State Superintendent of Education. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing qualifications of those persons and their responsibilities and the procedures to be followed in making assignments of persons as surrogate parents. Surrogate parents shall not be employees of the school district, an agency created by joint agreement under Section 10-22.31, an agency involved in the education or care of the student, or the State Board of Education. Services of any person assigned as surrogate parent shall terminate if the parent becomes available unless otherwise requested by the parents. The assignment of a person as surrogate parent at no time supersedes, terminates, or suspends the parents' legal authority relative to the child. Any person participating in good faith as surrogate parent on behalf of the child before school officials or a hearing officer shall have immunity from civil or criminal liability that otherwise might result by reason of that participation, except in cases of willful and wanton misconduct.
    (l) At all stages of the hearing or mediation, the hearing officer or mediator shall require that interpreters licensed pursuant to the Interpreter for the Deaf Licensure Act of 2007 be made available by the school district for persons who are deaf or qualified interpreters be made available by the school district for persons whose normally spoken language is other than English.
    (m) If any provision of this Section or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity of that provision or application does not affect other provisions or applications of the Section that can be given effect without the invalid application or provision, and to this end the provisions of this Section are severable, unless otherwise provided by this Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-1072, eff. 6-10-22.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02b

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02b)
    Sec. 14-8.02b. Expedited Hearings.
    (a) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly shall apply to all expedited hearings requested on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.
    (b) Unless otherwise provided by this Section, the provisions of Section 14-8.02a are applicable to this Section. The State Board of Education shall provide for the conduct of expedited hearings in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Public Law 108-446, 20 USC Sections 1400 et seq. (hereafter IDEA).
    (c) An expedited hearing may be requested by:
        (i) a parent or student if the student is at least 18
    
years of age or emancipated, if there is a disagreement with regard to a determination that the student's behavior was not a manifestation of the student's disability, or if there is a disagreement regarding the district's decision to move the student to an interim alternative educational setting for behavior at school, on school premises, or at a school function involving a weapon or drug or for behavior at school, on school premises, or at a school function involving the infliction of serious bodily injury by the student, as defined by IDEA pursuant to Section 615(k)(1)(G); and
        (ii) a school district, if school personnel believe
    
that maintaining the current placement of the student is substantially likely to result in injury to the student or others pursuant to Section 615(k)(3)(A) of IDEA.
    (d) A school district shall make a request in writing to the State Board of Education and promptly mail a copy of the request to the parents or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) at the parents' or student's last known address. A request made by the parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) shall be made in writing to the superintendent of the school district in which the student resides, who shall forward the request to the State Board of Education within one business day of receipt of the request. Upon receipt of the request, the State Board of Education shall appoint a due process hearing officer using a rotating appointment system and shall notify the hearing officer of his or her appointment.
    (e) A request for an expedited hearing initiated by a district for the sole purpose of moving a student from his or her current placement to an interim alternative educational setting because of dangerous misconduct must be accompanied by all documentation that substantiates the district's position that maintaining the student in his or her current placement is substantially likely to result in injury to the student or to others. Also, the documentation shall include written statements of (1) whether the district is represented by legal counsel or intends to retain legal counsel; (2) the matters the district believes to be in dispute in the case and the specific relief being sought; and (3) the names of all witnesses the district intends to call to testify at the hearing.
    (f) An expedited hearing requested by the parent or student (if at least 18 years of age or emancipated) to challenge the removal of the student from his or her current placement to an interim alternative educational setting or a manifestation determination made by the district as described in IDEA shall include a written statement as to the reason the parent believes that the action taken by the district is not supported by substantial evidence and all relevant documentation in the parent's possession. Also, the documentation shall include written statements of (1) whether the parent is represented by legal counsel or intends to retain legal counsel; (2) the matters the parent believes to be in dispute in the case and the specific relief being sought; and (3) the names of all witnesses the parent intends to call to testify at the hearing.
    (g) Except as otherwise described in this subsection (g), the school district shall be required to convene the resolution meeting described in subsection (g-20) of Section 14-8.02a of this Code unless the parties choose to utilize mediation in place of the resolution meeting or waive the resolution meeting in accordance with procedures described in subsection (g-30) of Section 14-8.02a of this Code. The resolution meeting shall be convened within 7 days after the date that the expedited hearing request is received by the district.
    (h) The hearing officer shall not initiate or participate in any ex parte communications with the parties, except to arrange the date, time, and location of the expedited hearing. The hearing officer shall contact the parties within 5 days after appointment and set a hearing date which shall be no earlier than 15 calendar days following the school district's receipt of the expedited hearing request or upon completion of the resolution meeting, if earlier, and no later than 20 school days after receipt of the expedited hearing request. The hearing officer shall set a date no less than 2 business days prior to the date of the expedited hearing for the parties to exchange documentation and a list of witnesses. The non-requesting party shall not be required to submit a written response to the expedited hearing request. The parties may request mediation. The mediation shall not delay the timeline set by the hearing officer for conducting the expedited hearing. The length of the hearing shall not exceed 2 days unless good cause is shown. Good cause shall be determined by the hearing officer in his or her sole discretion and may include the unavailability of a party or witness to attend the scheduled hearing.
    (i) Any party to the hearing shall have the right to (1) be represented by counsel and be accompanied and advised by individuals with special knowledge or training with respect to the problems of children with disabilities, at the party's own expense; (2) present evidence and confront and cross-examine witnesses; (3) move for the exclusion of witnesses from the hearing until they are called to testify, provided, however, that this provision may not be invoked to exclude the individual designated by a party to assist that party or its representative in the presentation of the case; (4) in accord with the provisions of subsection (g-55) of Section 14-8.02a, obtain a written or electronic verbatim record of the proceedings; and (5) obtain a written decision, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 10 school days after the conclusion of the hearing.
    (j) The State Board of Education and the school district shall share equally the costs of providing a written or electronic verbatim record of the proceedings. Any party may request that the hearing officer issue a subpoena to compel the testimony of witnesses or the production of documents relevant to the resolution of the hearing. Whenever a person refuses to comply with any subpoena issued under this Section, the circuit court of the county in which that hearing is pending, on application of the impartial hearing officer or the party requesting the issuance of the subpoena, may compel compliance through the contempt powers of the court in the same manner as if the requirements of a subpoena issued by the court had been disobeyed.
    (k) The impartial hearing officer shall issue a final written decision, including findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 10 school days after the conclusion of the hearing and mail a copy of the decision to the parents or student (if the student requests the hearing), the school district, the director of special education, legal representatives of the parties, and the State Board of Education.
    (l) The hearing officer presiding over the expedited hearing shall hear only that issue or issues identified by IDEA as proper for expedited hearings, leaving all other issues to be heard under a separate request to be initiated and processed in accordance with the hearing procedures provided for in this Article and in accordance with the implementing regulations.
(Source: P.A. 94-1100, eff. 2-2-07.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02c

