CH.
I, S.226.10
SUBTITLE
A
SUBCHAPTER
f
SUBPART
A: GENERAL
Section
226.10 Purpose
This
Part establishes the requirements for the treatment of children and the
provision of special
education
and related services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act
(“IDEA”)
[20 USC 1400 et seq.] and Article 14 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/Art.14].
The
requirements
of this Part shall apply in every instance when a child is or may be eligible
for
special
education and related services.
Section 226.50 Requirements for
a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Each
local school district shall ensure that a free appropriate public education
(FAPE) is
available
to each child with a disability who is between the ages of 3 and 21, resides
in the State
and
is enrolled in the district, and requires special education and related
services to address the
adverse
effect of the disability on his or her education. The special education
and related
services
must be provided according to the child’s individualized education program
(IEP) at no
cost
to the parent and in accordance with this Part. As public schools, charter
schools are also
bound
by these requirements, and children with disabilities who attend public
charter schools
and
their parents retain all rights under this Part.
a)
As
part of this obligation, each local district shall develop and implement
procedures
for creating public awareness of special education and related services
and
for advising the public of the rights of children with disabilities.
1)
All
such procedures shall ensure that information is made available in
each
of the major languages represented in the local school district and in
language
that will be understandable to parents, regardless of ethnic or
cultural
background or hearing or visual abilities.
2)
Procedures
developed by a district pursuant to this Section shall include,
but
need not be limited to:
A)
Annual
notification to all parents in the district regarding the
special
education services available in or through that district and
of
their right to receive a copy of this Part upon request; and
B)
An
annual dissemination of information to the community served
by
the school district regarding the special education services
available
in or through the district and the rights of children with
disabilities.
3)
Documentation,
including examples as appropriate, of the school district's
efforts
pursuant to this Section shall be maintained in the district’s files.
b)
As
part of this obligation, each local school district shall comply with the
requirements
for identifying, locating, and evaluating all children with disabilities
set
forth in Section 226.100 of this Part.
c)
A
local school district is obligated to make FAPE available to each eligible
child
no
later than the child's third birthday. (See Sections 226.110(d) and 226.260
of
this
Part.)
d)
The
special education services and placement that constitute FAPE for a
particular
child shall be identified based on the child’s unique needs and not on
the
child’s disability. These services shall address all of the child’s
identified
needs
for special education and related services.
e)
The
district shall provide nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities
in
a manner necessary to afford children with disabilities an equal opportunity
to
participate
in those services and activities.
f)
The
local school district shall ensure that no delay occurs in implementing
a
child’s
IEP, including any case in which the source of payment or provision of
services
to the child is being determined.
g)
No
eligible child from three through 21 years of age may be permanently
excluded
from the public schools, either by direct action by the board of
education,
by indication of the district's inability to provide an educational
program,
or by informal agreement between the parents and the school district to
allow
the child to remain without an educational program.
1)
A
public agency need not provide services during periods of removal to a
child
with a disability who has been removed from his or her current
placement
for ten school days or fewer in that school year, if services are
not
provided to a child without disabilities who has been similarly
removed.
An eligible child who has been suspended or expelled from
school
for more than ten school days during the school year must continue
to
receive services necessary to enable the child to appropriately progress
in
the general curriculum and appropriately advance toward achieving the
goals
set out in the child’s IEP.
2)
In
providing FAPE to children with disabilities who have been suspended
or
expelled from school, a school district shall meet the requirements set
forth
in Subpart E of this Part.
h)
Transfer
Students
1)
If
a child who is receiving special education from a local school district
transfers
to another district, the new district is responsible for ensuring
FAPE
by providing special education and related services in conformity
with
an IEP. When a transfer student is presented for enrollment, the
district
shall enroll and initiate educational services to the student
immediately. The new school
district shall ensure that the child has an
IEP
in effect.
A)
The
district may adopt the IEP that the former local school district
developed
for the child. Such adoption does not require an IEP
meeting
if:
i)
a
copy of the child’s current IEP is available;
ii)
the
parents indicate satisfaction with the current IEP; and
iii)
the
new district determines that the current IEP is
appropriate
and can be implemented as written.
B)
A
district that cannot fully implement an IEP from a student’s
former
district shall note in the IEP the services to be provided and
shall
explain what is being done to secure the remaining services,
resources,
or other unfulfilled portions of the IEP and how long
those
actions are expected to take.
C)
The
district may develop a new IEP for the child if the school
district
or the parents do not believe the current IEP is appropriate.
In
such a case, the district shall, within ten days after the date of
the
child’s enrollment, initiate an IEP meeting for the purpose of
developing
the new IEP. While the new IEP is under
development,
the district shall implement the IEP from the former
district.
2)
If
the new school district does not receive a copy of the child’s current
IEP
or
a verbal confirmation of the requirements of that IEP from the previous
school
district when the child is presented for enrollment, the child shall
be
enrolled and served in the setting that the receiving district believes
will
meet the child’s needs until a copy of the current IEP is obtained or
a
new
IEP is developed by the school district.
A)
In
no case shall a child be allowed to remain without services
during
this interim.
B)
The
new district shall request the student’s records from the
sending
district or school by the end of the next business day after
the
date of enrollment.
C)
No
later than ten days after expiration of the time allotted under
Section
2-3.13a of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/2-3.13a] for the
sending
district or school to forward the child’s records, the new
district
shall initiate an IEP meeting for the purpose of developing
a
new IEP, unless the sending district’s or school’s IEP arrives
before
this time elapses and the conditions set forth in subsection
(h)(1)(A)
of this Section apply.
i)
Jurisdictional
Disputes
Each
school district is responsible for ensuring that no eligible child for
whom
services
are sought is denied FAPE due to jurisdictional disputes among Illinois
agencies.
Provision of FAPE to such a student shall not preclude a district from
seeking
repayment for costs incurred from any other school district or entity that
is
determined responsible for such costs.
j)
Nothing
in this Part relieves any participating agency of the responsibility for
providing
or paying for any services the agency would otherwise provide to
students
with disabilities who meet the eligibility criteria of that agency.
k)
Eligibility;
Graduation or Completion of Program
1)
An
eligible student who requires continued public school educational
experience
to facilitate his or her integration into society shall be eligible
for
such services through age 21.
2)
Students
who reach age 21 during a school year shall be allowed to
complete
that year.
3)
The
provision of FAPE is not required with respect to a student with a
disability
who has graduated with a regular high school diploma or its
equivalent.
4)
A
student with a disability who has satisfactorily completed a secondary
program
shall be granted a regular high school diploma. At least one year
prior
to a student’s anticipated graduation, both the parent and the student
shall
receive written notification in conformance with the requirements of
Section
226.520(b) of this Part that eligibility for public school special
education
services ends following the granting of a diploma and that the
parent
(or the student, if Section 226.690 of this Part applies) may request
a
review of the recommendation for graduation.
5)
Students
who have graduated but have not been awarded regular high
school
diplomas continue to be eligible to receive FAPE through age 21.
l)
Exception
for Certain Students Incarcerated as Adults
Pursuant
to 34 CFR 300.311, the right to receive FAPE does not extend to
students
from 18 through 21 years of age who are incarcerated and who were not
identified
as eligible and did not have IEPs in their educational placements
immediately
prior to incarceration.
Section 226.60 Charter Schools
For
purposes of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and this Part,
charter schools
established
pursuant to Article 27A of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/Art.27A] shall be
treated
either
as schools within school districts or as local educational agencies in
their own right.
a)
When
a school’s charter is issued by a local board of education pursuant to
Section
27A-8 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/27A-8], that charter school shall
be
considered as a school within the district over which that board of education
exercises
jurisdiction.
b)
When
a school’s charter is issued by the State Board of Education pursuant
to
Section
27A-9(f) of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/27A-9(f)], that charter school
shall
be considered as a local educational agency.
Section
226.75 Definitions
Assistive
Technology Device: Any item, piece of equipment, or product system,
whether
acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is
used
to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child
with a
disability.
Behavioral
Intervention: An intervention based on the methods and empirical
findings
of behavioral science and designed to influence a child’s actions or
behaviors
positively.
Case
Study Evaluation: See “Evaluation”.
