Public Act 100-0465, also known as the Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act, became law on August 31, 2017. Separate funding for special education personnel along with four previous grant programs
were combined into a single grant program and distributed as evidence-based funding (EBF). ISBE has explanatory resources on the
Evidence-Based Funding webpage.
Specific state reimbursement for special education personnel has been eliminated, but the State Board of Education is required to collect full-time equivalency (FTE) of all staff employed or contracted to provide special education and related services to students with disabilities ages 3-22 under the authority of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 618. The data are used for monitoring the program and activities under IDEA.
Districts and special education joint agreements must use the
Special Education Personnel Approval
(Updated August 2024) to report staffing and FTE data in the ISBE I-Star System.
ISBE will report the following approved special education personnel to the Department of Education as of December 1 each year:
-
Special Education Teachers
- Preschool teachers, itinerant/consulting teachers, and home/hospital teachers.
- Teachers of children with disabilities (IDEA) in separate schools and facilities
-
Special Education Related Services Personnel
- Audiologists, speech-language pathologists, interpreters, psychologists occupational and physical therapists, physical education teachers and recreation and therapeutic recreation specialists, social workers, medical/nursing service staff, counselors and rehabilitation counselors, and orientation and mobility specialists.
-
Special Education Paraprofessionals defined as employees who provide instructional support, including those who:
- Provide one-on-one tutoring if such tutoring is scheduled at a time when a student would not otherwise receive instruction from a teacher
- Assist with classroom management, such as organizing instructional and other materials
- Provide instructional assistance in a computer laboratory
- Conduct parental involvement activities provide support in a library or media center
- Act as a translator
- Provide instructional support services under the direct supervision of a teacher
