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35%Parent prevailed (104)18%Split decision (52)46%District prevailed (136)0%Dismissed / withdrawn (1)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 sought to move a student to a 45-day residential interim setting after behavior incidents, but the hearing officer found residential placement was not required and instead ordered the student placed at the parents' preferred, less-restrictive therapeutic school.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A mother challenged the district's handling of her high-schooler's discipline and services; the hearing officer found the manifestation-determination review was improper and rescinded the related order, reimbursed the parent $1,100 for an independent psychological evaluation, and ordered new evaluations, transition planning, a behavior plan, and related services.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationFAPE denialIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
Parents of a child with multiple learning and language disorders claimed the district's evaluations, IEP, and placement denied a FAPE; the hearing officer agreed the IEP was inadequate and ordered placement in a therapeutic day school plus assistive technology, reimbursement for outside evaluations and therapy, and compensatory education, though it did not order the specific private school the parents requested.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A grandmother/guardian asked that her teen (ADHD, with OHI/ED eligibility) attending a private therapeutic day school be allowed to take driver's education and join extracurriculars at the mainstream high school; the hearing officer found that inappropriate given his behavioral and safety needs, denied the request, and dismissed the complaint.
Placement/LREFAPE denial
Parents of a young child with severe developmental and speech delays said the district failed to transition her from early-intervention services and denied her a FAPE; the hearing officer found a child-find failure and ordered the district to reimburse private preschool tuition and speech therapy, provide a communication device, and fund compensatory education.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
Parents disputed the district's plan to move their teen (severe learning disabilities, ADHD, prior concussions) to a therapeutic day school; the hearing officer found the district denied a FAPE, rejected the day-school placement, and ordered the student kept in his home high school with intensive supports, compensatory tutoring, extended-year services, and independent evaluations.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
Parents of a child with a severe genetic disorder and intellectual disability sought funding to keep him at a private therapeutic day school; the hearing officer found that school appropriate and ordered the district to pay tuition for the school year plus extended-school-year services.
Private/residential placement & reimbursementFAPE denialPlacement/LRE
Parents claimed the district denied their child a FAPE by refusing to accommodate her service dog and creating a hostile environment; the hearing officer agreed on those two points and awarded private-school tuition and travel reimbursement plus an IEP meeting to include the service dog, but ruled for the district on the assistive-technology and personal-aide claims.
FAPE denialRelated servicesPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A parent sought to have the child reclassified as having autism, placed in a private ABA therapeutic day school, and provided various services, and alleged the district failed to protect the child from injury; the hearing officer ruled entirely for the district and denied all requested relief.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementFAPE denial
A parent alleged the district failed to properly implement a transfer student's IEP; the hearing officer ruled for the parent on several points (ordering a personal aide, speech-articulation services, and a research-based reading program) but ruled for the district on the remaining issues and denied the parent's request for an independent evaluation.
IEP adequacy/implementationRelated servicesIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
The only question was who counts as the student's 'parent' for making educational decisions; the hearing officer ruled the biological parents (not the grandmother who had been acting in that role) are the legal parents under IDEA and, because the grandmother who filed the case lacked standing, dismissed the proceeding.
Procedural/parent-participation
Parents of a young child (mood-dysregulation/ADHD) challenged the district's evaluations, placement, and process; the hearing officer ruled for the district on nearly all issues but ordered the district to reimburse the parents about $774 for two outside evaluations and to convene an IEP meeting on a transition plan.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)
The parent of a young adult with autism sought compensatory services after he aged out of special education; the hearing officer ordered the district to pay for an independent evaluation and ten counseling sessions for social-emotional needs but denied additional compensatory vocational and life-skills services.
Compensatory educationIndependent educational evaluation (IEE)Transition/secondary services
Parents claimed the district denied their child (ADHD, mood disorder, with OHI/ED/LD eligibility) an appropriate education through inadequate evaluations, IEPs, and placement; the hearing officer found the district had provided an appropriate education in the least-restrictive environment and denied all of the parents' requested relief.
FAPE denialIEP adequacy/implementationEligibility/evaluation/child find
Parents wanted their child with autism to stay in a general-education inclusion classroom while the district proposed a small-group special-education program; the hearing officer agreed with the district that the more specialized placement was the appropriate least-restrictive environment and ordered the parents to consent to it.
Placement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation