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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||
4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 14-8.02 as
follows:
| ||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.02)
| ||||||
7 | Sec. 14-8.02. Identification, Evaluation and Placement of | ||||||
8 | Children.
| ||||||
9 | (a) The State Board of Education shall make rules under | ||||||
10 | which local school
boards shall determine the eligibility of | ||||||
11 | children to receive special
education. Such rules shall ensure | ||||||
12 | that a free appropriate public
education be available to all | ||||||
13 | children with disabilities as
defined in
Section 14-1.02. The | ||||||
14 | State Board of Education shall require local school
districts | ||||||
15 | to administer non-discriminatory procedures or tests to
| ||||||
16 | limited English proficiency students coming from homes in which | ||||||
17 | a language
other than English is used to determine their | ||||||
18 | eligibility to receive special
education. The placement of low | ||||||
19 | English proficiency students in special
education programs and | ||||||
20 | facilities shall be made in accordance with the test
results | ||||||
21 | reflecting the student's linguistic, cultural and special | ||||||
22 | education
needs. For purposes of determining the eligibility of | ||||||
23 | children the State
Board of Education shall include in the | ||||||
24 | rules definitions of "case study",
"staff conference", | ||||||
25 | "individualized educational program", and "qualified
| ||||||
26 | specialist" appropriate to each category of children with
| ||||||
27 | disabilities as defined in
this Article. For purposes of | ||||||
28 | determining the eligibility of children from
homes in which a | ||||||
29 | language other than English is used, the State Board of
| ||||||
30 | Education, no later than September 1, 1993, shall include in | ||||||
31 | the rules
definitions for "qualified bilingual specialists" | ||||||
32 | and "linguistically and
culturally appropriate individualized |
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| |||||||
1 | educational programs". In this
Section, "parent" includes a | ||||||
2 | foster parent.
| ||||||
3 | (b) No child shall be eligible for special education | ||||||
4 | facilities except
with a carefully completed case study fully | ||||||
5 | reviewed by professional
personnel in a multidisciplinary | ||||||
6 | staff conference and only upon the
recommendation of qualified | ||||||
7 | specialists or a qualified bilingual specialist, if
available. | ||||||
8 | At the conclusion of the multidisciplinary staff conference, | ||||||
9 | the
parent or guardian of the child shall be given a copy of | ||||||
10 | the multidisciplinary
conference summary report and | ||||||
11 | recommendations, which includes options
considered, and be | ||||||
12 | informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
| ||||||
13 | evaluation if they disagree with the evaluation findings | ||||||
14 | conducted or obtained
by the school district. If the school | ||||||
15 | district's evaluation is shown to be
inappropriate, the school | ||||||
16 | district shall reimburse the parent for the cost of
the | ||||||
17 | independent evaluation. The State Board of Education shall, | ||||||
18 | with advice
from the State Advisory Council on Education of | ||||||
19 | Children with
Disabilities on the
inclusion of specific | ||||||
20 | independent educational evaluators, prepare a list of
| ||||||
21 | suggested independent educational evaluators. The State Board | ||||||
22 | of Education
shall include on the list clinical psychologists | ||||||
23 | licensed pursuant to the
Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act. | ||||||
24 | Such psychologists shall not be paid fees
in excess of the | ||||||
25 | amount that would be received by a school psychologist for
| ||||||
26 | performing the same services. The State Board of Education | ||||||
27 | shall supply school
districts with such list and make the list | ||||||
28 | available to parents at their
request. School districts shall | ||||||
29 | make the list available to parents at the time
they are | ||||||
30 | informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
| ||||||
31 | evaluation. However, the school district may initiate an | ||||||
32 | impartial
due process hearing under this Section within 5 days | ||||||
33 | of any written parent
or guardian request for an independent | ||||||
34 | educational evaluation to show that
its evaluation is | ||||||
35 | appropriate. If the final decision is that the evaluation
is | ||||||
36 | appropriate, the parent still has a right to an independent |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | educational
evaluation, but not at public expense. An | ||||||
2 | independent educational
evaluation at public expense must be | ||||||
3 | completed within 30 days of a parent
or guardian written | ||||||
4 | request unless the school district initiates an
impartial due | ||||||
5 | process hearing or the parent or guardian or school district
| ||||||
6 | offers reasonable grounds to show that such 30 day time period | ||||||
7 | should be
extended. If the due process hearing decision | ||||||
8 | indicates that the parent or
guardian is entitled to an | ||||||
9 | independent educational evaluation, it must be
completed | ||||||
10 | within 30 days of the decision unless the parent or guardian or
| ||||||
11 | the school district offers reasonable grounds to show that such | ||||||
12 | 30 day
period should be extended. If a parent disagrees with | ||||||
13 | the summary report or
recommendations of the multidisciplinary | ||||||
14 | conference or the findings of any
educational evaluation which | ||||||
15 | results therefrom, the school
district shall not proceed with a | ||||||
16 | placement based upon such evaluation and
the child shall remain | ||||||
17 | in his or her regular classroom setting.
