June 6, 2008

Honorable Christopher A. Koch

State Superintendent of Education

Illinois State Board of Education

100 North First Street

Springfield, Illinois 62777-0001

Dear Superintendent Koch:

Thank you for the timely submission of Illinois' FFY 2006 Annual
Performance Report (APR) and revised State Performance Plan (SPP) under
Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as
amended in 2004. We also acknowledge the revisions to Illinois' SPP and
APR received on April 14, 2008. We appreciate the State's efforts in
preparing these documents.

The Department has determined that, under IDEA section 616(d), Illinois
needs assistance in meeting the requirements of Part B of the IDEA. The
Department's determination is based on the totality of the State's data
and information including the State's FFY 2006 APR and revised SPP,
other State-reported data, and other publicly available information. See
the enclosure entitled "How the Department Made Determinations under
Section 616(d) of the IDEA in 2008" for further details.

Specific factors affecting OSEP's determination of needs assistance for
Illinois included that the State: 1) reported 92.4% compliance for
Indicator 15, with progress from 86.22%; 2) reported 90.5% compliance
for Indicator 16, with slippage from 95.7%; 3) reported 93.1% compliance
for Indicator 17, with progress from 90.9%; and 4) in Indicator 4A, did
not complete the review required by 34 CFR §300.170(b) for all districts
identified in FFY 2005 with significant discrepancies. OSEP also
considered that the State did not provide valid and reliable data for
Indicators 9 and 10, but provided a plan to collect the data for
reporting in next year's APR/SPP submission. For these reasons, we were
unable to determine that your State met requirements under section
616(d). OSEP notes the high levels of compliance reported for Indicators
11 and 12, and the correction of noncompliance for Indicator 13. We hope
that the State will be able to demonstrate that it meets requirements in
its next APR.

The enclosed table provides OSEP's analysis of the State's FFY 2006 APR
and revised SPP and identifies, by indicator, OSEP's review of any
revisions made by the State to its targets, improvement activities
(timelines and resources) and baseline data in the State's SPP. It also
identifies, by indicator, the State's status in meeting its targets,
whether the State's data reflect progress or slippage, and whether the
State corrected noncompliance and provided valid and reliable data.

The State's determination for the FFY 2005 APR also was needs
assistance. In accordance with section 616(e) of the IDEA and 34 CFR
§300.604, if a State is determined to need assistance for two
consecutive years, the Secretary must take one or more of the following
actions: 1) Advise the State of available sources of technical
assistance that may help the State address the areas in which the State
needs assistance; 2) Direct the use of State-level funds on the area or
areas in which the State needs assistance; or 3) Identify the State as a
high-risk grantee and impose special conditions on the State's Part B
grant award. Pursuant to these requirements, the Secretary is advising
the State of available sources of technical assistance related to
Indicator 4A (suspension/expulsion rates), Indicator 9 (disproportionate
representation -- child with a disability), Indicator 10
(disproportionate representation -- specific disability category),
Indicator 15 (timely correction of noncompliance), Indicator 16
(complaint timelines), and Indicator 17 (due process timelines). A list
of sources of technical assistance related to the SPP/APR indicators is
available by clicking on the "Technical Assistance Related to
Determinations" box on the opening page of the SPP/APR Planning Calendar
website at <http://spp-apr-calendar.rrfcnetwork.org/>. You will be
directed to a list of indicators. Click on specific indicators for a
list of centers, documents, web seminars and other sources of relevant
technical assistance for that indicator. For the indicators listed
above, your State must report with its FFY 2007 APR submission (due
February 1, 2009) on: 1) the technical assistance sources from which the
State received assistance and 2) what actions the State took as a result
of that technical assistance. The extent to which your State takes
advantage of available technical assistance for these indicators may
affect the actions we take under section 616 should your State not be
identified as meets requirements next year. We encourage States to take
advantage of available sources of technical assistance in other areas as
well, particularly if the State is reporting low compliance data for an
indicator.

As required by section 616(e)(7) and 34 CFR §300.606, the State must
notify the public that the Secretary of Education has taken the above
enforcement action. This notification must be sufficient to notify the
public within the State and may include such mechanisms as posting on
the agency's website, distribution through the media and distribution
through public agencies.

As you know, your State must report annually to the public on the
performance of each local educational agency (LEA) located in the State
on the targets in the SPP under IDEA section 616(b)(2)(C)(ii)(l). In
addition, your State must review LEA performance against targets in the
State's SPP, determine if each LEA meets the requirements of the IDEA
and inform each LEA of its determination. For further information
regarding these requirements, see the SPP/APR Calendar at
<http://spp-apr-calendar.rrfcnetwork.org/>. Finally, if you included
revisions to baseline, targets or improvement activities in your APR
submission, and OSEP accepted those revisions, please ensure that you
update your SPP accordingly and that the updated SPP is made available
to the public.

OSEP is committed to supporting Illinois' efforts to improve results for
children with disabilities and looks forward to working with your State
over the next year. If you have any questions, would like to discuss
this further, or want to request technical assistance, please do not
hesitate to call Melanie Byrd, your OSEP State Contact, at 202-245-6568.

 

Sincerely,

 

  /s/ William W. Knudsen

 

William W. Knudsen

Acting Director

> Office of Special Education Programs

 

Enclosures 

cc: State Director of Special Education