105 ILCS 5/14-7.02 — Illinois Code / Chapter 105 / Act 5 / Section 14-7.02
Section 14-7.02
Status: in_force

(105 ILCS 5/14-7.02) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-7.02) Sec. 14-7.02. Children attending private special education schools, separate public special education day schools, public out-of-state schools, public school residential facilities, or private special education facilities. (a) The General Assembly recognizes that non-public schools or special education facilities provide an important service in the educational system in Illinois. (b) If a student's individualized education program (IEP) team determines that because of his or her disability the special education program of a district is unable to meet the needs of the child and the child attends a non-public school or special education facility, a public out-of-state school or a special education facility owned and operated by a county government unit that provides special educational services required by the child and is in compliance with the appropriate rules and regulations of the State Superintendent of Education, the school district in which the child is a resident shall pay the actual cost of tuition for special education and related services provided during the regular school term and during the summer school term if the child's educational needs so require, excluding room, board and transportation costs charged the child by that non-public school or special education facility, public out-of-state school or county special education facility, or $4,500 per year, whichever is less, and shall provide him any necessary transportation. "Nonpublic special education facility" shall include a residential facility, within or without the State of Illinois, which provides special education and related services to meet the needs of the child by utilizing private schools or public schools, whether located on the site or off the site of the residential facility. Resident district financial responsibility and reimbursement applies for both nonpublic special education facilities that are approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 401 or other applicable laws or rules and for emergency residential placements in nonpublic special education facilities that are not approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 401 or other applicable laws or rules, subject to the requirements of this Section. (c) Prior to the placement of a child in an out-of-state special education residential facility, the school district must refer to the child or the child's parent or guardian the option to place the child in a special education residential facility located within this State, if any, that provides treatment and services comparable to those provided by the out-of-state special education residential facility. The school district must review annually the placement of a child in an out-of-state special education residential facility. As a part of the review, the school district must refer to the child or the child's parent or guardian the option to place the child in a comparable special education residential facility located within this State, if any. (c-5) Before a provider that operates a nonpublic special education facility terminates a student's placement in that facility, the provider must request an IEP meeting from the contracting school district. If the provider elects to terminate the student's placement following the IEP meeting, the provider must give written notice to this effect to the parent or guardian, the contracting public school district, and the State Board of Education no later than 20 business days before the date of termination, unless the health and safety of any student are endangered. The notice must include the detailed reasons for the termination and any actions taken to address the reason for the termination. (d) Payments shall be made by the resident school district to the entity providing the educational services, whether the entity is the nonpublic special education facility or the school district wherein the facility is located, no less than once per quarter, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the parties. (e) A school district may residentially place a student in a nonpublic special education facility providing educational services, but not approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 401 or other applicable laws or rules, provided that the State Board of Education provides an emergency and student-specific approval for residential placement. The State Board of Education shall promptly, within 10 days after the request, approve a request for emergency and student-specific approval for residential placement if the following have been demonstrated to the State Board of Education: (1) the facility demonstrates appropriate licensure of teachers for the student