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02c)
    Sec. 14-8.02c. Due process hearing officers.
    (a) The State Board of Education shall establish a corps of hearing officers in accordance with this Section and may, with the advice and approval of the Advisory Council on Education of Children with Disabilities, adopt rules consistent with this Section to establish the qualifications of and application process for hearing officers.
    (b) Hearing officers must, at a minimum, (i) possess a master's or doctor's degree in education or another field related to disability issues or a juris doctor degree; (ii) have knowledge of and the ability to understand the requirements of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Article 14 of this Code, the implementation of rules or regulations of these federal and State statutes, and the legal interpretation of the statutes, rules, and regulations by federal and State courts; (iii) have the knowledge and ability to conduct hearings in accordance with appropriate, standard, legal practice; and (iv) have the knowledge and ability to render and write decisions in accordance with appropriate, standard, legal practice. Current employees of the State Board of Education, school districts, special education cooperatives, regional service areas or centers, regional educational cooperatives, State-operated elementary and secondary schools, or private providers of special education facilities or programs may not serve as hearing officers.
    (c) If, at any time, the State Board of Education determines that additional hearing officers are needed, the State Board of Education shall recruit hearing officer candidates who meet the criteria set forth in subsection (b) of this Section.
    (d) Candidates shall be screened by a 7-member Screening Committee consisting of the following: the Attorney General or his or her designee; the State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee; 3 members appointed by the State Superintendent of Education, one of whom shall be a parent of an individual who is or at one time was eligible to receive special education and related services in an Illinois school district, another of whom shall be a director of special education for an Illinois school district or special education joint agreement, and the other of whom shall be an adult with a disability; and 2 members appointed by the Attorney General, one of whom shall be a parent of an individual who is or at one time was eligible to receive special education and related services in an Illinois school district and the other of whom shall be an experienced special education hearing officer who is not a candidate for appointment under this Section. The chairperson of the Advisory Council on Education of Children with Disabilities or his or her designee shall serve on the Screening Committee as an ex-officio, non-voting member. Appointments and reappointments to the Screening Committee shall be for terms of 3 years. In the event that a member vacates a seat on the Screening Committee prior to the expiration of his or her term, a new member shall be appointed, shall serve the balance of the vacating member's term, and shall be eligible for subsequent reappointment. The Screening Committee shall elect a chairperson from among its voting members. Members of the Screening Committee shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed by the State Board of Education for their reasonable expenses. The Screening Committee shall review hearing officer applications and supporting information, interview candidates, and recommend candidates to the Advisory Council on Education of Children with Disabilities based upon objective criteria the Screening Committee develops and makes available to the public. All discussions and deliberations of the Screening Committee and Advisory Council referenced anywhere in this Section pertaining to the review of applications of hearing officer candidates, the interviewing of hearing officer candidates, the recommendation of hearing officer candidates for appointment, and the recommendation of hearing officers for reappointment are excepted from the requirements of the Open Meetings Act, pursuant to item (15) of subsection (c) of Section 2 of the Open Meetings Act.
    (e) All hearing officer candidates recommended to the Advisory Council on Education of Children with Disabilities shall successfully complete initial training, as established by the contract between the State Board of Education and the training entity, as described in subsection (f), in order to be eligible to serve as an impartial due process hearing officer. The training shall include, at a minimum, instruction in federal and State law, rules, and regulations, federal regulatory interpretations and State and federal court decisions regarding special education and relevant general educational issues, diagnostic procedures, information about disabilities, instruction on conducting effective and impartial hearings in accordance with appropriate, standard, legal practice (including without limitation the handling of amended requests), and instruction in rendering and writing hearing decisions in accordance with appropriate, standard, legal practice. The training must be conducted in an unbiased manner by educational and legal experts, including qualified individuals from outside the public educational system. Upon the completion of the initial training, the Advisory Council on Education of Children with Disabilities, applying objective selection criteria it has developed and made available to the public, shall go into executive session and select the number of hearing officers deemed necessary by the State Board of Education from those candidates who have successfully completed the initial training. Upon selecting the candidates, the Advisory Council shall forward its recommendations to the State Superintendent of Education for final selection. The hearing officers appointed by the State Superintendent of Education shall serve an initial term of one year, subject to any earlier permissible termination by the State Board of Education.
    (f) The State Board of Education shall, through a competitive application process, enter into a contract with an outside entity to establish and conduct mandatory training programs for hearing officers. The State Board of Education shall also, through a competitive application process, enter into a contract with an outside entity, other than the entity providing mandatory training, to conduct an annual evaluation of each hearing officer and to investigate complaints against hearing officers, in accordance with procedures established by the State Board of Education in consultation with the Screening Committee. The invitation for applications shall set forth minimum qualifications for eligible applicants. Each contract under this subsection (f) may be renewed on an annual basis, subject to appropriation. The State Board of Education shall conduct a new competitive application process at least once every 3 years after the initial contract is granted. The Screening Committee shall review the training proposals and evaluation and investigation proposals and forward them, with recommendations in rank order, to the State Board of Education.
    (g) The evaluation and investigation entity described in subsection (f) of this Section shall conduct an annual written evaluation of each hearing officer and provide the evaluation to the Screening Committee for its consideration in the reappointment process. The evaluation shall include a review of written decisions and any communications regarding a hearing officer's conduct and performance by participants in impartial due process hearings and their representatives. Each hearing officer shall be provided with a copy of his or her written evaluation report and shall have an opportunity, within 30 days after receipt, to review the evaluation with the evaluation and investigation entity and submit written comments. The annual evaluation of each hearing officer, along with the hearing officer's written comments, if any, shall be submitted to the Screening Committee for consideration no later than April 1 of each calendar year. The Screening Committee, based on objective criteria and any evaluation reports prepared by the training entity, shall, on an annual basis, recommend whether the hearing officer should be reappointed for a one-year term and shall forward its recommendations to the Advisory Council on Education of Children with Disabilities. The Advisory Council shall go into executive session and shall review the recommendations of the Screening Committee for the purpose of either ratifying or rejecting the recommendations of the Screening Committee. The Advisory Council shall then forward its list of ratified and rejected appointees to the State Superintendent of Education, who shall determine the final selection of hearing officers for reappointment. Each reappointed hearing officer shall serve a term of one year, subject to any earlier permissible termination by the State Board of Education.
    (h) Hearing officers shall receive a base annual stipend and per diem allowance for each hearing at a rate established by the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall provide hearing officers with access to relevant court decisions, impartial hearing officer decisions with child-specific identifying information deleted, statutory and regulatory changes, and federal regulatory interpretations. The State Board of Education shall index and maintain a reporting system of impartial due process hearing decisions and shall make these decisions available for review by the public after deleting child-specific identifying information.
    (i) A hearing officer may be terminated by the State Board of Education for just cause if, after written notice is provided to the hearing officer, appropriate timely corrective action is not taken. For purposes of this subsection (i), just cause shall be (1) the failure or refusal to accept assigned cases without good cause; (2) the failure or refusal to fulfill his or her duties as a hearing officer in a timely manner; (3) consistent disregard for applicable laws and rules in the conduct of hearings; (4) consistent failure to conduct himself or herself in a patient, dignified, and courteous manner to parties, witnesses, counsel, and other participants in hearings; (5) the failure to accord parties or their representatives a full and fair opportunity to be heard in matters coming before him or her; (6) violating applicable laws regarding privacy and confidentiality of records or information; (7) manifesting, by words or conduct, bias or prejudice based upon race, sex, religion, disability, or national origin; (8) failure to recuse himself or herself from a hearing in which he or she has a personal, professional, or financial conflict of interest that he or she knew or should have known existed at any time prior to or during the hearing; (9) conviction in any jurisdiction of any felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; or (10) falsification of a material fact on his or her application to serve as a hearing officer. In addition, a hearing officer who, as a result of events occurring after appointment, no longer meets the minimum requirements set forth in this Section, shall be disqualified to complete the balance of his or her term.
(Source: P.A. 94-1100, eff. 2-2-07.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02d

