Parents
Information for parents on topics including early childhood
special education, Project CHOICES, parent training, and links
to the document A Parent’s Guide – The Educational
Rights of Students with Disabilities in English and Spanish.
Interim Changes to Due
Process and Disciplinary Procedures under IDEA 2004.
- July 12, 2005.
The
New Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act
of 2004 (IDEA 2004) contains an array of significant changes
to Due Process and Discipline of students with disabilities.
Advocacy
Resources
Appropriate Procedures
for Determining Placement in the Least Restrictive Environment
- April 10, 2001. The information contained herein is
intended to reinforce the requirements of IDEA, discuss their
implications at the local level, and offer technical assistance
and training resources that educators and parents may access
to enhance their capacity to collaboratively fulfill those
requirements.
Categories for Special Education.
The Special Education Categories site includes information,
research, resources, and best practices on the following program
areas: Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Emotional Disturbance, Hearing
Impairment, Mental Retardation, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic
Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability,
Speech/Language Impairment, Speech/Language Pathology Services,
Traumatic Brain Injury, and Visual Impairment.
Choosing a Lay
Advocate in Special Education.
If you have a child with a disability, you may decide to hire
a paraprofessional or a "lay advocate" to assist
you in ensuring that your child’s educational needs are
met. These advocates, who are not attorneys, may be able to
assist with consultation, letter writing, or meetings with
schools.
Choosing
an Attorney for Special Education Representation.
If you have a child with a disability, you may find yourself
in circumstances in which you require assistance in securing
services to meet your child’s educational needs. In such
circumstances, you may turn to an attorney for assistance.
Class Size/Age Range Requirements.
Special Education Class Size/Age Range Requirements Per 23
Illinois Administrative Code 226.720 & 226.730.
Compliance Monitoring.
Special Education monitoring activities are comprised of two
types of compliance reviews: Focused and Comprehensive Compliance
Reviews.
Deaf and Visually Impaired
Directors
of Special Education
Discipline of Students with
Disabilities.
This guidance supersedes that which was provided to you in
the Special Report “Discipline of Students with Disabilities”
released in the fall of 1997 following the reauthorization
of IDEA’97.
Due Process: Resolving
Special Education Disputes. (video) This streaming
video presents vignettes of the steps in due process, beginning
with a dispute occurring at a meeting about a student’s
Individualized Education Program (IEP) and concluding with
the hearing itself.
Due Process: Special Ed
Mediation. (Video) This video demonstrates a sample
Special Education Mediation session. The program was produced
in 1986. While the program itself is dated, the information
presented is accurate and the procedures are still applicable.
Early Childhood Special Education.
ISBE offers statewide training and technical assistance through
two projects: Early CHOICES and STARNET. Library and information
services are also available to all Illinois residents through
the Early Childhood Intervention Clearinghouse.
Extended School Year Services
for Students with Disabilities - July 26, 2005
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a reminder
regarding the legal requirements related to the provision
of extended school year (ESY) services for students with disabilities.
Forms for Special Education
Individualized Education Program (IEP).
The Illinois State Board of Education's recommended Individualized
Education Program (IEP) forms packets are available in English
and Spanish versions. Click to view the language version you
prefer.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).
The LRE Clearinghouse is a resource for families and educators
on issues related to educating students with disabilities
in the regular classrooms.
Nonpublic Special Education Facilities.
Nonpublic special education facilities provide educational,
therapeutic and/or residential services to students identified
as having either severe, profound or multiple disabilities.
Parent Rights
Parent Training and Information Centers
(PTIs). Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs)
are authorized in Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) and are funded by the U. S. Department
of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Each PTI
is mandated to assist parents
Notice of Procedural Safeguards
Project CHOICES. Project
CHOICES (Children Have Opportunities in Inclusive Community
Environments and Schools) helps school districts and communities
develop and expand inclusive options for children and youth
with disabilities and provides free technical assistance and
inservice training.
Reading
- "A Child Becomes a Reader - Birth to Preschool".
This booklet offers advice for parents of children from birth
to preschool on how to support reading development at home,
and how to recognize preschool and day care activities that
start children on the road to becoming readers.
Regulations
Regarding Psychological Counseling and Mental Health Services.
This purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to
school districts to ensure that children with behavioral or
emotional disabilities (ED) are receiving all of the related
services that they need, including psychological counseling
services, as part of a free appropriate public education in
the least restrictive environment.
Secondary
Transition. This web page provides access to
a great variety of resources, tools and information related
to secondary transition including, but not limited to:
an age-appropriate transition assessment, measurable
post-school goals, transition plan development, and linkages
to web resources that cover a range of topics related
to secondary transition. The Transition Outreach Training
for Adult Living (TOTAL) Project training modules and
resources can also be accessed here.
Social
Emotional Performance Descriptors. The classroom assessments
are resources to help teachers determine local performance
expectations for the Illinois Learning Standards at each grade
level.
Students with
Disabilities in Regional Safe Schools Programs.
This memorandum is sent to clarify the responsibilities of
school districts and special education cooperatives in providing
services to students with Individual Education Programs (IEPs)
enrolled in the Regional Safe Schools Program (RSSP) and in
meeting relevant reporting requirements.
Surrogate Parents.
An Educational Surrogate Parent has the responsibility
to ensure that the school provides the student with a free,
appropriate public education.
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