Illinois · special-education accountability
Illinois special-education due-process hearings: who wins, and over what?
Of the 316 Illinois special-education due-process hearing decisions from FY 2008 through FY 2026 that PedsList classified, parents prevailed outright in 20.3% (64), won part of their case in 37.7% (119), and school districts prevailed in 41.8% (132). Parents therefore obtained at least some relief in 57.9% of decided cases.
School districts filed or cross-filed 59 of these hearings (19%), usually to defend an evaluation or a proposed placement. The most common issue was “Placement/LRE” (raised in 154 decisions). Decisions peaked at 44 in FY 2010; FY 2026 has 7 so far, because most disputes now settle through mediation or resolution meetings before a hearing officer rules.
316 decisions on file · 316 classified · 0 not machine-readableSource: ISBE due-process decisionsHow we classified themUpdated November 2, 2026
Why this is statewide, not per district. ISBE removes both the district's and the student's names from every decision ("Student v. District"), so these can't be tied to a specific district. As a body they show how the system works. Summaries and outcome labels were drafted with AI assistance from each decision's full text, checked against the order, and audited on a random sample (details); always rely on the decision PDF itself.
How often do parents win a due-process hearing in Illinois?
20.3%Parent prevailed (64)37.7%Split decision (119)41.8%District prevailed (132)0.3%Dismissed / withdrawn (1)
Outcome shares are of the 316 classified decisions; 0 decisions (mostly older scanned PDFs) could not be read reliably and are listed below as "Not classified".
Which issues do parents win most often?
| Issue in dispute | Decisions | Parent prevailed | Parent won at least part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Placement/LRE | 154 | 18% | 45% |
| Eligibility/evaluation/child find | 144 | 21% | 65% |
| Compensatory education | 137 | 26% | 80% |
| IEP adequacy/implementation | 128 | 13% | 63% |
| Private/residential placement & reimbursement | 109 | 31% | 72% |
| FAPE denial | 97 | 30% | 71% |
| Procedural/parent-participation | 95 | 13% | 61% |
| Independent educational evaluation (IEE) | 92 | 23% | 73% |
| Related services | 74 | 22% | 73% |
| Behavior/discipline/manifestation | 62 | 21% | 40% |
| Transition/secondary services | 34 | 15% | 82% |
| Extended school year (ESY) | 25 | 12% | 56% |
| Other | 15 | 0% | 40% |
| Bullying/harassment | 7 | 0% | 43% |
A decision can involve several issues, so rows overlap. Some rows, like compensatory education, are remedies that usually come up once a violation is found, so their win rates run higher. Issues raised in fewer than 5 decisions are omitted.
How has the number of hearings changed?
21
37
44
24
20
11
14
15
19
14
18
21
4
11
7
10
9
10
7
08091011121314151617181920212223242526
Decisions per state fiscal year (FY 2008–2026).
Which disabilities are most often involved?
Specific Learning Disability 66Autism 58Emotional Disability 56Other Health Impairment 50Intellectual Disability 25Multiple Disabilities 10Speech or Language Impairment 9Developmental Delay 7Hearing Impairment 4Orthopedic Impairment 1
What happens at a due-process hearing?
A due process hearing is a formal, court-like hearing before an impartial hearing officer appointed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). A parent files a written request with the district superintendent within 2 years of when they knew or should have known about the problem. The district must hold a resolution meeting within 15 days, and the hearing officer's final decision is due 45 days after the 30-day resolution period ends. Either side can appeal to court within 120 days after the decision is mailed.
