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35%Parent prevailed (104)18%Split decision (52)46%District prevailed (136)0%Dismissed / withdrawn (1)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
Parent claimed the district denied her child a free appropriate education over two years by failing to evaluate, identify and serve his emotional and medical needs; the hearing officer ordered independent evaluations, extended-school-year services, 200 hours of compensatory tutoring, and added counseling.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents argued the district's IEPs over two years gave the child no educational benefit and committed procedural errors; the hearing officer agreed on every point and ordered a private therapeutic day program, independent evaluations, added related services, and compensatory tutoring.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A father argued the post-high-school transition plan for his 20-year-old son ignored the son's interest in food-service work, but the hearing officer found the plan was appropriate and the student was benefiting, and denied the requests to change the plan or placement.
Transition/secondary servicesIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
Parents sought reimbursement for the residential therapeutic school they had chosen plus compensatory education, but after evaluating the thriving student the district found him ineligible for special education and the hearing officer upheld that finding, denying all reimbursement.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
In an expedited case, the district showed a 7-year-old autistic boy posed a substantial risk of injury to himself and others, and the hearing officer granted the district's request for a 45-day interim alternative placement and denied the parent's objection.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
For a young child with behavioral and speech difficulties, the hearing officer denied the parents' request for a private therapeutic school but ordered the district to fund independent evaluations and provide compensatory speech and social-work services.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
After a bullied student with ADHD/bipolar and a learning disability sent a threatening Facebook message and was expelled, the hearing officer found the conduct was a manifestation of his disability, reversed the expulsion, and ordered him returned to school with his record cleared.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationBullying/harassment
A father objected to moving his son from a self-contained emotional-disability classroom to a therapeutic day school, but with the child receiving nearly 80 discipline referrals in five months the hearing officer found the more-restrictive placement appropriate and ruled for the district.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
A parent proved the district ignored years of warning signs and wrote an inadequate IEP for a child with severe emotional and health needs; the hearing officer ordered a residential placement at public expense plus compensatory education and reimbursement for evaluations and family visits.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
The district went to hearing to defend its limited evaluation after refusing the parent's request for an independent one, but the hearing officer found the district's evaluation was not comprehensive and ordered it to fund a full independent evaluation across all areas.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
A teen with serious emotional needs who had missed nearly a year of school and been hospitalized won on all denial-of-FAPE claims; the hearing officer ordered a private therapeutic school at public expense, transportation, and compensatory services to recover lost credits.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findRelated services
A parent objected to moving her son from a self-contained classroom to a more restrictive therapeutic day school, but the hearing officer found the child had stopped making progress and become a danger, and upheld the district's more-restrictive placement.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
Parents of a child on the autism spectrum sought a private therapeutic placement and more services; the district's program was upheld as appropriate, but because the district dropped a transition accommodation the parents were awarded 20 hours of compensatory training.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A 19-year-old whose label had been changed and who was failing won on nearly every claim; the hearing officer ordered a private school placement at public expense, an after-school compensatory program, and district payment of all the independent-evaluation costs.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
The only dispute was how the child got to his private special-education school; because the IEP team never properly changed the arrangement, the hearing officer ordered that the parents keep driving the child and be reimbursed, and required a new IEP meeting on transportation.
Related servicesIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
A parent sought compensatory education, a one-to-one aide, and assistive technology, alleging the district failed to timely identify and properly evaluate the child and to involve her in the process, but the hearing officer found the district met its obligations and ruled for the district.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findRelated servicesProcedural/parent-participation
Parents of an autistic child disputed his class placement, the summer-program services, and sought reimbursement for an independent evaluation, but the hearing officer found they did not prove their case and ruled for the district on all five issues.
Placement/LREFAPE denialExtended school year (ESY)
Parents challenged the proposed developmental-kindergarten placement and the summer (ESY) speech/occupational-therapy services for their young child, but the hearing officer found the district had offered an appropriate education and ruled for the district on all claims.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREExtended school year (ESY)
The hearing officer found the district failed to identify the student's disabilities and provide a free appropriate public education, ordering residential placement funded through June 2011, revisions to recognize his learning and language disabilities, and new occupational, audiology, and psychiatric evaluations.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
After a partial agreement, the only issue was placement: the parent wanted her daughter to stay at an out-of-district behavior-disorder school, but the hearing officer found the district's in-house program in the least restrictive environment appropriate and ordered a careful transition back with additional social-work time.
Placement/LREFAPE denialRelated services
The hearing officer found the district failed to properly identify the student's disabilities so its IEPs did not provide a free appropriate public education, ordering private placement with transportation, reimbursement for the parent's unilateral placement and tutoring, and two additional years of compensatory summer services.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
In cross-filed cases, parents wanted their son returned to a regular classroom and sought reimbursement for placing him in a private parochial school, but the hearing officer found all of the district's IEPs and the therapeutic day placement provided a free appropriate public education and denied reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A mother claimed bullying made her daughter's school so hostile that she could not learn and sought a transfer to another district, but the hearing officer found no denial of a free appropriate public education and ordered the district's proposed special-education-classroom IEP implemented.
Bullying/harassmentFAPE denialPlacement/LRE
The hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate public education by failing to provide assistive technology, adequate speech services, and an auditory-processing evaluation, ordering assistive technology, increased services, placement until age 22, and a vocational assessment, while denying reimbursement for the parents' private evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A mother disputed transportation, the IEPs, her ability to participate, and the evaluation; the hearing officer ordered door-to-door special transportation going forward but found the IEPs appropriate and rejected her claims of coercion, transportation reimbursement, and an ABA program change.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationProcedural/parent-participation
The hearing officer found the district failed to provide an appropriate intensive reading program and ordered placement in a private day school with transportation, summer services, and compensatory tutoring and speech services, though it denied reimbursement for the parents' private evaluations.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent wanted her son returned to his neighborhood school instead of a self-contained behavior-disorder cooperative program, but the hearing officer found the self-contained placement appropriate and the least restrictive environment, ruling for the district.
Placement/LREFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
The hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate public education by improperly exiting the student from special education and failing to address his emotional and behavioral needs, ordering a private therapeutic day school, evaluations, summer services, tutoring, counseling, behavior-therapy training, and reimbursement.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents sought a full-time school nurse and an assistive-technology writing device for their son with a medical condition, but the hearing officer found the district already provided sufficient health services and that the student did not need the assistive technology, ruling for the district.
Related servicesFAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent challenged her son's new IEP, eligibility change, notice violations, and suspension and sought an independent evaluation and private placement, but the hearing officer found the IEP and therapeutic day placement appropriate and the procedural errors harmless, ruling for the district.
IEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child findPlacement/LRE
The district asked to defend its evaluations of the student; the hearing officer found the speech and health evaluations adequate but the psychological, social-emotional, and occupational-therapy evaluations inadequate and ordered the district to pay for independent evaluations in those areas.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)FAPE denial
After a partial settlement, parents argued their son needed a residential placement, but the hearing officer found the therapeutic day school was the least restrictive environment that met his needs and denied the residential placement request.
Placement/LREFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
The hearing officer found the district denied a free appropriate public education to a severely disabled student and ordered placement in a private therapeutic school with ABA services, transportation, two years of compensatory education, and reimbursement for the parents' home ABA program.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents wanted the district to pay for placing their young daughter in a private day school, but the hearing officer found the district's proposed program offered a free appropriate public education and denied tuition reimbursement and the private placement.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent fought the district's plan to move her autistic son from an inclusion program into a self-contained autism classroom; the hearing officer found the district had denied him an appropriate education by not implementing his services or training staff, ordered him to stay in the inclusion program as the least-restrictive setting, and awarded compensatory therapy, new evaluations, and a behavior plan.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A parent showed the district committed wide-ranging failures in evaluating, programming, and informing her about her medically fragile daughter's education; the hearing officer ordered placement in a private therapeutic day school, two additional years there as compensation, compensatory tutoring and speech therapy, funded independent evaluations, and a new IEP and transition plan.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
A parent challenged her daughter's math services, evaluations, and several procedural failures; the hearing officer ruled for the district on most points but found it failed to prove its assistive-technology assessment was adequate and improperly ignored the parent's requests to meet, ordering AT services and training, reimbursement for the AT evaluation, and compensatory consultant support at a new IEP meeting.
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents who unilaterally moved their daughter to a private special-education day school sought reimbursement and compensatory schooling; the hearing officer found the district had offered an appropriate education in the least-restrictive setting, denied reimbursement and compensatory education, and held the private placement was not appropriate.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A parent raised many complaints about her son's program; the hearing officer ruled for the district on most issues but found the boy's reading difficulties had been mis-diagnosed, awarding compensatory reading and language instruction plus an assistive technology evaluation on top of the private day-school placement the district had already agreed to.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
The district asked a hearing officer to confirm its evaluation of a dyslexic student was adequate after the parent demanded independent evaluations at public expense; because the parent had repeatedly blocked the district from testing and then limited what it could assess, the hearing officer found the district's evaluation appropriate and denied reimbursement for the parent's private evaluations.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)Procedural/parent-participation
A parent argued the district failed to properly evaluate and educate her son and sought a residential placement; the hearing officer found a denial of education and ordered payment for the independent evaluations plus two years of compensatory speech and occupational therapy, but refused the requested residential placement for lack of evidence it was needed.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent of a young man with severe autism showed the district predetermined his placement and never wrote an adequate program; the hearing officer found a denial of education and ordered an in-home Applied Behavior Analysis program, two years of compensatory services, and new evaluations and IEP.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationPlacement/LRE
A parent showed the district shut her out of writing her daughter's IEP, wrote arbitrary goals, failed to implement the plan, and skipped needed evaluations; the hearing officer found a denial of education on those points (though the placement itself was appropriate) and ordered funded independent evaluations, compensatory speech therapy, and a properly developed IEP and transition plan.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
A parent claimed years of inadequate IEPs for her cognitively impaired daughter; the hearing officer ruled the district provided an appropriate education for most years but denied it for one year by neglecting reading/writing goals and a vocational assessment, ordering compensatory reading and writing instruction plus a proper vocational evaluation and transition plan.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find