School & Education

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The Big Picture

If you’re in a dispute with your child’s school about your child’s special education services and supports, you should first try to resolve the issue with your child’s Individualized…

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Take action

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is in charge of making sure that schools follow the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). If you think your child's school is not following special education laws, you can file a complaint with the ISBE.

ISBE will not investigate any problems that are currently part of a due process hearing request.

Time l imits for filing a complaint

You must file the complaint within 1 year of the incident. You may be able to file later if the violation is continuing.

How to file

To file a complaint, you can use the ISBE online complaint form. Your complaint must include:

• the name, address, and contact information of the person filing the complaint,
• the student's name,
• the name of the school district and the school the student attends, and
• detailed information about the violations, including when they took place and a proposed resolution.

If you use the online form, you may need to include additional pages to explain the problems. On your complaint form, note that you have attached more pages.

Submit your signed complaint form to ISBE. You must also send a copy of the complaint to the school district you are filing against.

Include supporting documentation with the complaint. If your child is over 18, you must attach a letter from the child saying that you can act on their behalf.

Timeline for investigation

ISBE will conduct an investigation within 60 days of the complaint being filed. They may ask for an extension of time.

After a complaint has been filed, you can participate in mediation to see if you can resolve the issues with the school district. ISBE provides free mediation services.

Investigation findings

At the end of the investigation, ISBE will write a report with their decision and say whether or not there was a violation. If ISBE finds that the school violated the IDEA, the report will say what the school must do to fix the problem and how long they have to fix the problem. If the school does not follow ISBE's report, ISBE may take further action.

Filing a state complaint does not prevent you from filing for a due process hearing about the same issues, even after the ISBE investigation is completed. Due process complaints must be filed within 2 years of the violation.

Placement of the student

Filing a complaint with ISBE does not freeze placement. It does not prevent an Individualized Education Program (IEP) from going into effect. If you want to freeze placement, you need to file a request for a due process hearing.

Costs

There is no cost to file a complaint with ISBE, but you may want to hire a lawyer to represent you since the rules and laws involved in this process can be complex.