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02d)
    Sec. 14-8.02d. Evaluation of due process hearing system. The State Board of Education shall monitor, review, and evaluate the impartial due process hearing system on a regular basis by a process that includes a review of written decisions and evaluations by participants in impartial due process hearings and their representatives. The State Board of Education shall annually post to its website by August 1 data on the performance of the due process hearing system, including data on timeliness of hearings and an analysis of the issues and disability categories underlying hearing requests.
(Source: P.A. 102-894, eff. 5-20-22.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02e

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02e)
    Sec. 14-8.02e. State complaint procedures.
    (a) The State Board of Education shall adopt State complaint procedures, consistent with Sections 300.151, 300.152, and 300.153 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The State Board of Education, by rule, shall establish State complaint procedures consistent with this Section. A school district or other public entity shall be required to submit a written response to a complaint within the time prescribed by the State Board of Education following receipt of the complaint. A copy of the response and all documentation submitted by the respondent to the State Board of Education, including corrective action compliance documentation, must be simultaneously provided by the respondent to the complainant or to the attorney for the complainant. If the complaint was filed by an individual other than a parent of a child who is the subject of the complaint (or the child if the child has reached majority or is emancipated and has assumed responsibility for his or her own educational decisions) and the complaint is about a specific identifiable child or children, then appropriate written signed releases must be obtained prior to the release of any documentation or information to the complainant or the attorney representing the complainant.
    (b) For a complaint made under procedures authorized under this Section alleging a delay or denial of special education or related services in the 2016-2017 or 2017-2018 school year by a school district organized under Article 34 as a result of the adoption of policies and procedures identified by the State Board of Education as unlawful, the complaint must be filed on or before September 30, 2022. This filing deadline must be included in the written notification sent by the school district under subsection (b) of Section 14-8.02g.
(Source: P.A. 101-507, eff. 8-23-19; 102-429, eff. 8-20-21.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02f

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02f)
    Sec. 14-8.02f. Individualized education program meeting protections.
    (a) (Blank).
    (b) This subsection (b) applies only to a school district organized under Article 34. No later than 10 calendar days prior to a child's individualized education program meeting or as soon as possible if a meeting is scheduled within 10 calendar days with written parental consent, the school board or school personnel must provide the child's parent or guardian with a written notification of the services that require a specific data collection procedure from the school district for services related to the child's individualized education program. The notification must indicate, with a checkbox, whether specific data has been collected for the child's individualized education program services. For purposes of this subsection (b), individualized education program services must include, but are not limited to, paraprofessional support, an extended school year, transportation, therapeutic day school, and services for specific learning disabilities.
    (c) Beginning on July 1, 2020, no later than 3 school days prior to a meeting to determine a child's eligibility for special education and related services or to review a child's individualized education program, or as soon as possible if an individualized education program meeting is scheduled within 3 school days with the written consent of the child's parent or guardian, the local education agency must provide the child's parent or guardian copies of all written material that will be considered by the individualized education program team at the meeting so that the parent or guardian may participate in the meeting as a fully-informed team member. The parent or guardian shall have the option of choosing from the available methods of delivery, which must include regular mail and picking up the materials at school. For a meeting to determine the child's eligibility for special education, the written material must include all evaluations and collected data that will be considered at the meeting. For a child who is already eligible for special education and related services, the written material must include a copy of all individualized education program components that will be discussed by the individualized education program team, other than the components related to the educational and related service minutes proposed for the child and the child's placement. Parents shall also be informed of their right to review and copy their child's school student records prior to any special education eligibility or individualized education program review meeting, subject to the requirements of applicable federal and State law.
    (d) Local education agencies must make logs that record the delivery of related services administered under the child's individualized education program and the minutes of each type of related service that has been administered available to the child's parent or guardian at any time upon request of the child's parent or guardian. For purposes of this subsection (d), related services for which a log must be made are: speech and language services, occupational therapy services, physical therapy services, school social work services, school counseling services, school psychology services, and school nursing services. The local education agency must inform the child's parent or guardian within 20 school days from the beginning of the school year or upon establishment of an individualized education program of his or her ability to request those related service logs.
    (d-5) If, at a meeting to develop or revise a child's individualized education program, the individualized education program team determines that a certain service is required in order for the child to receive a free, appropriate public education and that service is not implemented within 10 school days after the service was to be initiated as set forth by the child's individualized education program, then the local education agency shall provide the child's parent or guardian with written notification that the service has not yet been implemented. The notification must be provided to the child's parent or guardian within 3 school days of the local education agency's non-compliance with the child's individualized education program and must inform the parent or guardian about the school district's procedures for requesting compensatory services. In this subsection (d-5), "school days" does not include days where a child is absent from school for reasons unrelated to a lack of individualized education program services or when the service is available, but the child is unavailable.
    (e) The State Board of Education may create a telephone hotline to address complaints regarding the special education services or lack of special education services of a school district subject to this Section. If a hotline is created, it must be available to all students enrolled in the school district, parents or guardians of those students, and school personnel. If a hotline is created, any complaints received through the hotline must be registered and recorded with the State Board's monitor of special education policies. No student, parent or guardian, or member of school personnel may be retaliated against for submitting a complaint through a telephone hotline created by the State Board under this subsection (e).
    (f) A school district subject to this Section may not use any measure that would prevent or delay an individualized education program team from adding a service to the program or create a time restriction in which a service is prohibited from being added to the program. The school district may not build functions into its computer software that would remove any services from a student's individualized education program without the approval of the program team and may not prohibit the program team from adding a service to the program.
(Source: P.A. 100-993, eff. 8-20-18; 101-515, eff. 8-23-19; 101-598, eff. 12-6-19; 101-643, eff. 6-18-20.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02g

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02g)
    Sec. 14-8.02g. Written notification required for delays and denials of special education services.
    (a) This Section applies only to a school district organized under Article 34.
    (b) With respect to a student enrolled in the school district for or to whom appropriate special education or related services may have been delayed or denied in the 2016-2017 or 2017-2018 school year as a result of the adoption of policies and procedures identified by the State Board of Education as unlawful, the school district must provide a separate written notification no later than 30 days after the first school day of the 2019-2020 school year to (i) the parent or guardian of the student, (ii) a designated representative of the student, (iii) the student if he or she is an emancipated minor, or (iv) the student if he or she has reached the age of majority and does not have a designated representative that states that appropriate relief may be available through a State complaint procedure authorized under Section 14-8.02e, State-sponsored mediation, or an impartial due process hearing under Section 14-8.02a. The written notification must include contact information for the State Board of Education, a list of organizations that provide free or low-cost legal services, advocacy, and advice on special education matters, and the filing deadline under subsection (b) of Section 14-8.02e. The written notification must be posted on the home page of the school district's public website and must, at least once, be included with any written informational materials for parents sent home with the student.
(Source: P.A. 101-507, eff. 8-23-19.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02h

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02h)
    Sec. 14-8.02h. Response to scientific, research-based intervention.
    (a) In this Section, "response to scientific, research-based intervention" or "multi-tiered system of support" means a tiered process of appropriate instruction and support that utilizes differentiated instructional strategies for students, provides students with an evidence-based curriculum and interventions aligned with State standards, continuously monitors student performance using scientific, research-based progress monitoring instruments, and makes data-driven educational decisions based on a student's response to the interventions. Response to scientific, research-based intervention or a multi-tiered system of support uses a problem-solving method to define the problem, analyzes the problem using data to determine why there is a discrepancy between what is expected and what is occurring, establishes one or more student performance goals, develops an intervention plan to address the performance goals, and delineates how the student's progress will be monitored and how implementation integrity will be ensured.
    (b) (Blank).
    (c) The response to scientific, research-based intervention or a multi-tiered system of support process should use a collaborative team approach and include the engagement of and regular communication with the child's parent or guardian. The parent or guardian of a child shall be provided with written notice of the school district's use of scientific, research-based intervention or a multi-tiered system of support for the child and may be part of the collaborative team approach at the discretion of the school district. The parent or guardian shall be provided all data collected and reviewed by the school district with regard to the child in the scientific, research-based intervention or multi-tiered system of support process. The State Board of Education may provide guidance to school districts and identify available resources related to facilitating parent or guardian engagement in the response to scientific, research-based intervention or a multi-tiered system of support process.
    (d) Nothing in this Section affects the responsibility of a school district to identify, locate, and evaluate children with disabilities who are in need of special education services in accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, this Code, or any applicable federal or State rules.
(Source: P.A. 101-515, eff. 8-23-19; 101-598, eff. 12-6-19; 101-643, eff. 6-18-20.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02i

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02i)
    Sec. 14-8.02i. ABLE account program information. Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, a school district shall provide informational material about the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account program established under Section 16.6 of the State Treasurer Act to the parent or guardian of a student at the student's annual individualized education program (IEP) review meeting, whether the annual review meeting is held in person, convened remotely, or convened in any other manner. The Office of the State Treasurer shall prepare and deliver the informational material to the State Board of Education, and the State Board of Education shall distribute the informational material to school districts.
    A school may transmit the informational material to a parent or guardian in the same manner as other documents and information related to an IEP meeting are provided to the parent or guardian.
(Source: P.A. 102-841, eff. 5-13-22.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.03

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.03) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.03)
    Sec. 14-8.03. Transition services.
    (a) For purposes of this Section:
    "Independent living skills" may include, without limitation, personal hygiene, health care, fitness, food preparation and nutrition, home management and safety, dressing and clothing care, financial management and wellness, self-esteem, self-advocacy, self-determination, community living, housing options, public safety, leisure and recreation, and transportation.
    "Transition services" means a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that (i) is designed to be within a results-oriented process that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, which may include for-credit courses, career and technical education, and non-credit courses and instruction, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation; (ii) is based on the individual child's needs, taking into account the child's strengths, preferences, and interests; and (iii) includes instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills, benefits counseling and planning, work incentives education, and the provision of a functional vocational evaluation. Transition services for a child with a disability may be special education, if provided as specially designed instruction, or a related service if required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.
    (a-5) Beginning no later than the first individualized education plan (IEP) in effect when the student turns age 14 1/2 (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team) and updated annually thereafter, the IEP must include (i) measurable post-secondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments and other information available regarding the student that are related to training, education, employment, and independent living skills and (ii) the transition services needed to assist the student in reaching those goals, including courses of study.
    As a component of transition planning, the school district shall provide the student and the parent or guardian of the student with information about the school district's career and technical education (CTE) opportunities and postsecondary CTE opportunities. The CTE information shall include a list of programming options, the scope and sequence of study for pursuing those options, and the locations of those options. A student in high school with an IEP may enroll in the school district's CTE program at any time if participation in a CTE program is consistent with the student's transition goals.
    The student and the parent or guardian of the student shall be provided with information about dual credit courses offered by the school district. The information shall include courses offered by the school district for dual credit under Section 16 of the Dual Credit Quality Act and courses in which the student may enroll for high school credit only under Section 16.5 of the Dual Credit Quality Act. The information shall include the criteria for entry into any dual credit course in which the student or the parent or guardian of the student indicates interest. If the student is enrolled in a dual credit course for dual credit or for high school credit only, the student's participation in the course shall be included as part of the student's transition IEP activities.
    (b) Transition planning must be conducted as part of the IEP process and must be governed by the procedures applicable to the development, review, and revision of the IEP, including notices to the parents and student, parent and student participation, and annual review. To appropriately assess and develop IEP transition goals and transition services for a child with a disability, additional participants may be necessary and may be invited by the school district, parent, or student to participate in the transition planning process. Additional participants may include without limitation a representative from the Department of Human Services or another State agency, a case coordinator, or persons representing other public or community agencies or services, such as adult service providers, disability services coordinators of public community colleges, and a CTE coordinator. The IEP shall identify each person responsible for coordinating and delivering transition services. If the IEP team determines that the student requires transition services from a public or private entity outside of the school district, the IEP team shall identify potential outside resources, assign one or more IEP team members to contact the appropriate outside entities, make the necessary referrals, provide any information and documents necessary to complete the referral, follow up with the entity to ensure that the student has been successfully linked to the entity, and monitor the student's progress to determine if the student's IEP transition goals and benchmarks are being met. The student's IEP shall indicate one or more specific time periods during the school year when the IEP team shall review the services provided by the outside entity and the student's progress in such activities. The public school's responsibility for delivering educational services does not extend beyond the time the student leaves school or when the student's eligibility ends due to age under this Article.
    (c) A school district shall submit annually a summary of each eligible student's IEP transition goals and transition services resulting from the IEP Team meeting to the appropriate local Transition Planning Committee. If students with disabilities who are ineligible for special education services request transition services, local public school districts shall assist those students by identifying post-secondary school goals, delivering appropriate education services, and coordinating with other agencies and services for assistance.
(Source: P.A. 102-516, eff. 8-20-21; 103-181, eff. 6-30-23.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.04