Cultural
Identification: Identifying the family’s general cultural factors, such
as
ethnicity
and language spoken, that may have an impact on the design of the case
study
evaluation procedures used.
Date
of Referral: The date on which written parental consent to complete an
evaluation
is obtained or provided.
Day:
A calendar day, unless otherwise indicated as “business day” or “school
day”.
Business
Day: Monday through Friday, except for federal and State
holidays
(unless holidays are specifically included in the designation of
business
days, as at 34 CFR 300.403(d)(1)(ii)).
School
Day: Any day, including a partial day, during the regular school
year
that students are in attendance at school for instructional purposes.
Developmental
Delay: Delay in physical development, cognitive development,
communication
development, social or emotional development, or adaptive
development
(may include children from three through five years of age).
Disability:
Any of the following specific conditions.
Autism:
A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and
nonverbal
communication and social interaction, generally evident before
age
three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. (A
child
who manifests the characteristics of autism after age 3 could be
diagnosed
as having autism if the other criteria of this Section are
satisfied.)
Other characteristics often associated with autism are
engagement
in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance
to
environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual
responses
to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a child’s
educational
performance is adversely affected primarily because the child
has
an emotional disturbance.
Deaf-Blindness:
Concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the
combination
of which causes such severe communication and other
developmental
and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated
in
special education programs solely for children with deafness or children
with
blindness.
Deafness:
A hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is
impaired
in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or
without
amplification, that adversely affects a child’s educational
performance.
Emotional
Disturbance (includes schizophrenia, but does not apply to
children
who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they
have
an emotional disturbance): A condition exhibiting one or more of
the
following characteristics over an extended period of time and to a
marked
degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
An
inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual,
sensory,
or health factors;
An
inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal
relationships
with peers and teachers;
Inappropriate
types of behavior or feelings under normal
circumstances;
A
general pervasive mood of anxiety or unhappiness or depression;
or
A
tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with
personal
or school problems.
Hearing
Impairment: An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or
fluctuating,
that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but
that
is not included under the definition of deafness.
Mental
Retardation: Significantly subaverage general intellectual
functioning,
existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and
manifested
during the developmental period, that adversely affects a
child’s
educational performance.
Multiple
Disabilities: Concomitant impairments (such as mental
retardation-blindness,
mental retardation-orthopedic impairment, etc.), the
combination
of which causes such severe educational needs that they
cannot
be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of
the
impairments (does not include deaf-blindness).
Orthopedic
Impairment: A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely
affects
a child’s educational performance; includes impairments caused by
congenital
anomaly (e.g., clubfoot, absence of some member, etc.),
impairments
caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis,
etc.),
and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy,
amputations,
and fractures or burns that cause contractures).
Other
Health Impairment: Limited strength, vitality or alertness,
including
a heightened sensitivity to environmental stimuli, that results in
limited
alertness with respect to the educational environment, that:
is
due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma,
attention
deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
diabetes,
epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning,
leukemia,
nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia; and
adversely
affects a child’s educational performance.
Specific
Learning Disability: A DISORDER IN ONE OR MORE OF
THE
BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IN
UNDERSTANDING
OR IN USING LANGUAGE, SPOKEN OR
WRITTEN,
THAT MAY MANIFEST ITSELF IN AN IMPERFECT
ABILITY
TO LISTEN, THINK, SPEAK, READ, WRITE, SPELL, OR
DO
MATHEMATICAL CALCULATIONS, INCLUDING SUCH
CONDITIONS
AS PERCEPTUAL DISABILITIES, BRAIN INJURY,
MINIMAL
BRAIN DYSFUNCTION, DYSLEXIA, AND
DEVELOPMENTAL
APHASIA. (THE TERM DOES NOT INCLUDE
LEARNING
PROBLEMS THAT ARE PRIMARILY THE RESULT OF
VISUAL,
HEARING, OR MOTOR DISABILITIES, OF MENTAL
RETARDATION,
OF EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE, OR OF
ENVIRONMENTAL,
CULTURAL, OR ECONOMIC
DISADVANTAGE.)
