Public Act 103-0197
HB3680 EnrolledLRB103 30463 RJT 56896 b HB3680 Enrolled LRB103 30463 RJT 56896 b
HB3680 Enrolled LRB103 30463 RJT 56896 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
14-8.02 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/14-8.02) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.02)
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
HB3680 Enrolled LRB103 30463 RJT 56896 b
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.
(h) In the development of the individualized education
program or federal Section 504 plan for a student, if the
student needs extra accommodation during emergencies,
including natural disasters or an active shooter situation,
then that accommodation shall be taken into account when
developing the student's individualized education program or
federal Section 504 plan.
(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.)
Section 10. The School Safety Drill Act is amended by
changing Section 20 as follows:
(105 ILCS 128/20)
Sec. 20. Number of drills; incidents covered; local
authority participation.
(a) During each academic year, schools must conduct a
minimum of 3 school evacuation drills to address and prepare
students and school personnel for fire incidents. These drills
must meet all of the following criteria:
(1) One of the 3 school evacuation drills shall
require the participation of the appropriate local fire
department or district.
(A) Each local fire department or fire district
must contact the appropriate school administrator or
his or her designee no later than September 1 of each
year in order to arrange for the participation of the
department or district in the school evacuation drill.
(B) Each school administrator or his or her
designee must contact the responding local fire
official no later than September 15 of each year and
propose to the local fire official 4 dates within the
month of October, during at least 2 different weeks of
October, on which the drill shall occur. The fire
official may choose any of the 4 available dates, and
if he or she does so, the drill shall occur on that
date.
(C) The school administrator or his or her
designee and the local fire official may also, by
mutual agreement, set any other date for the drill,
including a date outside of the month of October.
(D) If the fire official does not select one of the
4 offered dates in October or set another date by
mutual agreement, the requirement that the school
include the local fire service in one of its mandatory
school evacuation drills shall be waived. Schools,
however, shall continue to be strongly encouraged to
include the fire service in a school evacuation drill
at a mutually agreed-upon time.
(E) Upon the participation of the local fire
service, the appropriate local fire official shall
certify that the school evacuation drill was
conducted.
(F) When scheduling the school evacuation drill,
the school administrator or his or her designee and
the local fire department or fire district may, by
mutual agreement on or before September 14, choose to
waive the provisions of subparagraphs (B), (C), and
(D) of this paragraph (1).
Additional school evacuation drills for fire incidents
may involve the participation of the appropriate local
fire department or district.
(2) Schools may conduct additional school evacuation
drills to account for other evacuation incidents,
including without limitation suspicious items or bomb
threats.
(3) All drills shall be conducted at each school
building that houses school children.
(b) During each academic year, schools must conduct a
minimum of one bus evacuation drill. This drill shall be
accounted for in the curriculum in all public schools and in
all other educational institutions in this State that are
supported or maintained, in whole or in part, by public funds
and that provide instruction in any of the grades kindergarten
through 12. This curriculum shall include instruction in safe
bus riding practices for all students. Schools may conduct
additional bus evacuation drills. All drills shall be
conducted at each school building that houses school children.
(b-5) Notwithstanding the minimum requirements established
by this Act, private schools that do not utilize a bus to
transport students for any purpose are exempt from subsection
(b) of this Section, provided that the chief school
administrator of the private school provides written assurance
to the State Board of Education that the private school does
not plan to utilize a bus to transport students for any purpose
during the current academic year. The assurance must be made
on a form supplied by the State Board of Education and filed no
later than October 15. If a private school utilizes a bus to
transport students for any purpose during an academic year
when an assurance pursuant to this subsection (b-5) has been
filed with the State Board of Education, the private school
shall immediately notify the State Board of Education and
comply with subsection (b) of this Section no later than 30
calendar days after utilization of the bus to transport
students, except that, at the discretion of the private
school, students chosen for participation in the bus
evacuation drill need include only the subgroup of students
that are utilizing bus transportation.
(c) During each academic year, schools must conduct a law
enforcement lockdown drill to address a school shooting
incident. No later than 90 days after the first day of each
school year, schools must conduct at least one law enforcement
lockdown drill that addresses an active threat or an active
shooter within a school building. Such drills must be
conducted according to the school district's or private
school's emergency and crisis response plans, protocols, and
procedures to evaluate the preparedness of school personnel
and students. Law enforcement lockdown drills must be
conducted on days and times when students are normally present
in the school building and must involve participation from all
school personnel and students present at school at the time of
the lockdown drill, except that administrators or school
support personnel in their discretion may exempt students from
the lockdown drill. The appropriate local law enforcement
agency shall observe the administration of the lockdown drill.
All drills must be conducted at each school building that
houses school children.
(1) A law enforcement lockdown drill must meet all of
the following criteria:
(A) During each calendar year, the appropriate
local law enforcement agency shall contact the
appropriate school administrator to request to
participate in a law enforcement lockdown drill. The
school administrator and local law enforcement agency
shall set, by mutual agreement, a date for the
lockdown drill.
(A-5) The lockdown drill shall require the on-site
participation of the local law enforcement agency. If
a mutually agreeable date cannot be reached between
the school administrator and the appropriate local law
enforcement agency, then the school shall still hold
the lockdown drill without participation from the
agency.
(B) Upon the participation of a local law
enforcement agency in a law enforcement lockdown
drill, the appropriate local law enforcement official
shall certify that the law enforcement lockdown drill
was conducted and notify the school in a timely manner
of any deficiencies noted during the drill.
(C) The lockdown drill must not include
simulations that mimic an actual school shooting
incident or active shooter event.
(D) All lockdown drills must be announced in
advance to all school personnel and students prior to
the commencement of the drill.
(E) Lockdown drill content must be age appropriate
and developmentally appropriate.
(F) Lockdown drills must include and involve
school personnel, including school-based mental health
professionals.
(G) Lockdown drills must include trauma-informed
approaches to address the concerns and well-being of
students and school personnel.
(2) Schools may conduct additional law enforcement
drills at their discretion.
(3) (Blank).
(4) School administrators and school support personnel
may, in their discretion, exempt a student or students
from participating in a walk-through lockdown drill. When
deciding whether to exempt a student from participating in
a walk-through lockdown drill, the administrator and
school support personnel shall include the student's
individualized education program team or federal Section
504 plan team in the decision to exempt the student from
participating.
(5) Schools must provide sufficient information and
notification to parents and guardians in advance of any
walk-through lockdown drill that involves the
participation of students. Schools must also provide to
parents and guardians an opportunity to exempt their child
for any reason from participating in the walk-through
lockdown drill.
(6) Schools must provide alternative safety education
and instruction related to an active threat or active
shooter event to students who do not participate in a
walk-through lockdown drill to provide them with essential
information, training, and instruction through less
sensorial safety training methods.
(7) During the drill, students must be allowed to ask
questions related to the drill.
(8) Law enforcement may choose to run an active
shooter simulation, including simulated gun fire drills,
but only on school days when students are not present.
Parental notification is not required for drills conducted
pursuant to this paragraph (8) if students are not
required to be present.
(d) During each academic year, schools must conduct a
minimum of one severe weather and shelter-in-place drill to
address and prepare students and school personnel for possible
tornado incidents and may conduct additional severe weather
and shelter-in-place drills to account for other incidents,
including without limitation earthquakes or hazardous
materials. All drills shall be conducted at each school
building that houses school children.
(Source: P.A. 102-395, eff. 8-16-21.)