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.04) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.04)
    Sec. 14-8.04. Supported employment. The school board that is the governing body of any secondary school in this State that provides special education services and facilities for children with disabilities shall include, as part of preparing the transition planning for children with disabilities who are 16 years of age or more, consideration of a supported employment component with experiences in integrated community settings for those eligible children with disabilities who have been determined at an IEP meeting to be in need of participation in the supported employment services offered pursuant to this Section.
    Supported employment services made available as part of transition planning under this Section shall be designed and developed for school boards by the State Board of Education, in consultation with programs such as Project CHOICES (Children Have Opportunities In Integrated Community Environments), parents and advocates of children with disabilities, and the Departments of Central Management Services and Human Services.
(Source: P.A. 98-44, eff. 6-28-13; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)

105 ILCS 5/14-8.05

    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.05) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.05)
    Sec. 14-8.05. Behavioral intervention.
    (a) The General Assembly finds and declares that principals and teachers of students with disabilities require training and guidance that provide ways for working successfully with children who have difficulties conforming to acceptable behavioral patterns in order to provide an environment in which learning can occur. It is the intent of the General Assembly:
        (1) That when behavioral interventions are used, they
    
be used in consideration of the pupil's physical freedom and social interaction, and be administered in a manner that respects human dignity and personal privacy and that ensures a pupil's right to placement in the least restrictive educational environment.
        (2) That behavioral management plans be developed and
    
used, to the extent possible, in a consistent manner when a local educational agency has placed the pupil in a day or residential setting for education purposes.
        (3) That a statewide study be conducted of the use of
    
behavioral interventions with students with disabilities receiving special education and related services.
        (4) That training programs be developed and
    
implemented in institutions of higher education that train teachers, and that in-service training programs be made available as necessary in school districts, in educational service centers, and by regional superintendents of schools to assure that adequately trained staff are available to work effectively with the behavioral intervention needs of students with disabilities.
    (b) On or before September 30, 1993, the State Superintendent of Education shall conduct a statewide study of the use of behavioral interventions with students with disabilities receiving special education and related services. The study shall include, but not necessarily be limited to identification of the frequency in the use of behavioral interventions; the number of districts with policies in place for working with children exhibiting continuous serious behavioral problems; how policies, rules, or regulations within districts differ between emergency and routine behavioral interventions commonly practiced; the nature and extent of costs for training provided to personnel for implementing a program of nonaversive behavioral interventions; and the nature and extent of costs for training provided to parents of students with disabilities who would be receiving behavioral interventions. The scope of the study shall be developed by the State Board of Education, in consultation with individuals and groups representing parents, teachers, administrators, and advocates. On or before June 30, 1994, the State Board of Education shall issue guidelines based on the study's findings. The guidelines shall address, but not be limited to, the following: (i) appropriate behavioral interventions, and (ii) how to properly document the need for and use of behavioral interventions in the process of developing individualized education plans for students with disabilities. The guidelines shall be used as a reference to assist school boards in developing local policies and procedures in accordance with this Section. The State Board of Education, with the advice of parents of students with disabilities and other parents, teachers, administrators, advocates for persons with disabilities, and individuals with knowledge or expertise in the development and implementation of behavioral interventions for persons with disabilities, shall review its behavioral intervention guidelines at least once every 3 years to determine their continuing appropriateness and effectiveness and shall make such modifications in the guidelines as it deems necessary.
    (c) Each school board must establish and maintain a committee to develop policies and procedures on the use of behavioral interventions for students with disabilities who require behavioral intervention. The policies and procedures shall be adopted and implemented by school boards by January 1, 1996, shall be amended as necessary to comply with the rules established by the State Board of Education under Section 2-3.130 of this Code not later than one month after commencement of the school year after the State Board of Education's rules are adopted, and shall: (i) be developed with the advice of parents with students with disabilities and other parents, teachers, administrators, advocates for persons with disabilities, and individuals with knowledge or expertise in the development and implementation of behavioral interventions for persons with disabilities; (ii) emphasize positive interventions that are designed to develop and strengthen desirable behaviors; (iii) incorporate procedures and methods consistent with generally accepted practice in the field of behavioral intervention; (iv) include criteria for determining when a student with disabilities may require a behavioral intervention plan; (v) reflect that the guidelines of the State Board of Education have been reviewed and considered and provide the address of the State Board of Education so that copies of the State Board of Education behavioral guidelines may be requested; and (vi) include procedures for monitoring the use of restrictive behavioral interventions. Each school board shall (i) furnish a copy of its local policies and procedures to parents and guardians of all students with individualized education plans within 15 days after the policies and procedures have been adopted by the school board, or within 15 days after the school board has amended its policies and procedures, or at the time an individualized education plan is first implemented for the student, and (ii) require that each school inform its students of the existence of the policies and procedures annually. Provided, at the annual individualized education plan review, the school board shall (1) explain the local policies and procedures, (2) furnish a copy of the local policies to parents and guardians, and (3) make available, upon request of any parents and guardians, a copy of local procedures.
    (d) The State Superintendent of Education shall consult with representatives of institutions of higher education and the State Teacher Certification Board in regard to the current training requirements for teachers to ensure that sufficient training is available in appropriate behavioral interventions consistent with professionally accepted practices and standards for people entering the field of education.
(Source: P.A. 91-600, eff. 8-14-99; 92-16, eff. 6-28-01.)

105 ILCS 5/14-9.01

    (105 ILCS 5/14-9.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-9.01)
    Sec. 14-9.01. Qualifications of teachers, other professional personnel and necessary workers. No person shall be employed to teach any class or program authorized by this Article who does not hold a valid teacher's license as provided by law and unless he has had such special training as the State Board of Education may require. No special license or endorsement to a special license issued under Section 21B-30 of this Code shall be valid for teaching students with visual disabilities unless the person to whom the license or endorsement is issued has attained satisfactory performance on an examination that is designed to assess competency in Braille reading and writing skills according to standards that the State Board of Education may adopt. Evidence of successfully completing the examination of Braille reading and writing skills must be submitted to the State Board of Education prior to an applicant's taking of the content area test required under Section 21B-30 of this Code. In addition to other requirements, a candidate for a teaching license in the area of the deaf and hard of hearing granted by the Illinois State Board of Education for teaching deaf and hard of hearing students in grades pre-school through grade 12 must demonstrate a minimum proficiency in sign language as determined by the Illinois State Board of Education. All other professional personnel employed in any class, service, or program authorized by this Article shall hold such licenses and shall have had such special training as the State Board of Education may require; provided that in a school district organized under Article 34, the school district may employ speech and language pathologists who are licensed under the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act but who do not hold a license issued under this Code if the district certifies that a chronic shortage of licensed personnel exists. Nothing contained in this Act prohibits the school board from employing necessary workers to assist the teacher with the special educational facilities, except that all such necessary workers must have had such training as the State Board of Education may require.
    The State Board of Education shall develop, in consultation with the Advisory Council on the Education of Children with Disabilities and the Advisory Council on Bilingual Education, rules governing the qualifications for licensure of teachers and school service personnel providing services to English learners receiving special education and related services.
    The employment of any teacher in a special education program provided for in Sections 14-1.01 to 14-14.01, inclusive, shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 24-11 to 24-16, inclusive. Any teacher employed in a special education program, prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987, in which 2 or more districts participate shall enter upon contractual continued service in each of the participating districts subject to the provisions of Sections 24-11 to 24-16, inclusive.
(Source: P.A. 102-894, eff. 5-20-22.)

105 ILCS 5/14-10.01

    (105 ILCS 5/14-10.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-10.01)
    Sec. 14-10.01. (Repealed).
(Source: Repealed by P.A. 88-228, eff. 7-1-94.)

105 ILCS 5/14-11.01

    (105 ILCS 5/14-11.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-11.01)
    Sec. 14-11.01. Educational materials coordinating unit. The State Board of Education shall maintain or contract for an educational materials coordinating unit for children with disabilities to provide:
        (1) Staff and resources for the coordination,
    
cataloging, standardizing, production, procurement, storage, and distribution of educational materials needed by children with visual disabilities and adults with disabilities.
        (2) Staff and resources of an instructional materials
    
center to include library, audio-visual, programmed, and other types of instructional materials peculiarly adapted to the instruction of pupils with disabilities.
    The educational materials coordinating unit shall have as its major purpose the improvement of instructional programs for children with disabilities and the in-service training of all professional personnel associated with programs of special education and to these ends is authorized to operate under rules and regulations of the State Board of Education with the advice of the Advisory Council.
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)

105 ILCS 5/14-11.02

    (105 ILCS 5/14-11.02) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-11.02)
    Sec. 14-11.02. Notwithstanding any other Sections of this Article, the State Board of Education shall develop and operate or contract for the operation of a service center for persons who are deaf-blind. For the purpose of this Section, persons with deaf-blindness are persons who have both auditory and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental, educational, vocational and rehabilitation problems that such persons cannot be properly accommodated in special education or vocational rehabilitation programs solely for persons with both hearing and visual disabilities.
    To be eligible for deaf-blind services, a person must have (i) a visual impairment and an auditory impairment, or (ii) a condition in which there is a progressive loss of hearing or vision or both that results in concomitant vision and hearing impairments and that adversely affects educational performance as determined by the multidisciplinary conference. For purposes of this paragraph and Section:
        (A) A visual impairment is defined to mean one or
    
more of the following: (i) corrected visual acuity poorer than 20/70 in the better eye; (ii) restricted visual field of 20 degrees or less in the better eye; (iii) cortical blindness; (iv) does not appear to respond to visual stimulation, which adversely affects educational performance as determined by the multidisciplinary conference.
        (B) An auditory impairment is defined to mean one or
    
more of the following: (i) a sensorineural or ongoing or chronic conductive hearing loss with aided sensitivity of 30dB HL or poorer; (ii) functional auditory behavior that is significantly discrepant from the person's present cognitive and/or developmental levels, which adversely affects educational performance as determined by the multidisciplinary conference.
    The State Board of Education is empowered to establish, maintain and operate or contract for the operation of a permanent state-wide service center known as the Philip J. Rock Center and School. The School serves eligible children between the ages of 3 and 21; the Center serves eligible persons of all ages. Services provided by the Center include, but are not limited to:
        (1) Identifying and case management of persons who
    
are auditorily and visually impaired;
        (2) Providing families with appropriate counseling;
        (3) Referring persons who are deaf-blind to
    
appropriate agencies for medical and diagnostic services;
        (4) Referring persons who are deaf-blind to
    
appropriate agencies for educational, training and care services;
        (5) Developing and expanding services throughout the
    
State to persons who are deaf-blind. This will include ancillary services, such as transportation so that the individuals can take advantage of the expanded services;
        (6) Maintaining a residential-educational training
    
facility in the Chicago metropolitan area located in an area accessible to public transportation;
        (7) Receiving, dispensing, and monitoring State and
    
Federal funds to the School and Center designated for services to persons who are deaf-blind;
        (8) Coordinating services to persons who are
    
deaf-blind through all appropriate agencies, including the Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Human Services;
        (9) Entering into contracts with other agencies to
    
provide services to persons who are deaf-blind;
        (10) Operating on a no-reject basis. Any individual
    
referred to the Center for service and diagnosed as deaf-blind, as defined in this Act, shall qualify for available services;
        (11) Serving as the referral clearinghouse for all
    
persons who are deaf-blind, age 21 and older; and
        (12) Providing transition services for students of
    
Philip J. Rock School who are deaf-blind and between the ages of 14 1/2 and 21.
    The Advisory Board for Services for Persons who are Deaf-Blind shall provide advice to the State Superintendent of Education, the Governor, and the General Assembly on all matters pertaining to policy concerning persons who are deaf-blind, including the implementation of legislation enacted on their behalf.
    Regarding the maintenance, operation and education functions of the Philip J. Rock Center and School, the Advisory Board shall also make recommendations pertaining to but not limited to the following matters:
        (1) Existing and proposed programs of all State
    
agencies that provide services for persons who are deaf-blind;
        (2) The State program and financial plan for
    
deaf-blind services and the system of priorities to be developed by the State Board of Education;
        (3) Standards for services in facilities serving
    
persons who are deaf-blind;
        (4) Standards and rates for State payments for any
    
services purchased for persons who are deaf-blind;
        (5) Services and research activities in the field of
    
deaf-blindness, including evaluation of services; and
        (6) Planning for personnel/preparation, both
    
preservice and inservice.
    The Advisory Board shall consist of 3 persons appointed by the Governor; 2 persons appointed by the State Superintendent of Education; 4 persons appointed by the Secretary of Human Services; and 2 persons appointed by the Director of Children and Family Services. The 3 appointments of the Governor shall consist of a senior citizen 60 years of age or older, a consumer who is deaf-blind, and a parent of a person who is deaf-blind; provided that if any gubernatorial appointee serving on the Advisory Board on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991 is not either a senior citizen 60 years of age or older or a consumer who is deaf-blind or a parent of a person who is deaf-blind, then whenever that appointee's term of office expires or a vacancy in that appointee's office sooner occurs, the Governor shall make the appointment to fill that office or vacancy in a manner that will result, at the earliest possible time, in the Governor's appointments to the Advisory Board being comprised of one senior citizen 60 years of age or older, one consumer who is deaf-blind, and one parent of a person who is deaf-blind. One person designated by each agency other than the Department of Human Services may be an employee of that agency. Two persons appointed by the Secretary of Human Services may be employees of the Department of Human Services. The appointments of each appointing authority other than the Governor shall include at least one parent of an individual who is deaf-blind or a person who is deaf-blind.
    Vacancies in terms shall be filled by the original appointing authority. After the original terms, all terms shall be for 3 years.
    Except for those members of the Advisory Board who are compensated for State service on a full-time basis, members shall be reimbursed for all actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Each member who is not compensated for State service on a full-time basis shall be compensated at a rate of $50 per day which he spends on Advisory Board duties. The Advisory Board shall meet at least 4 times per year and not more than 12 times per year.
    The Advisory Board shall provide for its own organization.
    Six members of the Advisory Board shall constitute a quorum. The affirmative vote of a majority of all members of the Advisory Board shall be necessary for any action taken by the Advisory Board.
(Source: P.A. 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-397, eff. 8-20-95; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)

105 ILCS 5/14-11.03

    (105 ILCS 5/14-11.03) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-11.03)
    Sec. 14-11.03. Illinois Service Resource Center. The State Board of Education shall maintain, subject to appropriations for such purpose, the Service Resource Center for children and adolescents through the age of 21 who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have an emotional or behavioral disorder. For the purpose of this Section, "children and adolescents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have an emotional or behavioral disorder" have an auditory impairment that is serious enough to warrant an array of special services and special education programs in order to assist both educationally and socially and the behavior is seriously disruptive and unacceptable to peers, educational staff, and persons in the community, or presents a danger to self or others.
    The State Board shall operate or contract for the operation of the Illinois Service Resource Center for children and adolescents through the age of 21 who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have an emotional or behavioral disorder. The Illinois Service Resource Center shall function as the initial point of contact for students, parents, and professionals. All existing and future services shall be coordinated through the Center.
    The Illinois Service Resource Center shall:
    (a) Develop and maintain a directory of public and private resources, including crisis intervention.
    (b) Establish and maintain a Statewide identification and tracking system.
    (c) Develop, obtain, and assure the consistency of screening instruments.
    (d) Perform case coordination, referral, and consultation services.
    (e) Provide technical assistance and training for existing programs and providers.
    (f) Track the allocation and expenditure of State and federal funds.
    (g) Monitor, evaluate, and assess Statewide resources, identification of services gaps, and the development and delivery of services.
    (h) Identify by geographical areas the need for establishing evaluation and crisis intervention services and establish a pilot in downstate Illinois. The Service Resource Center shall provide for the coordination of services for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have an emotional or behavioral disorder throughout the State and shall pilot a service delivery model to identify the capacity and need for comprehensive evaluation, crisis management, stabilization, referral, transition, family intervention, and follow-up services.
    (i) Integrate the recommendations of the Interagency Board for Children who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and have an Emotional or Behavioral Disorder regarding policies affecting children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have an emotional or behavioral disorder.
    (j) Provide limited direct services as required.
    The Center, if established, shall operate on a no-reject basis. Any child or adolescent diagnosed as deaf or hard-of-hearing and having an emotional or behavioral disorder under this Act who is referred to the Center for services shall qualify for services of the Center. The requirement of the no-reject basis shall be paramount in negotiating contracts and in supporting other agency services.
(Source: P.A. 88-663, eff. 9-16-94; 89-680, eff. 1-1-97.)

105 ILCS 5/14-12.01

    (105 ILCS 5/14-12.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-12.01)
    Sec. 14-12.01. Account of expenditures - Cost report - Reimbursement. Each school board shall keep an accurate, detailed and separate account of all monies paid out by it for the maintenance of each of the types of facilities, classes and schools authorized by this Article for the instruction and care of pupils attending them and for the cost of their transportation, and shall annually report thereon indicating the cost of each such elementary or high school pupil for the school year ending June 30.
    Applications for preapproval for reimbursement for costs of special education must be first submitted through the office of the regional superintendent of schools to the State Superintendent of Education on or before 30 days after a special class or service is started. Applications shall set forth a plan for special education established and maintained in accordance with this Article. Such applications shall be limited to the cost of construction and maintenance of special education facilities designed and utilized to house instructional programs, diagnostic services, other special education services for children with disabilities and reimbursement as provided in Section 14-13.01. Such application shall not include the cost of construction or maintenance of any administrative facility separated from special education facilities designed and utilized to house instructional programs, diagnostic services, and other special education services for children with disabilities. Reimbursement claims for special education shall be made as follows:
    Each district shall file its claim computed in accordance with rules prescribed by the State Board of Education for approval on forms prescribed by the State Superintendent of Education. Data used as a basis of reimbursement claims shall be for the school year ended on June 30 preceding. Each school district shall transmit to the State Superintendent of Education its claims on or before August 15. The State Superintendent of Education before approving any such claims shall determine their accuracy and whether they are based upon services and facilities provided under approved programs. Upon approval, vouchers for the amounts due the respective districts shall be prepared and submitted during each fiscal year as follows: the first 3 vouchers shall be prepared by the State Superintendent of Education and transmitted to the Comptroller on the 30th day of September, December and March, respectively, and the final voucher, no later than June 20. If, after preparation and transmittal of the September 30 vouchers, any claim has been redetermined by the State Superintendent of Education, subsequent vouchers shall be adjusted in amount to compensate for any overpayment or underpayment previously made. If the money appropriated by the General Assembly for such purpose for any year is insufficient, it shall be apportioned on the basis of the claims approved.
    Claims received at the State Board of Education after August 15 shall not be honored.
(Source: P.A. 94-1100, eff. 2-2-07.)

