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35%Parent prevailed (104)18%Split decision (52)46%District prevailed (136)0%Dismissed / withdrawn (1)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

All years FY 2026 7 FY 2025 10 FY 2024 9 FY 2023 10 FY 2022 7 FY 2021 11 FY 2020 4 FY 2019 21 FY 2018 18 FY 2017 14 FY 2016 19 FY 2015 15 FY 2014 14 FY 2013 11 FY 2012 20 FY 2011 24 FY 2010 44 FY 2009 37 FY 2008 21

2020-0069FY 2020District prevailedFull decision (PDF)

The district filed an expedited case to move a young child it considered dangerous into a therapeutic day school; the parents did not appear, and the hearing officer granted the district's requested interim placement change.

Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE

2020-0028FY 2020District prevailedFull decision (PDF)

Parents who placed their child in a private school sought tuition reimbursement and compensatory education, but the hearing officer found the district had offered an appropriate program in the least restrictive environment and denied all relief.

Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)

2019-0212FY 2020District prevailedFull decision (PDF)

Parents claimed the district was too slow to identify their ADHD child and that her IEP was inadequate, but the hearing officer found the district met its duties and denied reimbursement and compensatory education.

Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation

2019-0146FY 2020District prevailedFull decision (PDF)

A parent sought a publicly funded independent evaluation and compensatory education after her child was released from a private school, but the hearing officer found the district's evaluation and placement efforts proper and denied all relief.

Independent educational evaluation (IEE)FAPE denialPlacement/LRE