Information on the Individualized Education Program, special education certification structure, regional safe schools programs, transition services, class size/age range requirements, and other helpful resources.
- Appropriate Procedures for
Determining Placement in the Least Restrictive Environment - April 10, 2001
The information contained herein is intended to reinforce the requirements of IDEA, discuss their implications at the local level, and offer technical assistance and training resources that educators and parents may access to enhance their capacity to collaboratively fulfill those requirements.
- Categories for Special Education.
The Special Education Categories site includes information, research, resources, and best practices on the following program areas: Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Emotional Disturbance, Hearing Impairment, Mental Retardation, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech/Language Impairment, Speech/Language Pathology Services, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Visual Impairment.
- Certification - Special
As a result of the Corey H. litigation, the Illinois State Board of Education has implemented new rules to make the transition to a new system of certification for special education teachers.
- Chronic Infectious
Diseases in Schoolchildren
The Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Illinois General Assembly place a high priority on the need to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in schools.
- Compliance Monitoring.
Special Education monitoring activities are comprised of two types of compliance reviews: Focused and Comprehensive Compliance Reviews.
- Directors of Special Education
- Extended School Year Services
for Students with Disabilities - July 26, 2005
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a reminder regarding the legal requirements related to the provision of extended school year (ESY) services for students with disabilities.
- Extended School Year for Students with Disabilities - November 20, 2001
- Forms for Special Education
- Individualized Education Program (IEP).
The Illinois State Board of Education's recommended Individualized Education Program (IEP) forms packets are available in English and Spanish versions. Click to view the language version you prefer.
- Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).
The LRE Clearinghouse is a resource for families and educators on issues related to educating students with disabilities in the regular classrooms.
- Occupational and Physical Therapy Services - Recommended Practices
The purpose of this document is to present administrators, occupational and/or physical therapy personnel, educators, other professionals, and parents, with information regarding the provision of occupational and/or physical therapy in educational environments.
- "A Child Becomes a Reader - Birth to Preschool".
This booklet offers advice for parents of children from birth to preschool on how to support reading development at home, and how to recognize preschool and day care activities that start children on the road to becoming readers.
- Regulations Regarding Psychological Counseling and Mental Health Services - March 18, 2004
This purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to school districts to ensure that children with behavioral or emotional disabilities (ED) are receiving all of the related services that they need, including psychological counseling services, as part of a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
- Secondary Transition.
This web page provides access to a great variety of resources, tools and information related to secondary transition including, but not limited to: an age-appropriate transition assessment, measurable post-school goals, transition plan development, and linkages to web resources that cover a range of topics related to secondary transition. The Transition Outreach Training for Adult Living (TOTAL) Project training modules and resources can also be accessed here.
Emotional Performance Descriptors.
The classroom assessments are resources to help teachers determine local performance expectations for the Illinois Learning Standards at each grade level.
- Special Education Certification Structure and Content Area Standards.
The development of the Illinois professional education standards for teachers, school service providers, and administrators is the result of more than four years of collaborative work by hundreds of educators and citizens throughout Illinois.
- Students with Disabilities in Regional Safe Schools Programs - November 1, 2001
This memorandum is sent to clarify the responsibilities of school districts and special education cooperatives in providing services to students with Individual Education Programs (IEPs) enrolled in the Regional Safe Schools Program (RSSP) and in meeting relevant reporting requirements.
- Teacher Loan Forgiveness - The Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act
Teachers who teach math, science, or special education and who have taught for five years in a Title I school may be eligible for new loan forgiveness limits.
- Time Out and Physical Restraint
Public Act 91-600 amended the School Code of Illinois to specifically address the issues of isolated time out and physical restraint in public schools.
- Title I Requirements Relating to the Qualifications of Paraprofessionals- December 30, 2004
This memorandum is intended to clarify the application of the requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) to paraprofessionals.