No child shall be | ||||||
18 | eligible for admission to a
special class for the educable | ||||||
19 | mentally disabled or for the
trainable
mentally disabled except | ||||||
20 | with a psychological evaluation
and
recommendation by a school | ||||||
21 | psychologist. Consent shall be obtained from
the parent or | ||||||
22 | guardian of a child before any evaluation is conducted.
If | ||||||
23 | consent is not given by the parent or guardian or if the parent | ||||||
24 | or
guardian disagrees with the findings of the evaluation, then | ||||||
25 | the school
district may initiate an impartial due process | ||||||
26 | hearing under this Section.
The school district may evaluate | ||||||
27 | the child if that is the decision
resulting from the impartial | ||||||
28 | due process hearing and the decision is not
appealed or if the | ||||||
29 | decision is affirmed on appeal.
The determination of | ||||||
30 | eligibility shall be made within 60 school days
from the date | ||||||
31 | of referral by school authorities for evaluation by the
| ||||||
32 | district or date of application for admittance by the parent or | ||||||
33 | guardian
of the child. In those instances when students are | ||||||
34 | referred for
evaluation with fewer than 60 pupil attendance | ||||||
35 | days left in the school year,
the eligibility determination | ||||||
36 | shall be made prior to the first day of the
following school |
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| |||||||
1 | year. After a child has been determined to be eligible for a
| ||||||
2 | special education class, such child must be placed in the | ||||||
3 | appropriate
program pursuant to the individualized educational | ||||||
4 | program by or no
later than the beginning of the next school | ||||||
5 | semester. The appropriate
program pursuant to the | ||||||
6 | individualized educational program of students
whose native | ||||||
7 | tongue is a language other than English shall reflect the
| ||||||
8 | special education, cultural and linguistic needs. No later than | ||||||
9 | September
1, 1993, the State Board of Education shall establish | ||||||
10 | standards for the
development, implementation and monitoring | ||||||
11 | of appropriate bilingual special
individualized educational | ||||||
12 | programs. The State Board of Education shall
further | ||||||
13 | incorporate appropriate monitoring procedures to verify | ||||||
14 | implementation
of these standards. The district shall indicate | ||||||
15 | to the parent or guardian and
the State Board of Education the | ||||||
16 | nature of the services the child will receive
for the regular | ||||||
17 | school term while waiting placement in the appropriate special
| ||||||
18 | education class.
| ||||||
19 | If the child is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually | ||||||
20 | impaired and
he or she might be eligible to receive services | ||||||
21 | from the Illinois School for
the Deaf or the Illinois School | ||||||
22 | for the Visually Impaired, the school
district shall notify the | ||||||
23 | parents or guardian, in writing, of the existence of
these | ||||||
24 | schools
and the services
they provide and shall make a | ||||||
25 | reasonable effort to inform the parents or guardian of the | ||||||
26 | existence of other, local schools that provide similar services | ||||||
27 | and the services that these other schools provide . This | ||||||
28 | notification
shall
include without limitation information on | ||||||
29 | school services, school
admissions criteria, and school | ||||||
30 | contact information.
| ||||||
31 | If the student may be eligible to participate in the | ||||||
32 | Home-Based Support
Services Program for Mentally Disabled | ||||||
33 | Adults authorized under the
Developmental Disability and | ||||||
34 | Mental Disability Services Act upon becoming an
adult, the | ||||||
35 | student's individualized education program shall include plans | ||||||
36 | for
(i) determining the student's eligibility for those |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | home-based services, (ii)
enrolling the student in the program | ||||||
2 | of home-based services, and (iii)
developing a plan for the | ||||||
3 | student's most effective use of the home-based
services after | ||||||
4 | the student becomes an adult and no longer receives special
| ||||||
5 | educational services under this Article. The plans developed | ||||||
6 | under this
paragraph shall include specific actions to be taken | ||||||
7 | by specified individuals,
agencies, or officials.
| ||||||
8 | (c) In the development of the individualized education | ||||||
9 | program for a
student who is functionally blind, it shall be | ||||||
10 | presumed that proficiency in
Braille reading and writing is | ||||||
11 | essential for the student's satisfactory
educational progress. | ||||||
12 | For purposes of this subsection, the State Board of
Education | ||||||
13 | shall determine the criteria for a student to be classified as
| ||||||
14 | functionally blind. Students who are not currently identified | ||||||
15 | as
functionally blind who are also entitled to Braille | ||||||
16 | instruction include:
(i) those whose vision loss is so severe | ||||||
17 | that they are unable to read and
write at a level comparable to | ||||||
18 | their peers solely through the use of
vision, and (ii) those | ||||||
19 | who show evidence of progressive vision loss that
may result in | ||||||
20 | functional blindness. Each student who is functionally blind
| ||||||
21 | shall be entitled to Braille reading and writing instruction | ||||||
22 | that is
sufficient to enable the student to communicate with | ||||||
23 | the same level of
proficiency as other students of comparable | ||||||
24 | ability. Instruction should be
provided to the extent that the | ||||||
25 | student is physically and cognitively able
to use Braille. | ||||||
26 | Braille instruction may be used in combination with other
| ||||||
27 | special education services appropriate to the student's | ||||||
28 | educational needs.
The assessment of each student who is | ||||||
29 | functionally blind for the purpose of
developing the student's | ||||||
30 | individualized education program shall include
documentation | ||||||
31 | of the student's strengths and weaknesses in Braille skills.
| ||||||
32 | Each person assisting in the development of the individualized | ||||||
33 | education
program for a student who is functionally blind shall | ||||||
34 | receive information
describing the benefits of Braille | ||||||
35 | instruction. The individualized
education program for each | ||||||
36 | student who is functionally blind shall
specify the appropriate |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | learning medium or media based on the assessment
report.
| ||||||
2 | (d) To the maximum extent appropriate, the placement shall | ||||||
3 | provide the
child with the opportunity to be educated with | ||||||
4 | children who are not
disabled; provided that children with
| ||||||
5 | disabilities who are recommended to be
placed into regular | ||||||
6 | education classrooms are provided with supplementary
services | ||||||
7 | to assist the children with disabilities to benefit
from the | ||||||
8 | regular
classroom instruction and are included on the teacher's | ||||||
9 | regular education class
register. Subject to the limitation of | ||||||
10 | the preceding sentence, placement in
special classes, separate | ||||||
11 | schools or other removal of the disabled child
from the regular | ||||||
12 | educational environment shall occur only when the nature of
the | ||||||
13 | severity of the disability is such that education in the
| ||||||
14 | regular classes with
the use of supplementary aids and services | ||||||
15 | cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
The placement of limited | ||||||
16 | English proficiency students with disabilities shall
be in | ||||||
17 | non-restrictive environments which provide for integration | ||||||
18 | with
non-disabled peers in bilingual classrooms. By January | ||||||
19 | 1993 and annually
thereafter, school districts shall report | ||||||
20 | data on students from non-English
speaking backgrounds | ||||||
21 | receiving special education and related services in
public and | ||||||
22 | private facilities as prescribed in Section 2-3.30. If there
is | ||||||
23 | a disagreement between parties involved regarding the special | ||||||
24 | education
placement of any child, either in-state or | ||||||
25 | out-of-state, the placement is
subject to impartial due process | ||||||
26 | procedures described in Article 10 of the
Rules and Regulations | ||||||
27 | to Govern the Administration and Operation of Special
| ||||||
28 | Education.
| ||||||
29 | (e) No child who comes from a home in which a language | ||||||
30 | other than English
is the principal language used may be | ||||||
31 | assigned to any class or program
under this Article until he | ||||||
32 | has been given, in the principal language
used by the child and | ||||||
33 | used in his home, tests reasonably related to his
cultural | ||||||
34 | environment. All testing and evaluation materials and | ||||||
35 | procedures
utilized for evaluation and placement shall not be | ||||||
36 | linguistically, racially or
culturally discriminatory.
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| |||||||
1 | (f) Nothing in this Article shall be construed to require | ||||||
2 | any child to
undergo any physical examination or medical | ||||||
3 | treatment whose parents or
guardian object thereto on the | ||||||
4 | grounds that such examination or
treatment conflicts with his | ||||||
5 | religious beliefs.
| ||||||
6 | (g) School boards or their designee shall provide to the | ||||||
7 | parents or
guardian of a child prior written notice of any | ||||||
8 | decision (a) proposing
to initiate or change, or (b) refusing | ||||||
9 | to initiate or change, the
identification, evaluation, or | ||||||
10 | educational placement of the child or the
provision of a free | ||||||
11 | appropriate public education to their child, and the
reasons | ||||||
12 | therefor. Such written notification shall also inform the
| ||||||
13 | parent or guardian of the opportunity to present complaints | ||||||
14 | with respect
to any matter relating to the educational | ||||||
15 | placement of the student, or
the provision of a free | ||||||
16 | appropriate public education and to have an
impartial due | ||||||
17 | process hearing on the complaint. The notice shall inform
the | ||||||
18 | parents or guardian in the parents' or guardian's native | ||||||
19 | language,
unless it is clearly not feasible to do so, of their | ||||||
20 | rights and all
procedures available pursuant to this Act and | ||||||
21 | federal law 94-142; it
shall be the responsibility of the State | ||||||
22 | Superintendent to develop
uniform notices setting forth the | ||||||
23 | procedures available under this Act
and federal law 94-142 to | ||||||
24 | be used by all school boards. The notice
shall also inform the | ||||||
25 | parents or guardian of the availability upon
request of a list | ||||||
26 | of free or low-cost legal and other relevant services
available | ||||||
27 | locally to assist parents or guardians in initiating an
| ||||||
28 | impartial due process hearing. Any parent or guardian who is | ||||||
29 | deaf, or
does not normally communicate using spoken English, | ||||||
30 | who participates in
a meeting with a representative of a local | ||||||
31 | educational agency for the
purposes of developing an | ||||||
32 | individualized educational program shall be
entitled to the | ||||||
33 | services of an interpreter.
| ||||||
34 | (h) A Level I due process hearing, hereinafter
referred as | ||||||
35 | the hearing, shall be conducted upon the request
of the parents | ||||||
36 | or guardian or local school board by an impartial
hearing |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | officer appointed as follows: If the request is made through
| ||||||
2 | the local school district, within 5 school days of receipt of | ||||||
3 | the
request, the local school district shall forward the | ||||||
4 | request to the
State Superintendent. Within 5 days after | ||||||
5 | receiving this request of
hearing, the State Board of Education | ||||||
6 | shall provide a list of 5
prospective, impartial hearing | ||||||
7 | officers. The State Board of Education,
by rule or regulation, | ||||||
8 | shall establish criteria for determining which persons
can be | ||||||
9 | included on such a list of prospective hearing officers. No one
| ||||||
10 | on the list may be a resident of the school district. No more | ||||||
11 | than 2 of the 5
prospective hearing officers shall be gainfully | ||||||
12 | employed by or administratively
connected with any school | ||||||
13 | district, or any joint agreement or cooperative
program in | ||||||
14 | which school districts participate. In addition, no more than 2 | ||||||
15 | of
the 5 prospective hearing officers shall be gainfully | ||||||
16 | employed by or
administratively connected with private | ||||||
17 | providers of special education
services. The State Board of | ||||||
18 | Education shall actively recruit applicants for
hearing | ||||||
19 | officer positions. The board and the parents or guardian or | ||||||
20 | their legal
representatives within 5 days shall alternately | ||||||
21 | strike one name from the list
until only one name remains. The | ||||||
22 | parents or guardian shall have the right to
proceed first with | ||||||
23 | the striking. The per diem allowance for the hearing officer
| ||||||
24 | shall be established and paid by the State Board of Education. | ||||||
25 | The hearing
shall be closed to the public except that the | ||||||
26 | parents or guardian may require
that the hearing be public. The | ||||||
27 | hearing officer shall not be an employee of the
school | ||||||
28 | district, an employee in any joint agreement or cooperative | ||||||
29 | program in
which the district participates, or any other agency | ||||||
30 | or organization that is
directly involved in the diagnosis, | ||||||
31 | education or care of the student or the
State Board of | ||||||
32 | Education. All impartial hearing officers shall be adequately
| ||||||
33 | trained in federal and state law, rules and regulations and | ||||||
34 | case law regarding
special education. The State Board of | ||||||
35 | Education shall use resources from within
and outside the | ||||||
36 | agency for the purposes of conducting this training. The
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | impartial hearing officer shall have the authority to require | ||||||
2 | additional
information or evidence where he or she deems it | ||||||
3 | necessary to make a complete
record and may order an | ||||||
4 | independent evaluation of the child, the cost of said
| ||||||
5 | evaluation to be paid by the local school district. Such | ||||||
6 | hearing shall not be
considered adversary in nature, but shall | ||||||
7 | be directed toward bringing out all
facts necessary for the | ||||||
8 | impartial hearing officer to render an informed
decision. The | ||||||
9 | State Board of Education shall, with the advice and approval of
| ||||||
10 | the Advisory Council on Education of Children with
| ||||||
11 | Disabilities, promulgate rules and
regulations to establish | ||||||
12 | the qualifications of the hearing officers and the
rules and | ||||||
13 | procedure for such hearings. The school district shall present
| ||||||
14 | evidence that the special education needs of the child have | ||||||
15 | been appropriately
identified and that the special education | ||||||
16 | program and related services proposed
to meet the needs of the | ||||||
17 | child are adequate, appropriate and available. Any
party to the | ||||||
18 | hearing shall have the right to: (a) be represented by counsel | ||||||
19 | and
be accompanied and advised by individuals with special | ||||||
20 | knowledge or training
with respect to the problems of
children | ||||||
21 | with disabilities at the party's own expense; (b) present | ||||||
22 | evidence
and confront
and cross-examine witnesses; (c) | ||||||
23 | prohibit the introduction of any
evidence at the hearing that | ||||||
24 | has not been disclosed to that party at
least 5 days before the | ||||||
25 | hearing; (d) obtain a written or electronic
verbatim record of | ||||||
26 | the hearing; (e) obtain written findings of fact and
a written | ||||||
27 | decision. The student shall be allowed to attend the hearing
| ||||||
28 | unless the hearing officer finds that attendance is not in the | ||||||
29 | child's
best interest or detrimental to the child. The hearing | ||||||
30 | officer shall
specify in the findings the reasons for denying | ||||||
31 | attendance by the student.
The hearing officer, or the State | ||||||
32 | Superintendent in connection with State
level hearings, may | ||||||
33 | subpoena and compel the attendance of witnesses and
the | ||||||
34 | production of evidence reasonably necessary to the resolution | ||||||
35 | of the
hearing. The subpoena may be issued upon request of any | ||||||
36 | party. The State
Board of Education and the school board shall |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | share equally the costs of
providing a written or electronic | ||||||
2 | record of the proceedings. Such record
shall be transcribed and | ||||||
3 | transmitted to the State Superintendent no later
than 10 days | ||||||
4 | after receipt of notice of appeal. The hearing
officer shall | ||||||
5 | render a decision and shall submit a copy of the findings
of | ||||||
6 | fact and decision to the parent or guardian and to the local | ||||||
7 | school
board within 10 school days after the conclusion of the | ||||||
8 | hearing. The hearing
officer may continue the hearing in order | ||||||
9 | to obtain additional information,
and, at the conclusion of the | ||||||
10 | hearing, shall issue a decision based on the
record which | ||||||
11 | specifies the special education and related services which
| ||||||
12 | shall be provided to the child in accordance with the child's | ||||||
13 | needs.
The hearing officer's decision shall be binding upon the | ||||||
14 | local school board
and the parent unless such decision is | ||||||
15 | appealed pursuant to the
provisions of this Section.
| ||||||
16 | (i) Any party aggrieved by the decision may appeal the | ||||||
17 | hearing officer's
decision to the State Board of Education and | ||||||
18 | shall serve copies
of the notice of such appeal on the State | ||||||
19 | Superintendent and on all other
parties. The review referred to | ||||||
20 | in this Section shall be known as the
Level II review. The | ||||||
21 | State Board
of Education shall provide a list of 5 prospective, | ||||||
22 | impartial reviewing
officers. No reviewing officer shall be an | ||||||
23 | employee of the State Board of
Education or gainfully employed | ||||||
24 | by or administratively connected with the
school district, | ||||||
25 | joint agreement or cooperative program which is a party
to this | ||||||
26 | review. Each person on the list shall be accredited by a | ||||||
27 | national
arbitration organization. The per diem allowance for | ||||||
28 | the review officers
shall be paid by the State Board of | ||||||
29 | Education and may not exceed $250. All
reviewing officers on | ||||||
30 | the list provided by the State Board of Education
shall be | ||||||
31 | trained in federal and state law, rules and regulations and | ||||||
32 | case
law regarding special education. The State Board of | ||||||
33 | Education shall use
resources from within and outside the | ||||||
34 | agency for the purposes of conducting
this training. No one on | ||||||
35 | the list may be a resident of the
school district. The board | ||||||
36 | and the parents or guardian or other legal
representatives |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | within 5 days shall alternately strike one name from the
list | ||||||
2 | until only one name remains. The parents or guardian shall have | ||||||
3 | the
right to proceed first with the striking. The reviewing | ||||||
4 | officer so
selected shall conduct an impartial review of the | ||||||
5 | Level I
hearing and may issue subpoenas requiring the | ||||||
6 | attendance of witnesses at
such review. The parties to the | ||||||
7 | appeal shall be afforded the opportunity to
present oral | ||||||
8 | argument and additional evidence at the review. Upon completion | ||||||
9 | of
the review the reviewing officer shall render a decision and | ||||||
10 | shall provide a
copy of the decision to all parties.
| ||||||
11 | (j) No later than 30 days after receipt of notice of | ||||||
12 | appeal,
a final decision shall be reached and a copy mailed to | ||||||
13 | each of the parties.
A reviewing officer may grant specific | ||||||
14 | extensions of time beyond the 30-day
deadline at the request of | ||||||
15 | either party. If a Level II hearing is
convened the final | ||||||
16 | decision of a Level II hearing officer shall occur no
more than | ||||||
17 | 30 days following receipt of a notice of appeal, unless an
| ||||||
18 | extension of time is granted by the hearing officer at the | ||||||
19 | request of
either party. The State Board of Education shall | ||||||
20 | establish rules and
regulations delineating the standards to be | ||||||
21 | used in determining whether the
reviewing officer shall grant | ||||||
22 | such extensions. Each hearing and each review
involving oral | ||||||
23 | argument must be conducted at a time and place which are
| ||||||
24 | reasonably convenient to the parents and the child involved.
| ||||||
25 | (k) Any party aggrieved by the decision of the reviewing | ||||||
26 | officer, including
the parent or guardian, shall have the right | ||||||
27 | to bring a civil action with
respect to the complaint presented | ||||||
28 | pursuant to this Section, which action may
be brought in any | ||||||
29 | circuit court of competent jurisdiction within 120 days after
a | ||||||
30 | copy of the decision is mailed to the party as provided in | ||||||
31 | subsection (j).
The civil action provided above shall not be | ||||||
32 | exclusive of any rights or causes
of action otherwise | ||||||
33 | available. The commencement of a civil action under
subsection | ||||||
34 | (k) of this Section shall operate as a supersedeas. In any | ||||||
35 | action
brought under this Section the court shall receive the | ||||||
36 | records of the
administrative proceedings, shall hear |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | additional evidence at the request of a
party, and basing its | ||||||
2 | decision on the preponderance of the
evidence shall grant such | ||||||
3 | relief as the court determines is appropriate.
In any instance | ||||||
4 | where a school district willfully disregards applicable
| ||||||
5 | regulations or statutes regarding a child covered by this | ||||||
6 | Article, and which
disregard has been detrimental to the child, | ||||||
7 | the school district shall be
liable for any reasonable | ||||||
8 | attorney's fees incurred by the parent or guardian
in | ||||||
9 | connection with proceedings under this Section.
| ||||||
10 | (l) During the pendency of any proceedings conducted | ||||||
11 | pursuant to this
Section, unless the State Superintendent of | ||||||
12 | Education, or the school
district and the parents or guardian | ||||||
13 | otherwise agree, the student shall
remain in the then current | ||||||
14 | educational placement of such student, or if
applying for | ||||||
15 | initial admission to the school district, shall, with the
| ||||||
16 | consent of the parents or guardian, be placed in the school | ||||||
17 | district
program until all such proceedings have been | ||||||
18 | completed. The costs for any
special education and related | ||||||
19 | services or placement incurred following 60
school days after | ||||||
20 | the initial request for evaluation shall be borne by
the school | ||||||
21 | district if such services or placement are in accordance with
| ||||||
22 | the final determination as to the special education and related | ||||||
23 | services
or placement which must be provided to the child, | ||||||
24 | provided however that
in said 60 day period there have been no | ||||||
25 | delays caused by the child's parent
or guardian.
| ||||||
26 | (m) Whenever (i) the parents or guardian of a child of the | ||||||
27 | type
described in
Section 14-1.02 are not known or are | ||||||
28 | unavailable
or (ii) the child is a ward of
the State
residing | ||||||
29 | in a residential facility, a person
shall be assigned to serve | ||||||
30 | as surrogate parent for the child in matters
relating to the | ||||||
31 | identification, evaluation, and educational placement of
the | ||||||
32 | child and the provision of a free appropriate public education | ||||||
33 | to
the child. Surrogate parents shall be assigned by the State
| ||||||
34 | Superintendent of Education. The State Board of Education shall
| ||||||
35 | promulgate rules and regulations establishing qualifications | ||||||
36 | of such
persons and their responsibilities and the procedures |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | to be followed in
making such assignments. Such surrogate | ||||||
2 | parents shall not be employees of the
school district, an | ||||||
3 | agency created by joint agreement under Section
10-22.31, an | ||||||
4 | agency involved in the education or care of the student, or
the | ||||||
5 | State Board of Education.
For a child who is a ward of the | ||||||
6 | State residing in a residential facility,
the
surrogate
parent | ||||||
7 | may be an employee of a nonpublic agency that provides only
| ||||||
8 | non-educational
care.
Services of any person assigned as | ||||||
9 | surrogate
parent shall terminate if the parent or guardian | ||||||
10 | becomes available
unless otherwise requested by the parents or | ||||||
11 | guardian. The assignment
of a person as surrogate parent at no | ||||||
12 | time supersedes, terminates, or
suspends the parents' or | ||||||
13 | guardian's legal authority relative to the
child. Any person | ||||||
14 | participating in good faith as surrogate parent on behalf
of | ||||||
15 | the child before school officials or a hearing officer shall | ||||||
16 | have
immunity from civil or criminal liability that otherwise | ||||||
17 | might result by
reason of such participation, except in cases | ||||||
18 | of willful and wanton
misconduct.
| ||||||
19 | (n) At all stages of the hearing the hearing officer shall | ||||||
20 | require that
interpreters be made available by the local school | ||||||
21 | district for persons who
are deaf or for persons whose normally | ||||||
22 | spoken language is other than English.
| ||||||
23 | (o) Whenever a person refuses to comply with any subpoena | ||||||
24 | issued under
this Section, the circuit court of the county in | ||||||
25 | which such hearing is
pending, on application of the State | ||||||
26 | Superintendent of Education or the
party who requested issuance | ||||||
27 | of the subpoena may compel obedience by
attachment proceedings | ||||||
28 | as for contempt, as in a case of disobedience of the
| ||||||
29 | requirements of a subpoena from such court for refusal to | ||||||
30 | testify therein.
| ||||||
31 | (Source: P.A. 93-282, eff. 7-22-03.)
| ||||||
32 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
33 | becoming law. |