[105 ILCS 5/14-1.03(a)]
Speech
or Language Impairment: A communication disorder, such as
stuttering,
impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice
impairment,
that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Traumatic
Brain Injury: An acquired injury to the brain caused by an
external
physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or
psychosocial
impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s
educational
performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries
resulting
in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition;
language;
memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment;
problem-solving;
sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial
behavior;
physical functions; information processing; and speech. The
term
does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative or
to
brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
Visual
Impairment: An impairment in vision that, even with correction,
adversely
affects a child’s educational performance (includes both partial
sight
and blindness).
Domain:
An aspect of a child’s functioning or performance that must be
considered
in the course of designing an evaluation. The domains are health,
vision,
hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic
performance,
communication status, and motor abilities.
Educational
Performance: A student’s academic achievement and ability to
establish
and maintain social relationships and to experience a sound emotional
development
in the school environment.
Eligible:
Identified in accordance with this Part as having any of the disabilities
defined
in this Section and needing special education and related services.
Equipment
(a programmatic definition, not intended to coincide with the
definition
of “equipment” given in the Program Accounting Manual at 23 Ill.
Adm.
Code 110.120):
Machinery,
utilities, and built-in equipment and any necessary enclosures
or
structures to house the machinery, utilities, or equipment; and
All
other items necessary for the functioning of a particular facility as a
facility
for the provision of educational services, including items such as
instructional
equipment and necessary furniture; printed, published and
audio-visual
instructional materials; telecommunications, sensory, and
other
technological aids and devices; and books, periodicals, documents,
and
other related materials.
Evaluation:
A series of procedures designed to provide information about a
child’s
suspected disability; the nature and extent of the problems that are or
will
be
adversely affecting his/her educational development; and the type of
intervention
and assistance needed to alleviate these problems.
Extended
School Year Services: Special education and related services that are
provided
to a child with a disability beyond the normal school year of the public
agency
in accordance with the child’s IEP and at no cost to the parents of the
child
and meet the requirements of Section 226.750(c) of this Part.
Functional
Behavioral Assessment: An assessment process for gathering
information
regarding the target behavior, its antecedents and consequences,
controlling
variables, the student’s strengths, and the communicative and
functional
intent of the behavior, for use in developing behavioral interventions.
General
Curriculum: The curriculum adopted and/or used by a local school
district
or by the schools within a district for nondisabled students; the content
of
the
program, as opposed to the setting in which it is offered.
IEP
Team: The group of individuals enumerated in Section 226.210 of this Part,
except
that in three instances the team shall be expanded to include any other
qualified
professionals whose expertise is necessary to administer and interpret
evaluation
data and make an informed determination as to whether the child needs
special
education and related services (i.e., when identifying the specific
assessments
required in order to evaluate a child’s individual needs; when
determining
whether the child is eligible pursuant to this Part; and when
conducting
a Manifestation Determination Review).
Independent
Educational Evaluation: An evaluation conducted by a qualified
examiner
who is not employed by the school district responsible for the education
of
the child in question. (See Section 226.180 of this Part.)
Individualized
Education Program (IEP): A written statement for a child with a
disability
that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting in accordance
with
Subpart C of this Part.
Individualized
Family Service Plan (IFSP): A written plan for providing the early
intervention
services to a child eligible under 34 CFR 303 and the child’s family.
Interim
Plan: A portion of an IEP that identifies the services that will be provided
as
a temporary measure, either when the child’s complete IEP cannot be
implemented
or when the parents and the district have only agreed to a portion of
the
services that will be needed, and that sets out the specific conditions
and
timelines
to which both the parents and the district have agreed.
Least
Restrictive Environment (LRE): The setting that permits a child to be
educated
with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate. (See
Section
226.240(c) of this Part.)
Parent:
A natural or adoptive parent of a child; a guardian but not the State if
the
child
is a ward of the State; a person acting in the place of a parent of a child
(such
as a grandparent or stepparent with whom a child lives); a person who is
legally
responsible for a child’s welfare, or a surrogate parent who has been
appointed
in accordance with Section 226.550 of this Part. A foster parent is a
“parent”
when the natural parent’s authority to make educational decisions on
the
child’s
behalf has been extinguished under State law and the foster parent has
an
ongoing,
long-term parental relationship with the child, is willing to make the
educational
decisions required of parents under IDEA, and has no interest that
would
conflict with the interests of the child.
Participating
Agency: A State or local agency, other than the local school district,
that
is or may be legally responsible for providing or funding services to a
student
who
is eligible under this Part.
Personally
Identifiable (with reference to information): Including the name of the
child,
the child's parent, or other family member; the address of the child; a
personal
identifier, such as the child's Social Security number or student number;
or
a list of personal characteristics or other information that
would
make it possible to identify the child with reasonable certainty.
Qualified
Personnel: Staff members or other individuals who hold the certificate,
license,
registration, or credential that is required for the performance of a
particular
task.
Qualified
Bilingual Specialist: An individual who holds the qualifications
described
in Section 226.800(f) of this Part.
Qualified
Specialist: An individual who holds the applicable qualifications
described
in Subpart I of this Part.
Referral:
A formal procedure established by a school district which involves a
request
for a case study evaluation.
Related
Services: Transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other
supportive
services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit
from
special education, including speech-language pathology and audiology
services,
psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation
(including
therapeutic recreation), early identification and assessment of
disabilities
in children, counseling services (including rehabilitation counseling),
orientation
and mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic or
evaluation
purposes; also including school health services, social work services in
schools,
and parent counseling and training. (See Section 226.310 of this Part.)
Related
services do not include those performed by licensed physicians or dentists
(except
for diagnostic or evaluative services or consultation to staff), registered
or
licensed
practical nurses (except when functioning as school nurses), or other
medical
personnel involved in the provision of ongoing medical care.
Special
Education: Specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to
meet
the unique needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted
in
the classroom, in the home, in hospitals, in institutions, and in other
settings,
and
including instruction in physical education.
Special
School: An educational setting which is established by the local school
district
exclusively to meet the needs of eligible children.
Student
Record: See Section 2 of the Illinois School Student Records Act [105
ILCS
10/2].
Supplementary
Aids and Services: Aids, services, and other supports that are
provided
in regular education classes or other education-related settings to enable
children
with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the
maximum
extent appropriate.
Transition
Services: A coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability
that:
Is
designed within an outcome-oriented process, that promotes movement
from
school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education,
employment),
continuing and adult education, adult services, independent
living,
or community participation;
Is
based on the individual student’s needs, taking into account the
student’s
preferences and interests; and
Includes
instruction, related services, community experiences, the
development
of employment and other post-school adult living objectives,
and,
if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional
vocational
evaluation.
(Source:
Amended at 27 Ill. Reg. 8126, effective April 28, 2003)
Section
226.100 Child Find Responsibility
a)
Each
school district shall be responsible for actively seeking out and identifying
all
children from birth through age 21 within the district, including children
not
enrolled
in the public schools, who may be eligible for special education and
related
services. Procedures developed to fulfill this responsibility shall include:
1)
An
annual screening of children under the age of five for the purpose of
identifying
those who may need early intervention or special education
and
related services.
2)
Ongoing
review of each child’s performance and progress by teachers and
other
professional personnel, in order to refer those children who exhibit
problems
which interfere with their educational progress and/or their
adjustment
to the educational setting, suggesting that they may be eligible
for
special education and related services.
3)
Ongoing
coordination with early intervention programs to identify
children
from birth through two years of age who have or are suspected of
having
disabilities, in order to ensure provision of services in accordance
with
applicable timelines.
A)
Each
local school district shall participate in transition planning
conferences
arranged by the designated lead agency under 20 USC
1437(a)(8)
in order to develop a transition plan enabling the public
school
to implement an IFSP or IEP no later than the third birthday
of
each eligible child.
B)
A
child is considered “referred” to a school district when he or she
is
identified in writing by staff of an early intervention program
pursuant
to 34 CFR 303. Such a referral is effective no later than
60
school days prior to the child’s third birthday, regardless of the
date
on which the notification takes place. (See Section 226.260 of
this
Part.)
4)
Coordination
and consultation with nonpublic schools located within the
district
that results in child find activities comparable to those affecting
students
in the public schools. Costs of child find and evaluation activities
may
not be considered as part of the expenditures used by the district to
meet
its obligation under 34 CFR 300.453(a).