All 316 decisions
| Case | FY | Outcome | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-0317 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parent alleged inadequate assessments, deficient IEPs and services, and procedural failures for a student with learning and health needs. The… |
| 2010-0287 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The guardian alleged inadequate evaluations, services, IEPs and transition planning, seeking a private therapeutic placement, IEEs and compensatory… |
| 2010-0281 | 2010 | District prevailed | The parent claimed the transition plan for a young adult did not address his food-service vocational interest and sought compensatory education and… |
| 2010-0265 | 2010 | District prevailed | Parents of a privately schooled student alleged child find and eligibility failures and sought reimbursement for a residential therapeutic school… |
| 2010-0255 | 2010 | District prevailed | In an expedited hearing after the parent challenged a disciplinary placement, the district sought an interim alternative setting for a young student… |
| 2010-0238 | 2010 | Split decision | The parent alleged inadequate evaluation, no IEP and inappropriate placement, seeking evaluations, a private therapeutic day school and compensatory… |
| 2010-0225 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | In an expedited hearing, the parents challenged a determination that a threatening online message was not a manifestation of the student's… |
| 2010-0223 | 2010 | District prevailed | A pro se parent challenged the district's decision to move the student from a self-contained emotional disability classroom to a public therapeutic… |
| 2010-0219 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parent alleged child find failures and a deficient IEP for a student with serious emotional needs. The hearing officer ruled for the parent on… |
| 2010-0209 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The district filed to defend its initial evaluation and deny the parent's IEE request. The hearing officer found the evaluation was not a full and… |
| 2010-0171 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parent alleged delayed evaluation, no IEP or transition plan, and no appropriate placement for a hospitalized student out of school most of a… |
| 2010-0158 | 2010 | District prevailed | A pro se parent challenged the IEP team's move of the student from a self-contained class to a therapeutic day school. The hearing officer found the… |
| 2010-0144 | 2010 | Split decision | The parents sought a private therapeutic placement and more services. The hearing officer found the district's IEPs and placement appropriate but… |
| 2010-0112 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | An adult student challenged a reclassification and placement change, inadequate evaluation, missing IEPs and transition plans, and sought private… |
| 2010-0097 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The dispute was whether the district could unilaterally replace parent-provided, reimbursed transportation with district bus transport. The hearing… |
| 2010-0096 | 2010 | District prevailed | The parent alleged untimely identification, inadequate evaluation, failure to provide assistive technology and exclusion from IEP development… |
| 2010-0077 | 2010 | District prevailed | Pro se parents raised five issues on placement, registration, ESY services, eligibility category and IEE reimbursement for a transfer student. The… |
| 2010-0076 | 2010 | District prevailed | Pro se parents challenged the district's developmental kindergarten placement for a transfer student, ESY service delivery, registration and IEP… |
| 2010-0040 | 2010 | Split decision | The parents alleged failures in behavior planning, methodology, placement, staff training and IEPs. The hearing officer agreed and ordered a… |
| 2010-0038 | 2010 | District prevailed | The parent wanted the student kept at an outside placement, while the district proposed moving her to its own new program. The hearing officer… |
| 2010-0029 | 2010 | Split decision | The parent sought a private therapeutic day school with sign-language instruction, IEEs, added services and compensatory education. The hearing… |
| 2010-0005 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parents rejected the district's proposed multi-disability self-contained placement and sought funding of their home-based ABA program. The… |
| 2009-0478 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The father challenged the district's finding that the student, who had a Section 504 plan, was ineligible. The hearing officer found the district's… |
| 2009-0475 | 2010 | Split decision | After a partial settlement on placement, the parent alleged inadequate evaluations, IEPs, behavior plan implementation, staff training, homebound… |
| 2009-0431 | 2010 | Split decision | The parent alleged inadequate evaluations, services and IEPs and sought private day school placement for a high school student with speech and… |
| 2009-0392 | 2010 | Split decision | The father of an adult student with an emotional disability sought reimbursement for an out-of-state residential placement, citing delayed… |
| 2009-0369 | 2010 | Split decision | Spanish-speaking parents alleged years of inadequate assessments and related services and sought relief back to 2004. The hearing officer found… |
| 2009-0368 | 2010 | District prevailed | The parent alleged evaluation delays and errors and sought a private therapeutic day school and a compensatory year for a student with emotional… |
| 2009-0320 | 2010 | Split decision | The district defended its evaluation finding a student with ADHD ineligible; the parent counter-filed for eligibility, compensatory education and… |
| 2009-0318 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parent alleged the district failed its child find duty and wrongly found a struggling student ineligible. The hearing officer found child find… |
| 2009-0302 | 2010 | District prevailed | The parents alleged the district failed to implement IEP accommodations, related services and resource minutes, and mishandled transition planning… |
| 2009-0298 | 2010 | Split decision | The parent alleged child find, evaluation, occupational therapy, assistive technology and IEP violations and sought IEE funding and a private… |
| 2009-0296 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parents alleged the district's program failed to address the communication, behavior and toileting needs of a student with severe disabilities… |
| 2009-0227 | 2010 | Split decision | The parents sought reimbursement for a unilateral private placement and prospective placement there, challenging the district's proposed program and… |
| 2009-0223 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parent opposed moving the student from an inclusion program to a self-contained autism classroom and alleged IEP implementation failures. The… |
| 2009-0215 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parent alleged inadequate evaluations, IEPs, assistive technology and transition planning, plus procedural violations; the district filed to… |
| 2009-0206 | 2010 | Split decision | The parent alleged inadequate math and writing services, procedural violations and inadequate evaluations; the district filed to defend its… |
| 2009-0160 | 2010 | District prevailed | The parents unilaterally placed the student in a private special education day school and sought reimbursement, prospective placement, a… |
| 2009-0035 | 2010 | Split decision | After the district funded an IEE and moved the student to a therapeutic day school, remaining claims were heard. The hearing officer rejected most… |
| 2008-0499 | 2010 | District prevailed | The district filed to defend its evaluation against the parent's request for four independent evaluations at public expense; the parent's own… |
| 2008-0366 | 2010 | Split decision | The parent alleged inadequate evaluation, programming and assistive technology, and sought IEE funding and appropriate placement. The hearing… |
| 2008-0362 | 2010 | Parent prevailed | The parents alleged inadequate services, assistive technology, IEP and placement for a student nearing age 22. The hearing officer found procedural… |
| 2008-0342 | 2010 | Split decision | The parent alleged inadequate evaluation, services, participation and IEP. The hearing officer upheld the eligibility and placement but found… |
| 2008-0132 | 2010 | Split decision | The parents raised many IEP formation and implementation claims; the district defended its evaluations against an IEE request. The hearing officer… |
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to file for due process in Illinois?
You must file within 2 years of the date you knew or should have known about the events behind the request. Some disputes, such as a denied evaluation, can also be raised through a state complaint, which has a 1-year limit.
Is there a form to request due process in Illinois?
Yes. ISBE's Form 19-86A is the parent request form. You give it to the superintendent of your child's resident district, who must forward it to ISBE within 5 days. A letter with the same information also works.
How long does an Illinois due process hearing take?
The resolution period can last up to 30 days after the district receives your request. Then the hearing officer's final decision is due within 45 days, unless the hearing officer grants an extension at a party's request. Extensions are common, so many cases take longer.
Does my child keep services during due process?
Yes. Under stay-put, your child stays in the current placement with current services until the case is finished, unless you and the district agree to a change. If mediation fails, file for due process within 10 days to keep this protection.
Who has the burden of proof in an Illinois due process hearing?
Illinois law requires the school district to present evidence that your child's needs were properly identified and that its proposed program and services are adequate, appropriate and available. How this applies in a particular case is a legal question for your attorney and the hearing officer.
How long do I have to appeal to court in Illinois?
In Illinois, either side has 120 days after the hearing officer's decision is mailed to file a civil action in state or federal court. Filing an appeal suspends the decision while the case is pending.
Can I see past Illinois due process decisions?
Yes. ISBE posts decisions through its Due Process Decisions search. PedsList has also decoded Illinois due process decisions so you can see outcomes by district.