Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) After
informal procedures have been exhausted, and there remain differences between
the facility and the parents or the recipient regarding the educational
component and intervention modalities aspect of the individual treatment or
habilitation plan, an impartial due process hearing may be requested.
b) Differences over issues regarding services
other than special education and intervention modalities to the recipient are
resolved according to provisions of the Code.
c) A hearing may be requested by the parents,
the recipient or the facility regarding, but not limited to, the following:
1) Objections to signing consent for a
proposed educational diagnosis or evaluation or initial educational
placement;
2) Failure of the
facility, upon request of the parents or the recipient, to provide an
educational diagnosis or evaluation;
3) Failure of a facility to consider
evaluations completed by a qualified professional outside the
facility;
4) Objection to a
proposed individual education component, either an initial plan, a continuation
of a previous plan, or a major change in the recipient's program;
5) Termination of an individual education
plan;
6) Failure of the facility to
provide an individual education plan consistent with the findings of the
educational diagnosis or evaluation and the recommendation of the staff (24
day) conference;
7) Failure of the
facility to provide or arrange for the least restrictive special education
placement appropriate to the recipient's needs;
8) Provision of special education
instructional or resource programs, in an amount insufficient to meet the
recipient's needs;
9) An exclusion
from educational services, except as provided by medical order, totaling
individually or in aggregate 10 or more school days in a given school year of a
recipient who has a special education instructional program or resource
plan;
10) An exclusion from
educational services, except as provided by medical order, totaling
individually or in aggregate 10 or more school days in a given school year of a
recipient who is eligible for a special education instructional program or
resource service but who has not been placed in such a program or provided such
a service;
11) Reasonable belief by
the parents or the recipient, that the recipient's exclusion from educational
services resulted from behavior or a condition symptomatic of an exceptional
characteristic as defined herein;
12) Recommendation for the graduation of a
recipient;
13) Failure of the
facility to comply with this Part;
14) Failure of the facility to arrange for or
provide a recipient with a free, appropriate public education.
d) The facility shall be
responsible for informing the parents, in writing, of their right to a hearing
and of the procedures to follow to make a request for such a hearing. The
facility director shall assist the parents in taking whatever action is
necessary to use the hearing process. The facility shall inform the parent of
any free or low cost legal and other relevant services available in the area if
the parent requests the information or if the parent facility initiates a
hearing.
e) A request for a hearing
shall be made, in writing, to the facility director of the facility in which
the recipient resides. Such a request shall contain the reasons the hearing is
being requested and all other information pertinent to the request.
1) A request for a hearing may be made at any
time significantly different circumstances prevail. Otherwise a hearing may not
be requested nor an appeal made more than once each calendar year.
2) Such a request shall be made in writing
within 10 days after the parents' receipt of the written notification regarding
the proposed placement. If the parents have not made a request within the
10-day period, the parents may request a hearing at a later date in accordance
with the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section.
f) Within 48 hours of the receipt of a
request for a hearing, the facility shall:
1)
Send a certified letter to the Secretary, requesting the appointment of an
impartial hearing officer. This letter shall include:
A) The name, address, and telephone number of
the recipient, and of the parents and of the person(s) making the request for
the hearing, if it is someone other than the recipient or parents;
B) The date on which the facility received
the request for the hearing;
C) The
nature of the controversy to be resolved;
D) The primary language spoken by the parents
and the recipient.
2)
Send to the person requesting the hearing, by certified mail, a copy of the
letter sent to the Secretary.
3) If
the hearing has been requested by someone other than the recipient's parents,
the parents shall be informed of the request and invited to participate in the
proceedings. Thereafter, unless the parents indicate that they do not wish to
be informed and/or involved in the hearing process, all communications from the
facility, the hearing officer, and the Secretary, and the Illinois State Board
of Education shall be directed to both the person requesting the hearing and
the parents.
g) If the
facility decides not to honor the request for a hearing, the parents of the
recipient shall be notified of this denial. Such notification shall be made, in
writing, within five days of the receipt of the request and shall contain the
reasons for the denial. A copy of the written denial shall be sent to the
Illinois State Board of Education.
1) If the
facility fails to notify the parents of their right to a hearing, as prescribed
herein, or if the request for a hearing is denied either directly or by failure
to provide such a hearing, the parent may appeal such a denial directly to the
Secretary.
2) In the event of a
direct appeal to the Secretary, the Secretary shall order that a hearing be
conducted at the local level, or order the facility to perform such other
measures as deemed necessary.