Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
Each provider seeking to become eligible to contract with
Illinois public school districts to serve students with disabilities under
Section 14-7.02 of the School Code shall be subject to the ISBE approval
process described in this Section. The provider shall be a nonpublic special
education program designed to serve students with disabilities. In accordance
with 23 Ill. Adm. Code
226.330
(Placement by School District in State-Operated or Nonpublic Special Education
Facilities), ISBE-approved nonpublic special education programs shall provide a
highly specialized option for public school districts to use when an IEP Team
determines that no less restrictive setting on the continuum of alternative
placements will meet the student's needs. ISBE approval shall be specific to
individual programs offered by a provider, and the same type of program
conducted at two separate facilities shall be treated as two separate programs
for purposes of approval. Public school districts shall not use a program not
approved in accordance with the requirements of this Part to serve students
with disabilities under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code, except for
facilities used for emergency and student-specific placements pursuant to 23
Ill. Adm. Code
226.330(g)
or (i).
a) An application for initial ISBE approval
of educational programs and/or residential programs, presented on forms
supplied by the State Superintendent and containing all the items enumerated in
this subsection (a), shall be submitted to the State Superintendent. Each
application shall include the following:
1) An
accurate, written description of each program for which ISBE approval is
requested shall include the following:
A) The
disability categories and ages of students with disabilities for whom it is
specifically intended;
B) The
purpose and scope of the provider and its specific program services;
C) The data that will be collected on the
programmatic outcomes achieved by those students, which shall reflect the
students' learning goals as described in their respective IEPs;
D) The maximum number of students the program
is intended to accommodate; and
E)
A description of the program's philosophy and methodology behind working
towards reintegrating students into the general education environment or
supporting students towards their least restrictive environment.
2) A written plan for the
administration and organization of the programs, including, but not limited to,
the following:
A) A plan for the allocation of
space solely for program purposes; and
B) An organizational chart that reflects the
provider's governance, administrative, and educational structures.
3) The provider's proposed
calendar for the program for which approval is sought. The proposed calendar
shall meet the following requirements:
A)
Regular School Year
Each provider's operating schedule shall include at least 176
days of student attendance for at least 5 instructional hours per school day
during the regular school year. Related services listed in the student's IEP
are included in meeting the instructional hour requirement. Instructional hours
shall not include lunch, passing time or recess, unless otherwise specified by
the individual student's IEP. A provider may have two full-day parent/teacher
conferences. This option reduces the required number of student days to
174.
B) Educational
Programming Outside of the Regular School Year
If programming takes place and is operated at a facility
located within Illinois, it shall consist of at least 120 hours of instruction.
Programming operated at a facility in another state may consist of fewer than
120 hours of instruction if approved by the responsible authority in that
state. This subsection (a)(3)(B) will be effective beginning with the 2020-2021
school year.
4) A
copy of one of the following inspection reports, indicating no violations:
A) the State Fire Marshal's most recent
inspection report for the facility, which shall be no more than 36 months old
at the time the application is approved;
B) if the State Fire Marshal's report is
unavailable, an inspection report for the facility from a local governmental
agency that is no more than 12 months old;
C) For an Illinois facility that is subject
to the provisions of 23 Ill. Adm. Code 180 (Health/Life Safety Code for Public
Schools), the report of the regional superintendent's most recent inspection
conducted pursuant to Section 3-14.21 of the School Code; or
D) For an out-of-state facility, equivalent,
current documentation of compliance with applicable state fire codes, or, if
there is no state fire code, the applicable local fire code, clearly
identifying the issuing authority.
5) A Statement of Assurances that requires
the signature of the facility's chief administrator acknowledging that the
program complies with the following laws and regulations (see the Application
for Nonpublic Programs, provided by ISBE):
A)
Federal Laws
i) Adam Walsh Child Protection
and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16911)
ii) Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681)
iii) Age Discrimination in Employment Act of
1967 (29 U.S.C.
621)
iv) Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C.
1400)
v) Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C.
12101)
vi) Titles IV and VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000d)
B) State Laws and Regulations
i) Administrative Hearings [5 ILCS 100 /Art.
10]
ii) Provisions of the School
Code [105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a -5,
3-14.21, 10-20.14b, 10-22.21b, 10-21.4a, 14-4.01 and 14-7.02]
iii) Illinois School Student Records Act [105
ILCS 10 ]
iv) Uniform Conviction
Information Act [20 ILCS 2635 ]
v)
Sex Offender Community Notification [730 ILCS 152 ]
vi) Certification of Information to Licensing
Agencies [305 ILCS
5/10-17.6]
vii) Illinois Murderer and Violent Offender
Against Youth Registry [730
ILCS 154/85]
viii) Illinois Human Rights Act [775 ILCS 5
]
ix) Public Works Employment
Discrimination Act [775 ILCS 10 ]
x) Public Schools Evaluation, Recognition and
Supervision (23 Ill. Adm. Code
1.30,
1.50,
1.280 and
1.285)
xi) Educator Licensure (23 Ill.
Adm. Code
25.510)
xii) Health/Life Safety Code for
Public Schools (23 Ill. Adm. Code 180)
xiii) Special Education (23 Ill. Adm. Code
226)
xiv) Contested Cases and Other
Formal Hearings (23 Ill. Adm. Code 475)
xv) Illinois Purchased Care Review Board (89
Ill. Adm. Code 900)
6) If the facility is located in Illinois and
offers a residential component, evidence of the facility's current licensure,
certification or approval by the responsible agency of Illinois government. The
requirements of this subsection (a)(6) shall apply to contractual agreements
for placements entered into on or after July 1, 2018. Nothing in this
subsection (a)(6) shall be construed to disrupt, impact or nullify current
contractual agreements for placements unless the IEP team determines another
placement is more appropriate or the student reaches an age at which the
student is no longer eligible for services under the IEP.
7) If the facility is located outside
Illinois, evidence of the facility's current licensure, certification or
approval to operate its educational and/or residential programs in the state
where it is located, including a copy of the standards or criteria used by the
responsible agency in that state. If the state in which the facility is located
does not regulate the program, the program is ineligible for ISBE approval. The
requirements of this subsection (a)(7) shall apply to contractual agreements
for placements entered into on or after July 1, 2018. Nothing in this
subsection (a)(7) shall be construed to disrupt, impact or nullify contractual
agreements for placements in effect on or before June 30, 2018. A sibling of a
student who is placed pursuant to a contractual agreement in place on or before
June 30, 2018 who is also served under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code may
be placed at the same facility after July 1, 2018 if the sibling's IEP team
determines that is the most appropriate placement.
8) For instructional programs, summary
information about all professional staff positions, and copies of the relevant
credentials of persons employed in those positions, demonstrating that the
facility has sufficient staff available who are qualified pursuant to the
requirements of Section
401.240
in order to operate the program.
9)
For instructional programs, summaries of related services provided by the
facility's professional staff or available to the provider under contract,
demonstrating that the provider has sufficient related services available to
operate the program.
10) For
programs serving students for whom behavioral interventions may be appropriate,
a description of the provider's formalized approach to the use of these
interventions, subject to the limitation stated in Section
401.140(a).
Starting with the 2019-2020 school year, providers using disciplinary or
behavioral techniques or interventions prohibited in Illinois are not eligible
for approval in Illinois, except as otherwise provided in Section 14-7.02 of
the School Code.
b) Upon
submission of an initial application for an educational or combination program,
the provider will be required to complete a scheduled nonpublic special
education orientation. The orientation shall be completed prior to a final
determination being made on the application. Providers that have completed a
compliance monitoring review that yielded no findings within the last five
years are exempt from orientation.
c) If the application is complete and the
facility is located in Illinois or within 50 miles of Illinois, ISBE staff
shall conduct an on-site review and evaluate the facility and the programs
offered for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of the application,
evaluating their compliance with the other requirements of this Part, and
recommending approval or disapproval of the programs.
1) An out-of-state program conducted more
than 50 miles outside of Illinois shall be approved without a site visit from
an Illinois representative if the following conditions are satisfied:
A) The educational program is an approved
special education program in the state where the facility is located and this
approval was granted in light of the information gathered during a site visit
by a representative of the responsible agency;
B) The residential component, if any, is
regulated by the responsible agency in the state where the facility is located;
and
C) The application provides
evidence that the requirements of Section
410.140
will be met.
2) An
out-of-state program conducted more than 50 miles outside of Illinois that was
approved in the state where the facility is located without a site visit by the
responsible agency may be visited by a representative of ISBE in order to
verify the accuracy of the application and determine whether the requirements
of this Part have been met so that Illinois approval can be
granted.
d) A program
determined to comply with this Part shall be designated as "Approved" and shall
be available to Illinois public school districts to serve students with
disabilities under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code beginning on the day the
application is approved if the other requirements of Section
401.110
of this Part have also been met. The provider operating the facility shall be
notified in writing of the date of program approval.
1) Initial approval shall end on the last day
of the program's approved calendar for the school year in question, unless
approval is changed pursuant to Section
401.30.
2) A program shall serve only the specific
student demographics described in the approved application. All program changes
or additions to disability categories or services, age range service, or
changes in location shall be approved in a manner prescribed by the State
Superintendent prior to that change or addition being made.
e) An initial application that
does not meet the requirements of this Part shall be provided with a notice of
the specific deficiencies. If the deficiencies have not been remedied in their
entirety within one year after receipt of the notice, ISBE shall deny the
provider's approval.
f) An
application for renewal of ISBE approval, consisting of all the components set
forth in subsection (a), shall be submitted for any subsequent period in which
a provider seeks to contract with Illinois public school districts to serve
students with disabilities in the facility under Section 14-7.02 of the School
Code. The submission deadline shall be the March 15 prior to the beginning of
the school year in question. If March 15 is not a business day, the deadline
shall fall on the next business day. The ISBE approval process for any
subsequent period may also involve on-site reviews, at the sole discretion of
the State Superintendent.
1) The denial of an
application for renewal of ISBE approval shall cause the program approval
status to change to "nonapproved" subject to the procedures set forth in
Section
401.30(c).
2) Renewed approval generally shall be valid
for two school years, ending on the last day of the program's approved calendar
for the second school year, unless approval is changed pursuant to Section
401.30. The first renewal of ISBE approval for a new program offered by a
provider that already operates other approved programs shall be granted for the
number of years that will place it on the cycle already established for that
provider.
