Latest Posts › Special Education

Share:

Senate Bill 3606 Extends Reimbursement Eligibility for Public Special Education Programs

On May 23, 2024, Senate Bill 3606 (“SB 3606”) passed both houses. If signed into law by Governor Pritzker, SB 3606 will amend the Children with Disabilities Article of the Illinois School Code to provide for expanded state...more

OCR Announces Resolution Agreement with L.A. Schools over Remote-Learning Related Services to Students with IEPs and 504 Plans

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) recently announced a resolution agreement with  the Los Angeles Unified School District largely addressing issues related to OCR’s finding that the District...more

ISBE Releases Guidance on New Transition Laws

Earlier this summer, we let you know about two special education bills that had passed the Illinois legislature, which, if signed by the Governor, would provide additional services to some transition students. ...more

Two New Bills Offer Extended Special Education Services to Transition Students

Just hours before the conclusion of the spring legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly passed two bills that will significantly impact students who receive services until age 22.  The first, HB40, impacts students...more

Illinois Health Department FAQ Leaves Many Unanswered Questions For Schools

On August 12, 2020, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) issued a “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)” for Schools.” In a statement by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to stakeholders that same day, ISBE...more

Will Hearing Officers and Courts Order In-Person Instruction as Stay-Put?

While only a handful of cases have been reported related to districts’ provision of special education services remotely, we are watching carefully for lessons learned. So far, courts have not required in-person instruction as...more

Planning for Return to In-Person Instruction: Special Education Considerations

ISBE and IDPH recently released their guidance related to Starting the 2020-21 School Year. The guidance addresses a broad range of topics, including some suggestions related to special education. The following week ISBE...more

Cheat Sheet for ISBE’s FAQ for Special Education on the Transition to In-Person Instruction

On June 30, 2020, ISBE issued an FAQ document with the purpose of assisting school districts in the transition to in-person instruction. This document, which supplements ISBE’s general guidance on return to in-person...more

Prepare for Special Education Procedural Changes Enacted in New Remote Learning Law

We recently let you know about a pending bill that would make changes to several special education procedures. Senate Bill 1569 has now been signed by Governor Pritzker as PA 101-0643....more

New Bill Would Bring More Changes to Special Education Procedures

Less than a year ago, Public Act 101-0515 sent Illinois special educators scrambling to comply with an array of new procedural requirements. Now, as if you aren’t dealing with enough challenges related to remote learning and...more

Special Education and Remote Learning: Back to Basics

After three weeks of being out of school buildings and one week of remote learning, we can all see that the IDEA was not written for pandemics and widespread school closures. While requests for IDEA flexibility have been...more

Threat Assessments: Three Key Issues for Illinois Schools

Is your school threat assessment team in place and ready to act in order to meet upcoming legal deadlines? Does it understand the interaction between threat assessments and special education evaluations? Is it adequately...more

Fighting Friendly Fire in Your IEP: Avoiding Internal Challenges to IDEA Compliance

On October 17, 2019, Franczek P.C. Special Education team members Dana Fattore Crumley and Emily Tulloch presented at the IAASE 2019 Fall Conference on Fighting Friendly Fire in your IEP: Avoiding Internal Challenges to IDEA...more

Opening the Floodgates? IL Law Requires Notice That Non-IEP-Eligible Students May Qualify for 504

With all the hub-bub about HB 3586, you would be excused if you missed that another special education law, passed last year, went into effect this school year. This one is easy to implement. ...more

Don’t Miss the Boat After Missed Services! What to Do Under HB 3586

A speech pathologist goes out on unexpected medical leave. Three paraprofessionals quit in one week. A special education teacher is abducted by aliens and no substitutes are available. Sometimes staff absences are...more

From R2-D2 to Paraprofessional? Legal Considerations When Robots are in the Classroom

You may have seen a recent article from the National School Boards Association about robots in the classroom. If not, it a good and short read, particularly regarding the pedagogical questions to ask before employing...more

16 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide