Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
SBE approved programs that serve students with disabilities
under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code, whether located in Illinois or out of
state, shall be evaluated periodically by the State Board of Education. The
evaluation may take place for any reason, with or without prior notice to the
provider, and at the sole discretion of the State Board of Education and may
involve an on-site review. The evaluation shall result in either retention of
approved status or assignment of one of the following statuses:
a) A status of "Approved with Administrative
Review" shall be assigned when an instance of noncompliance by an approved
program is first identified during a school year and the State Superintendent
determines that that noncompliance does not substantially affect the safety of,
or provision of appropriate education to, the students enrolled. The State
Superintendent shall outline each area of noncompliance in a written report
with the corrective actions and timeline required to remedy each area. The
provider shall have 80 business days to remedy all areas of noncompliance.
1) Every 20 business days after notification
that it is approved with administrative review (up to the 80 business day
timeframe for this status), an affected provider shall file with the State
Superintendent a progress report describing actions taken to correct the
instances of noncompliance identified.
2) If the State Superintendent determines
that the provider has corrected the instances of noncompliance within the time
allotted, the program's "Approved" status shall be restored.
3) If the State Superintendent determines
that the provider has failed to correct the instances of noncompliance within
the time allotted, a status of "Pending Further Review" shall be assigned to
the program. A provider that is subject to the requirements of this Part shall
not accept a new student from a public school district into a program whose
status is "Pending Further Review". Upon notification of the "Pending Further
Review" status, a public school district shall not make new placements into
those programs and shall identify alternative arrangements for the students, or
were recurrent instances of minor noncompliance, in the event that the State
Superintendent notifies the district that the violations are not
remedied.
b) A status of
"Pending Further Review" shall be assigned whenever a program is determined to
be in noncompliance with one or more requirements of this Part that may
substantially affect the safety of or provision of appropriate education to
students but that does not constitute imminent danger, or exhibits recurrent
instances of minor noncompliance. The provider shall have 40 business days to
remedy the noncompliance.
1) No more than 10
business days after receipt of notification from the State Superintendent of
Education that program approval status is pending further review, an affected
provider shall submit a written report to the State Superintendent describing
its plans for correcting the noncompliance identified and the actions taken to
correct it. Every 10 business days thereafter, an affected provider shall file
with the State Superintendent a progress report describing the actions taken to
correct the instances of noncompliance or the expiration of the 40 business day
timeline.
2) If the provider
demonstrates that it has corrected all instances of noncompliance within the
time allotted, its "Approved" status shall be restored.
3) If the provider has corrected the
instances of noncompliance that may substantially affect the safety or the
provision of appropriate education to students, or were recurrent instances of
minor noncompliance, but has not remedied other instances of noncompliance, its
status must be changed to "Approved with Administrative Review".
4) If the provider fails to demonstrate
within the time allotted that it has corrected the instances of noncompliance
that may substantially affect the safety or the provision of appropriate
education to students, its status shall be changed to "Nonapproved". If the
State Superintendent determines the provider is demonstrating progress toward
correcting instances of noncompliance that may substantially affect the safety
of or the provision of appropriate education to students, and any continued
instances of noncompliance do not constitute imminent danger, then the provider
will be assigned a subsequent status of "Pending Further Review". If the
provider exhibits recurring instances of documented noncompliance, its status
shall be changed to "Nonapproved".
5) A provider that is subject to the
requirements of this Part shall not accept any new students from public school
districts into any program whose status is "Pending Further Review". Upon
notification of the designation of "Pending Further Review" status, a public
school district shall not make a new placement into those programs and it shall
identify alternative arrangements for its students in the program, for
implementation in the event that the State Superintendent notifies the district
that the violations are not remedied.
c) A status of "Nonapproved" shall be
assigned to a program or programs previously assigned a status of "Approved
with Administrative Review" or "Pending Further Review" when the nonpublic
facility or any of its programs exhibits substantial and/or recurrent instances
of noncompliance, showing that the provider is consistently unable to meet the
approval requirements of this Part. A program may be determined "Nonapproved"
without previously having been assigned a status of "Approved with
Administrative Review" or "Pending Further Review," if any instances of
noncompliance that present imminent danger to the students exist or if the
State Superintendent verifies that the provider has unilaterally and
intentionally ceased providing appropriate education pursuant to a public
school district's contracts and one or more students' IEPs.
1) A status of "Nonapproved" voids the
provider's eligibility to contract with Illinois public school districts to
serve students and receive funds under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code in
the nonapproved programs for the remainder of the school year.
2) Providers shall be given 10 business days'
notice by the State Superintendent before nonapproval becomes effective, unless
imminent danger to students precludes that notice. The State Superintendent
shall also give 10 business days' notice to affected public school districts to
enable them to implement other arrangements prior to the effective date of
nonapproval, as required.
3) The
provider of any previously approved program placed on nonapproved status shall
be afforded an opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act [ 5 ILCS 100 ] and the State Board of Education's
rules for Contested Cases and Other Formal Hearings (23 Ill. Adm. Code 475).
Unless the State Superintendent identifies that the reasons for nonapproved
status are a danger to student health or safety, a request for a hearing shall
stay the effect of the change in status and the program shall remain at the
last assigned status prior to nonapproval pending the outcome of the
hearing.
d) Any provider
whose license or approval to operate a residential program is revoked shall
immediately have its residential programs nonapproved and will be ineligible to
provide residential services to students under Section 14-7.02 of the School
Code. An admissions hold placed on a residential program by the residential
program's licensing agent will constitute a reciprocal admissions hold barring
public school districts from making new placements to that provider
residentially.
e) Any out-of-state
provider whose license or approval to operate a program is revoked by the
responsible authority in the state where its facility is located shall
immediately have its affected programs nonapproved and will be ineligible to
contract with Illinois public school districts to serve students under Section
14-7.02 of the School Code. An admissions hold placed on a residential program
by the residential program's licensing agent will constitute a reciprocal
admissions hold barring public school districts from making new placements with
that provider educationally.
f)
Nonapproval of a program during a school year shall be cause for termination of
all the provider's contracts with Illinois public school districts for that
program, and the provider shall be ineligible to contract with Illinois public
school districts for the nonapproved program.