105 ILCS 5/14-12.02

    (105 ILCS 5/14-12.02)
    Sec. 14-12.02. (Repealed).
(Source: P.A. 85-1150. Repealed by P.A. 94-1105, eff. 6-1-07.)

105 ILCS 5/14-13.01

    (105 ILCS 5/14-13.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-13.01)
    Sec. 14-13.01. Reimbursement payable by State; amounts for personnel and transportation.
    (a) Through fiscal year 2017, for staff working on behalf of children who have not been identified as eligible for special education and for eligible children with physical disabilities, including all eligible children whose placement has been determined under Section 14-8.02 in hospital or home instruction, 1/2 of the teacher's salary but not more than $1,000 annually per child or $9,000 per teacher, whichever is less.
    (a-5) A child qualifies for home or hospital instruction if it is anticipated that, due to a medical condition, the child will be unable to attend school, and instead must be instructed at home or in the hospital, for a period of 2 or more consecutive weeks or on an ongoing intermittent basis. For purposes of this Section, "ongoing intermittent basis" means that the child's medical condition is of such a nature or severity that it is anticipated that the child will be absent from school due to the medical condition for periods of at least 2 days at a time multiple times during the school year totaling at least 10 days or more of absences. There shall be no requirement that a child be absent from school a minimum number of days before the child qualifies for home or hospital instruction. In order to establish eligibility for home or hospital services, a student's parent or guardian must submit to the child's school district of residence a written statement from a physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches, a licensed physician assistant, or a licensed advanced practice registered nurse stating the existence of such medical condition, the impact on the child's ability to participate in education, and the anticipated duration or nature of the child's absence from school. Home or hospital instruction may commence upon receipt of a written physician's, physician assistant's, or advanced practice registered nurse's statement in accordance with this Section, but instruction shall commence not later than 5 school days after the school district receives the physician's, physician assistant's, or advanced practice registered nurse's statement. Special education and related services required by the child's IEP or services and accommodations required by the child's federal Section 504 plan must be implemented as part of the child's home or hospital instruction, unless the IEP team or federal Section 504 plan team determines that modifications are necessary during the home or hospital instruction due to the child's condition.
    (a-10) Through fiscal year 2017, eligible children to be included in any reimbursement under this paragraph must regularly receive a minimum of one hour of instruction each school day, or in lieu thereof of a minimum of 5 hours of instruction in each school week in order to qualify for full reimbursement under this Section. If the attending physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse for such a child has certified that the child should not receive as many as 5 hours of instruction in a school week, however, reimbursement under this paragraph on account of that child shall be computed proportionate to the actual hours of instruction per week for that child divided by 5.
    (a-15) The State Board of Education shall establish rules governing the required qualifications of staff providing home or hospital instruction.
    (b) For children described in Section 14-1.02, 80% of the cost of transportation approved as a related service in the Individualized Education Program for each student in order to take advantage of special educational facilities. Transportation costs shall be determined in the same fashion as provided in Section 29-5 of this Code. For purposes of this subsection (b), the dates for processing claims specified in Section 29-5 shall apply.
    (c) Through fiscal year 2017, for each qualified worker, the annual sum of $9,000.
    (d) Through fiscal year 2017, for one full-time qualified director of the special education program of each school district which maintains a fully approved program of special education, the annual sum of $9,000. Districts participating in a joint agreement special education program shall not receive such reimbursement if reimbursement is made for a director of the joint agreement program.
    (e) (Blank).
    (f) (Blank).
    (g) Through fiscal year 2017, for readers working with blind or partially seeing children, 1/2 of their salary but not more than $400 annually per child. Readers may be employed to assist such children and shall not be required to be certified but prior to employment shall meet standards set up by the State Board of Education.
    (h) Through fiscal year 2017, for non-certified employees, as defined by rules promulgated by the State Board of Education, who deliver services to students with IEPs, 1/2 of the salary paid or $3,500 per employee, whichever is less.
    (i) The State Board of Education shall set standards and prescribe rules for determining the allocation of reimbursement under this section on less than a full time basis and for less than a school year.
    When any school district eligible for reimbursement under this Section operates a school or program approved by the State Superintendent of Education for a number of days in excess of the adopted school calendar but not to exceed 235 school days, such reimbursement shall be increased by 1/180 of the amount or rate paid hereunder for each day such school is operated in excess of 180 days per calendar year.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any school district receiving a payment under this Section or under Section 14-7.02, 14-7.02b, or 29-5 of this Code may classify all or a portion of the funds that it receives in a particular fiscal year or from evidence-based funding pursuant to Section 18-8.15 of this Code as funds received in connection with any funding program for which it is entitled to receive funds from the State in that fiscal year (including, without limitation, any funding program referenced in this Section), regardless of the source or timing of the receipt. The district may not classify more funds as funds received in connection with the funding program than the district is entitled to receive in that fiscal year for that program. Any classification by a district must be made by a resolution of its board of education. The resolution must identify the amount of any payments or evidence-based funding to be classified under this paragraph and must specify the funding program to which the funds are to be treated as received in connection therewith. This resolution is controlling as to the classification of funds referenced therein. A certified copy of the resolution must be sent to the State Superintendent of Education. The resolution shall still take effect even though a copy of the resolution has not been sent to the State Superintendent of Education in a timely manner. No classification under this paragraph by a district shall affect the total amount or timing of money the district is entitled to receive under this Code. No classification under this paragraph by a district shall in any way relieve the district from or affect any requirements that otherwise would apply with respect to that funding program, including any accounting of funds by source, reporting expenditures by original source and purpose, reporting requirements, or requirements of providing services.
    No funding shall be provided to school districts under this Section after fiscal year 2017. In fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal year thereafter, all funding received by a school district from the State pursuant to Section 18-8.15 of this Code that is attributable to personnel reimbursements for special education pupils must be used for special education services authorized under this Code.
(Source: P.A. 100-443, eff. 8-25-17; 100-465, eff. 8-31-17; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18.)

105 ILCS 5/14-14.01

    (105 ILCS 5/14-14.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-14.01)
    Sec. 14-14.01. Warrants for reimbursement. The State Comptroller shall draw his warrants on the State Treasurer on or before September 30 of each year for the respective sums for reimbursement for special education reported to him on presentation of vouchers approved by the State Superintendent of Education.
(Source: P.A. 83-729.)