Illinois · special-education accountability
Due-process decisions, decoded
What is a due-process hearing — and why would a parent need one?
When a parent and a school district can't resolve a disagreement about a child's special education — whether the IEP is appropriate, where the child is placed, or what services or evaluations are owed — either side can file for a due-process hearing: a formal, court-like proceeding before a neutral state hearing officer. It is the strongest enforcement tool a parent has under federal law (the IDEA), and usually a last resort after other steps fail. Below is every Illinois decision on record (316, FY 2008–2026) — read and classified so you can see what families actually fight over and how often they win.
Why this is statewide, not per-district. ISBE anonymizes both the district and the student in every decision ("Student … v. District"), so these can't be tied to a specific district — but as a body they show the system clearly. ISBE source
What these 293 decisions were about — and how they came out
We read every decision on file and classified each by the issue in dispute and who prevailed. (Some early decisions could not be machine-read.)
Who prevailed
35%Parent prevailed (104)18%Split decision (52)46%District prevailed (136)0%Dismissed / withdrawn (1)
Parents prevailed outright in about 35% of decided cases — a reminder that these hearings are hard-fought and far from a sure thing, which is why most disputes are resolved long before this stage.
Most common issues in dispute
FAPE denial245
IEP adequacy/implementation156
Placement/LRE156
Eligibility/evaluation/child find135
Compensatory education109
Private/residential placement & reimbursement103
Related services92
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)88
Procedural/parent-participation81
Behavior/discipline/manifestation66
Disabilities most often involved
Specific Learning Disability 57Autism 50Emotional Disability 39Other Health Impairment 33Intellectual Disability 20Speech/Language 8Hearing Impairment 4Developmental Delay 3
The district asked to move a student to a 45-day interim therapeutic day-school setting because keeping him in his current placement was likely to cause injury; over the parents' objection, the hearing officer found the district met its burden and ordered the interim placement.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
A mother wanted her child placed mostly in general-education classes rather than the district's specialized program; the hearing officer found the district's proposed program provided a free appropriate education in the least-restrictive environment and denied the mother's requested relief.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
The district sought to override a parent's refusal to consent to an initial special-education evaluation and to conduct that evaluation in a 45-day diagnostic interim setting; the hearing officer agreed the child's behavior justified it and ordered the evaluation and interim placement.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findBehavior/discipline/manifestationProcedural/parent-participation
A mother enrolled her child in a private residential school after the district was slow to evaluate and write an IEP; the hearing officer found a denial of a free appropriate education for part of the period and ordered the district to reimburse about $37,770 in tuition plus expenses, though not for the earliest weeks.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents claimed the school's IEPs failed their child and sought a private school placement; the hearing officer found a denial of a free appropriate education and ordered the district to fund the private school, reimburse about $20,000 in tuition plus mileage, and provide compensatory reading, math, and speech services.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent argued the district's proposed therapeutic day school was wrong and wanted the child kept at his prior community-academy placement; the hearing officer found the therapeutic day school was the appropriate least-restrictive setting and did not deny a free appropriate education, denying the parent's request.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
A mother placed her depressed teen in a residential treatment center after the school's IEP and team were found inadequate; the hearing officer ruled the district denied a free appropriate education, found the mother's placement appropriate, and ordered about $121,304 in tuition reimbursement plus travel and evaluation costs.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
A guardian said the school shut them out of the process, failed to send progress reports, and did not deliver the promised speech, reading, and math services; the hearing officer found the student was denied a free appropriate education for about eight months and awarded compensatory tutoring, IEP changes, and transportation reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
Parents challenged the district's plan to place their autistic teen in a therapeutic day school as too restrictive; the hearing officer agreed with the district that a full-time therapeutic day school was the least-restrictive appropriate setting and denied the parents' requests.
Placement/LREIEP adequacy/implementationFAPE denial
Parents claimed the school missed their child's dyslexia and provided an inadequate program, and sought funding for a private school; the hearing officer found the district evaluated properly and provided a free appropriate education, and that the private placement was not shown to be appropriate, so all relief was denied.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents wanted their child with multiple disabilities to stay at a private therapeutic day school, but the hearing officer found the district's own program was the appropriate, less-restrictive setting, dissolved the stay-put placement, and denied the parents' requests.
IEP adequacy/implementationFAPE denialPlacement/LRE
Parents said the school failed to identify and serve their child and refused to fund a needed residential therapeutic school; the hearing officer found a child-find and FAPE violation and ordered the district to reimburse roughly $89,409 in residential tuition plus travel costs and to recognize the student's eligibility.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents argued the school botched a psychological evaluation and wrongly found their autistic child no longer eligible for special education, denying a free appropriate education; the hearing officer ruled the evaluation and the ineligibility decision were proper and denied all relief.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parent claimed the school failed to consider summer (ESY) services, used a flawed IEP team, and predetermined decisions, denying the student a free appropriate education; the hearing officer found the parent did not prove her case and ordered no changes.
FAPE denialExtended school year (ESY)Procedural/parent-participation
A parent of a child with severe disabilities argued the district denied a fair education by not accommodating him in its before/after-school care program, but the hearing officer found the IEP appropriate and noted that day-care access is a different kind of claim outside this hearing's authority.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
Parents of a young adult with an intellectual disability proved the district failed to provide proper transition services and IEP goals, winning district-funded placement in a private transition program plus reimbursement and continued services until age 21.
FAPE denialTransition/secondary servicesIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a child with autism challenged her emergency care plan, aide support, curriculum modifications, and summer services, but the hearing officer found the district provided an appropriate education and dismissed the complaint.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationExtended school year (ESY)
A high-school student argued the district denied a fair education by misclassifying his disability and mishandling his schedule, but the hearing officer found the evaluation, eligibility, and IEP appropriate and denied his requests.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a dyslexic child proved the district denied an appropriate education and won funded placement at a residential school plus large reimbursement for tuition, tutoring, travel, and camp costs.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
The district filed to defend its reevaluation after refusing the parents' request for an independent evaluation; the hearing officer found the district's evaluation comprehensive and ruled it did not have to pay for an outside one.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find