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35%Parent prevailed (104)18%Split decision (52)46%District prevailed (136)0%Dismissed / withdrawn (1)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
In an expedited safety hearing the district sought to move a boy with autism to a therapeutic day school because of escalating aggressive behaviors; although the officer found the behaviors dangerous, the district failed the required four-factor test for an interim alternative setting, so its request was denied and the student stayed put.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
In an expedited safety hearing, the district argued it was too dangerous to keep a young student (with hearing impairment, ADHD, and emotional disturbance) in her current placement; the officer agreed and ordered her moved to a 45-day interim alternative educational setting.
Behavior/discipline/manifestationPlacement/LRE
The district wanted to move a young girl with autism into a private therapeutic day school, but the parent objected; the officer found the more restrictive placement was not the least restrictive environment and ordered the student returned to a district classroom with supports and her behavior plan implemented.
Placement/LREFAPE denialBehavior/discipline/manifestation
A self-represented parent objected to the district's choices about co-taught classes, an art elective, peer support, and a reading class for her son with autism; the officer found the district provided an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment and dismissed all the parent's claims with prejudice.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREIEP adequacy/implementation
The parents asked for an outside evaluation at public expense, saying the district's testing was insufficient; the district challenged the request and the officer found the district's evaluation was thorough and appropriate, so the request for a publicly funded independent evaluation was denied.
Independent educational evaluation (IEE)Eligibility/evaluation/child find
The parents wanted the district to pay for two years of private schooling for their daughter; even though the officer found a flaw in the district's IEP, reimbursement was denied because the parents could not prove the private school they chose was an appropriate placement.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
The parent argued the district's evaluation missed the extent of her daughter's learning disability and failed to offer the right program; the officer ordered the district to place and fund the student in a private therapeutic day school, provide transportation and assistive technology, reimburse the parents' independent evaluations, and provide compensatory services (though the separate child-find claim was rejected).
FAPE denialEligibility/evaluation/child findPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
The parents of a gifted child with an emotional disability sought reimbursement for private schooling and therapy after the district failed to offer an appropriate placement; the officer found the child was denied an appropriate education, ordered the district to reimburse private tuition and therapy and to fund a full re-evaluation, and let the child remain in the private school while it was completed.
FAPE denialPrivate/residential placement & reimbursementEligibility/evaluation/child find
The parents of a boy with autism unilaterally enrolled him in a private therapeutic day school and sought reimbursement, arguing the district's program was inappropriate; the officer found the district had offered an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment and denied all of the parents' requests.
FAPE denialPlacement/LREPrivate/residential placement & reimbursement
A self-represented parent claimed she was shut out of an IEP meeting and that the district wrongly refused to sign a Medicaid form for her son's wheelchair; the officer found partly for the parent (including on the wheelchair form) but could order no relief because the student had already moved to a different district.
Procedural/parent-participationRelated servicesPlacement/LRE
After her son with autism was graduated out of high school, the parent argued he was improperly graduated and denied transition services he was still owed; the officer agreed he was denied an appropriate education and ordered the district to pay for an evaluation and place him in a private transition program with a one-on-one aide for two years as compensatory education.
FAPE denialTransition/secondary servicesEligibility/evaluation/child find
The parents said the district should have spotted and evaluated their daughter's reading disability years earlier and wanted to be paid back for private tutoring and schooling; the officer found the district failed to evaluate her in time but awarded only a modest amount of compensatory reading tutoring and denied most of the reimbursement requests.
Eligibility/evaluation/child findFAPE denialCompensatory education