Illinois Special Education Requirements

What special education requirements does Illinois have beyond federal law?

Illinois has several state-specific special education requirements that exceed or differ from federal IDEA mandates. Transition planning begins at age 14.5 in Illinois, earlier than the federal requirement of age 16, with school districts required to include postsecondary goals and transition services in the IEP once a student reaches 14 and one-half years of age (105 ILCS 5/14-1.02; 23 IAC 226.230(c)). Upon a student with a disability reaching age 14.5, the elementary district must notify the high school district of the student's eligibility for special education services (105 ILCS 5/14-1.02). Illinois requires bilingual special education services: evaluations for students who are English learners must be conducted in the child's home/native language in a nondiscriminatory manner, and districts must comply with 23 IAC Part 228 (Transitional Bilingual Education) when assessing English learner students suspected of having a disability (23 IAC 226.110(b)). When a school attendance center has 20 or more English learners of the same language, the district must establish a Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) program (23 IAC 228.30). For nonpublic facility placements, the IEP team must determine that no public school program can meet the student's needs, and ISBE must approve the placement within 10 days; the district retains responsibility for tuition and IEP implementation (23 IAC 226.330; 105 ILCS 5/14-7.02). At least every 3 years following nonpublic placement, the IEP team must review ISBE-approved facilities to determine if an approved facility can now serve the student (23 IAC 226.330). Illinois permits special education cooperatives and joint agreements under 105 ILCS 5/14-4.01, allowing multiple districts to share services, though each member district retains individual compliance obligations. ISBE conducts cyclical monitoring of districts and cooperatives for IDEA compliance. Home/hospital instruction requires a minimum of 5 hours per week for students with medically necessary absences exceeding 2 consecutive weeks; technology-based instruction may be used as determined by the IEP team (23 IAC 226.300, as amended May 5, 2025). Districts must use ISBE-prescribed forms for notice, consent, and reporting (ISBE Forms 34-57 series). The state requires districts to maintain a continuum of alternative placements including regular classes, special classes, special schools, home/hospital instruction, and state-operated or nonpublic programs (23 IAC 226.300).