(105 ILCS 5/14-8.02) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.02)

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 103-197)

Sec. 14-8.02. Identification, evaluation, and placement of children.

(a) The State Board of Education shall make rules under which local school
boards shall determine the eligibility of children to receive special
education. Such rules shall ensure that a free appropriate public
education be available to all children with disabilities as
defined in
Section 14-1.02. The State Board of Education shall require local school
districts to administer non-discriminatory procedures or tests to
English learners coming from homes in which a language
other than English is used to determine their eligibility to receive special
education.  The placement of low English proficiency students in special
education programs and facilities shall be made in accordance with the test
results reflecting the student's linguistic, cultural and special education
needs.   For purposes of determining the eligibility of children the State
Board of Education shall include in the rules definitions of "case study",
"staff conference", "individualized educational program", and "qualified
specialist" appropriate to each category of children with
disabilities as defined in
this Article. For purposes of determining the eligibility of children from
homes in which a language other than English is used, the State Board of
Education shall include in the rules
definitions for "qualified bilingual specialists" and "linguistically and
culturally appropriate individualized educational programs". For purposes of this
Section, as well as Sections 14-8.02a, 14-8.02b, and 14-8.02c of this Code,
"parent" means a parent as defined in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(23)).

(b) No child shall be eligible for special education facilities except
with a carefully completed case study fully reviewed by professional
personnel in a multidisciplinary staff conference and only upon the
recommendation of qualified specialists or a qualified bilingual specialist, if
available. At the conclusion of the multidisciplinary staff conference, the
parent of the child and, if the child is in the legal custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department's Office of Education and Transition Services shall be given a copy of the multidisciplinary
conference summary report and recommendations, which includes options
considered, and, in the case of the parent, be informed of his or her right to obtain an independent educational
evaluation if he or she disagrees with the evaluation findings conducted or obtained
by the school district. If the school district's evaluation is shown to be
inappropriate, the school district shall reimburse the parent for the cost of
the independent evaluation. The State Board of Education shall, with advice
from the State Advisory Council on Education of Children with
Disabilities on the
inclusion of specific independent educational evaluators, prepare a list of
suggested independent educational evaluators. The State Board of Education
shall include on the list clinical psychologists licensed pursuant to the
Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act.  Such psychologists shall not be paid fees
in excess of the amount that would be received by a school psychologist for
performing the same services. The State Board of Education shall supply school
districts with such list and make the list available to parents at their
request. School districts shall make the list available to parents at the time
they are informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
evaluation. However, the school district may initiate an impartial
due process hearing under this Section within 5 days of any written parent
 request for an independent educational evaluation to show that
its evaluation is appropriate. If the final decision is that the evaluation
is appropriate, the parent still has a right to an independent educational
evaluation, but not at public expense. An independent educational
evaluation at public expense must be completed within 30 days of a parent
 written request unless the school district initiates an
impartial due process hearing or the parent or school district
offers reasonable grounds to show that such 30-day time period should be
extended. If the due process hearing decision indicates that the parent is entitled to an independent educational evaluation, it must be
completed within 30 days of the decision unless the parent or
the school district offers reasonable grounds to show that such 30-day
period should be extended. If a parent disagrees with the summary report or
recommendations of the multidisciplinary conference or the findings of any
educational evaluation which results therefrom, the school
district shall not proceed with a placement based upon such evaluation and
the child shall remain in his or her regular classroom setting.
No child shall be eligible for admission to a
special class for children with a mental disability who are educable or for children with a mental disability who are trainable except with a psychological evaluation
and
recommendation by a school psychologist.  Consent shall be obtained from
the parent of a child before any evaluation is conducted.
If consent is not given by the parent or if the parent disagrees with the findings of the evaluation, then the school
district may initiate an impartial due process hearing under this Section.
The school district may evaluate the child if that is the decision
resulting from the impartial due process hearing and the decision is not
appealed or if the decision is affirmed on appeal.
The determination of eligibility shall be made and the IEP meeting shall be completed within 60 school days
from the date of written parental consent.  In those instances when written parental consent is obtained with fewer than 60 pupil attendance days left in the school year,
the eligibility determination shall be made   and the IEP meeting shall be completed prior to the first day of the
following school year. Special education and related services must be provided in accordance with the student's IEP no later than 10 school attendance days after notice is provided to the parents pursuant to Section 300.503 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations and implementing rules adopted by the State Board of Education.  The appropriate
program pursuant to the individualized educational program of students
whose native tongue is a language other than English shall reflect the
special education, cultural and linguistic needs.  No later than September
1, 1993, the State Board of Education shall establish standards for the
development, implementation and monitoring of appropriate bilingual special
individualized educational programs.  The State Board of Education shall
further incorporate appropriate monitoring procedures to verify implementation
of these standards.  The district shall indicate to the parent, the State Board of Education, and, if applicable, the Department's Office of Education and Transition Services the nature of the services the child will receive
for the regular school term while awaiting placement in the appropriate special
education class. At the child's initial IEP meeting and at each annual review meeting, the child's IEP team shall provide the child's parent or guardian and, if applicable, the Department's Office of Education and Transition Services with a written notification that informs the parent or guardian or the Department's Office of Education and Transition Services that the IEP team is required to consider whether the child requires assistive technology in order to receive free, appropriate public education. The notification must also include a toll-free telephone number and internet address for the State's assistive technology program.

If the child is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired or has an orthopedic impairment or physical disability and
he or she might be eligible to receive services from the Illinois School for
the Deaf, the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, or the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education-Roosevelt, the school
district shall notify the parents, in writing, of the existence of
these schools
and the services
they provide and shall make a reasonable effort to inform the parents of the existence of other, local schools that provide similar services and the services that these other schools provide.  This notification
shall
include without limitation information on school services, school
admissions criteria, and school contact information.

In the development of the individualized education program for a student who has a disability on the autism spectrum (which includes autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett Syndrome, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV, 2000)), the IEP team shall consider all of the following factors:

        (1) The verbal and nonverbal communication needs of the child.
        (2) The need to develop social interaction skills and proficiencies.
        (3) The needs resulting from the child's unusual responses to sensory experiences.
        (4) The needs resulting from resistance to environmental change or change in daily

routines.

(5) The needs resulting from engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped

movements.

(6) The need for any positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports to

address any behavioral difficulties resulting from autism spectrum disorder.

(7) Other needs resulting from the child's disability that impact progress in the

general curriculum, including social and emotional development.

Public Act 95-257
 does not create any new entitlement to a service, program, or benefit, but must not affect any entitlement to a service, program, or benefit created by any other law.

If the student may be eligible to participate in the Home-Based Support
Services Program for Adults with Mental Disabilities authorized under the
Developmental Disability and Mental Disability Services Act upon becoming an
adult, the student's individualized education program shall include plans for
(i) determining the student's eligibility for those home-based services, (ii)
enrolling the student in the program of home-based services, and (iii)
developing a plan for the student's most effective use of the home-based
services after the student becomes an adult and no longer receives special
educational services under this Article.  The plans developed under this
paragraph shall include specific actions to be taken by specified individuals,
agencies, or officials.

(c) In the development of the individualized education program for a
student who is functionally blind, it shall be presumed that proficiency in
Braille reading and writing is essential for the student's satisfactory
educational progress.  For purposes of this subsection, the State Board of
Education shall determine the criteria for a student to be classified as
functionally blind.  Students who are not currently identified as
functionally blind who are also entitled to Braille instruction include:
(i) those whose vision loss is so severe that they are unable to read and
write at a level comparable to their peers solely through the use of
vision, and (ii) those who show evidence of progressive vision loss that
may result in functional blindness.  Each student who is functionally blind
shall be entitled to Braille reading and writing instruction that is
sufficient to enable the student to communicate with the same level of
proficiency as other students of comparable ability.  Instruction should be
provided to the extent that the student is physically and cognitively able
to use Braille.  Braille instruction may be used in combination with other
special education services appropriate to the student's educational needs.
The assessment of each student who is functionally blind for the purpose of
developing the student's individualized education program shall include
documentation of the student's strengths and weaknesses in Braille skills.
Each person assisting in the development of the individualized education
program for a student who is functionally blind shall receive information
describing the benefits of Braille instruction.  The individualized
education program for each student who is functionally blind shall
specify the appropriate learning medium or media based on the assessment
report.

(d) To the maximum extent appropriate, the placement shall provide the
child with the opportunity to be educated with children who do not have a disability; provided that children with
disabilities who  are recommended to be
placed into regular education classrooms are provided with supplementary
services to assist the children with disabilities to benefit
from the regular
classroom instruction and are included on the teacher's regular education class
register.  Subject to the limitation of the preceding sentence, placement in
special classes, separate schools or other removal of the child with a disability
from the regular educational environment shall occur only when the nature of
the severity of the disability is such that education in the
regular classes with
the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
The placement of English learners with disabilities shall
be in non-restrictive environments which provide for integration with
 peers who do not have disabilities in bilingual classrooms. Annually, each January, school districts shall report data on students from non-English
speaking backgrounds receiving special education and related services in
public and private facilities as prescribed in Section 2-3.30.  If there
is a disagreement between parties involved regarding the special education
placement of any child, either in-state or out-of-state, the placement is
subject to impartial due process procedures described in Article 10 of the
Rules and Regulations to Govern the Administration and Operation of Special
Education.

(e) No child who comes from a home in which a language other than English
is the principal language used may be assigned to any class or program
under this Article until he has been given, in the principal language
used by the child and used in his home, tests reasonably related to his
cultural environment. All testing and evaluation materials and procedures
utilized for evaluation and placement shall not be linguistically, racially or
culturally discriminatory.

(f) Nothing in this Article shall be construed to require any child to
undergo any physical examination or medical treatment whose parents object thereto on the grounds that such examination or
treatment conflicts with his religious beliefs.

(g) School boards or their designee shall provide to the parents of a child or, if applicable, the Department of Children and Family Services' Office of Education and Transition Services prior written notice of any decision (a) proposing
to initiate or change, or (b) refusing to initiate or change, the
identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child or the
provision of a free appropriate public education to their child, and the
reasons therefor.  For a parent, such written notification shall also inform the
parent of the opportunity to present complaints with respect
to any matter relating to the educational placement of the student, or
the provision of a free appropriate public education and to have an
impartial due process hearing on the complaint.  The notice shall inform
the parents in the parents' native language,
unless it is clearly not feasible to do so, of their rights and all
procedures available pursuant to this Act and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-446); it
shall be the responsibility of the State Superintendent to develop
uniform notices setting forth the procedures available under this Act
and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-446) to be used by all school boards.  The notice
shall also inform the parents of the availability upon
request of a list of free or low-cost legal and other relevant services
available locally to assist parents in initiating an
impartial due process hearing. The State Superintendent shall revise the uniform notices required by this subsection (g) to reflect current law and procedures at least once every 2 years.  Any parent who is deaf or
does not normally communicate using spoken English and who participates in
a meeting with a representative of a local educational agency for the
purposes of developing an individualized educational program or attends a multidisciplinary conference shall be
entitled to the services of an interpreter. The State Board of Education must adopt rules to establish the criteria, standards, and competencies for a bilingual language interpreter who attends an individualized education program meeting under this subsection  to assist a parent who has limited English proficiency.

(g-5) For purposes of this subsection (g-5), "qualified professional" means an individual who holds credentials to evaluate the child in the domain or domains for which an evaluation is sought or an intern working under the direct supervision of a qualified professional, including a master's or doctoral degree candidate.

To ensure that a parent can participate fully and effectively with school personnel in the development of appropriate educational and related services for his or her child, the parent, an independent educational evaluator, or a qualified professional retained by or on behalf of a parent or child must be afforded reasonable access to educational facilities, personnel, classrooms, and buildings and to the child as provided in this subsection (g-5). The requirements of this subsection (g-5) apply to any public school facility, building, or program and to any facility, building, or program supported in whole or in part by public funds. Prior to visiting a school, school building, or school facility, the parent, independent educational evaluator, or qualified professional may be required by the school district to inform the building principal or supervisor in writing of the proposed visit, the purpose of the visit, and the approximate duration of the visit.  The visitor and the school district shall arrange the visit or visits at times that are mutually agreeable.  Visitors shall comply with school safety, security, and visitation policies at all times. School district visitation policies must not conflict with this subsection (g-5).  Visitors shall be required to comply with the requirements of applicable privacy laws, including those laws protecting the confidentiality of education records such as the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Illinois School Student Records Act.  The visitor shall not disrupt the educational process.

(1) A parent must be afforded reasonable access of sufficient duration and scope for the

purpose of observing his or her child in the child's current educational placement, services, or program or for the purpose of visiting an educational placement or program proposed for the child.

(2) An independent educational evaluator or a qualified professional retained by or on

behalf of a parent or child must be afforded reasonable access of sufficient duration and scope for the purpose of conducting an evaluation of the child, the child's performance, the child's current educational program, placement, services, or environment, or any educational program, placement, services, or environment proposed for the child, including interviews of educational personnel, child observations, assessments, tests or assessments of  the child's educational program, services, or placement or of any proposed educational program, services, or placement.  If one or more interviews of school personnel are part of the evaluation, the interviews must be conducted at a mutually agreed upon time, date, and place that do not interfere with the school employee's school duties. The school district may limit interviews to personnel having information relevant to the child's current educational services, program, or placement or to a proposed educational service, program, or placement.

(Source: P.A. 101-124, eff. 1-1-20; 102-199, eff. 7-1-22; 102-264, eff. 8-6-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-1072, eff. 6-10-22.)

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-197)