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RTO Reduction Plan

​New documents for RTO reduction plans for Special Education Cooperative​​​s
 and Nonpublic Special Education Facilities

An RTO reduction plan is due for all special education cooperatives and nonpublic special education facilities on or before October 15, 2024.
The due date to submit an exemption form is August 15, 2024. ISBE will respond to your exemption to let you know if your entity or cooperative qualifies for an exemption no later than August 30, 2024. If your entity or cooperative does not qualify for an exemption you must submit an RTO reduction plan.
The due date to submit an application to use an alternative goal is August 15, 2024. ISBE will respond to your alternative goal application no later than August 30, 2024.​

RTO Reduction Plan Documents for School Districts
Physical Restraint, Time Out and Isolated Time Out Reduction Plans Due by July 1, 2024

As required by 23 IAC Section 1.285 of the School Code, the Illinois State Board of Education collects data from public school districts, special education cooperatives, and nonpublic special education entities regarding the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint. The State Superintendent reserves the authority to require districts to submit the information required under subsection (f)(1) for previous school years.  The historical data included in this summary report​PDF Document was collected from the 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 school years.

Incident Type School Year 2018-19 Total School Year 2019-20 Total
School Year 2020-21 Total
Students with Incidents 3403 4447 2610
Incidents
35847 28092 19006
Timeouts
17393
11772 4274
Timeout Minutes 469978.3
323453.9 154562
Average Minutes Per Timeout 29
29 36
Restraints 20757 17693 14732
Restraint Minutes 193206.8 151029.9 209396
Average Minutes Per Restraint 10 9 14
Danger To Self 12515 11361 9428
Danger To Staff
24217 20644 15746
Danger to Students 10952 10176 4432
No Danger Identified 4347 2327 89

*The three-year historical data does not include information on the individual student, such as name, age, race, gender, IDEA and/or EL eligibility. On August 4, 2020, all school districts, special education cooperatives, and nonpublic special educational entities have two days to submit incidences of isolated time out, time out and physical restraint into the Student Information System (SIS) using the Physical Restraint and Time Out formPDF Document.

Prepared by the Data Analysis and Progress Reporting Division, Illinois State Board of Education, November 2020.

Disclaimer: The Illinois State Board of Education (hereinafter referred to as ISBE) is committed to providing all stakeholders with the most accurate information regarding the use of time out, isolated time out, and physical restraint across Illinois. ISBE began collecting reports of incidents of time out and restraint within two school days of each occurrence on November 20, 2019, pursuant to Illinois Administrative Code 23 IAC 1.28. ISBE further strengthened the quality of this reporting by moving the collection into the Student Information System on Aug. 4, 2020. Prior to ISBE instituting this reporting, local school districts, special education cooperatives and nonpublic facilities did not have a uniform system to report these occurrences to ISBE nor did they have a collective understanding of the definitions for the use of time out, isolated time out and physical restraint; therefore, ISBE cannot attest to the accuracy of the data collected from these entities before August 4, 2020. Additionally, there are a number of local school districts, special education cooperatives, and nonpublic facilities that are not included in this release of data as the release would interfere with active administrative enforcement proceedings conducted by ISBE.

Restraint, time out, isolated time out (RTO) complaint process

The State RTO complaint and investigation process is a procedure where a person submits a signed, written complaint alleging that the school district has violated one or more of the restraint and/or time out regulations found in 23 IAC 1.285.

Any parent or guardian, individual, organization, or advocate may file a signed written complaint with the State Superintendent alleging that a school district or other entity serving the child has violated 23 IAC 1.285. The complaint shall only be considered for review if it alleges a violation not more than one (1) year prior to the date in which the complaint is received.

PLEASE CLICK HERE IF YOU REQUIRE ASSISTANCE WITH FILING A STATE RTO COMPLAINT.​​​​​​​

Correspondence that will NOT be investigated through RTO Complaint process

  • ​​​​Allegations of RTO misuse that the person refuses to put in writing or sign, despite offers of assistance in preparing the complaint.
  • Inquiries that seek advice and clarification regarding parental rights but which make it clear that no official action is to be taken.
  • Anonymous correspondence.
  • Courtesy copies of correspondence directed to another entity.
  • Allegations that are not violations of the restraint/time out regulations (i.e. personnel issues, Section 504 issues, special education issues, harassment, etc.)

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