APPROPRIATE STANDARD PRACTICES FOR ILLINOIS SPECIAL EDUCATION DUE PROCESS PROCEEDINGS - with Accompanying Forms and Certification Procedures

Oct 10, 2026

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Appropriate Standard Practices for Illinois special education due process proceedings provides consistent guidance for hearing officers, parties, and associated committees on handling due process hearings from prehearing through final decision. Developed with stakeholders, it explains that the guidance is not law but supports “appropriate, standard legal practice” under IDEA. The document emphasizes meaningful opportunities for hearing rights, discretionary procedural determinations aligned with due process, and expected use of accompanying forms and record-certification procedures to improve dispute resolution between parents and school districts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages82

Reading Time3 h 27 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Appropriate Standard Practices

Standards of Conduct

Forms

Certification of the Record

APPROPRIATE STANDARD PRACTICES FOR ILLINOIS SPECIAL EDUCATION DUE PROCESS PROCEEDINGS with Accompanying Forms and Certification Procedures Published by the Illinois State Board of Education Special Education and Support Services Published on May 5, 2016 Revised May 10 , 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction ..………………………………………………………………….…….…………..………3 II. Appropriate Standard Practices ……………………………………………………..……….….. 5 III. Standards of Conduct …………………………………………………………….……….……….. 21 IV. Forms 1. Caption ………………………………………………….…………………….……………….. 24 2. Subpoena ……………………………………………….…………………….…………..…... 25 3. Order of Consolidation …………………………………………………………..……….. 27 4. Introductory – Status Call Letter …………………………………………..…………. 29 Introductory – Status Call Letter (expedited)………………………….……… 31 5. Appendix A: Rights of Parties Related to Hearings ……………………….… 33 Appendix A: Rights of Parties Related to Hearings (expedited)…….….. 36 Appendix B: Preliminary Order ………………………………………….……………39 Appendix B: Preliminary Order (expedited)…………………………………….. 41 Appendix C: Hearing Process Guidelines …………………………………………. 43 6. Notice of Prehearing Conference …………………………………………..…………. 45 7. Prehearing Conference – Subjects To Be Considered, and Attachments (Prehearing Conference Document and Witness Lists) ..…. 47 8. Prehearing Report and Order ………………………………………………………….. 52 Prehearing Report and Order (expedited)…..……………………………………. 57 9. Motion for Continuance ………………………………………………………………….. 62 10. Order Granting/Denying Continuance ………………………………………………64 11. Hearing Officer Opening Statement …………………………………………………. 66 12. Order of Withdrawal ………………………………………………………………………. 67 13. Order of Dismissal …………………………………………………………………………. 69 14. Final Determination and Order ……………………………………………………….. 72 V. Certification of the Record – Hearing Officer Responsibilities, and Forms (Certification of the Record, with Index and Hearing Officer List)………77 INTRODUCTION Over the years, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Office of Special Education and Support Services (SESS) has sought feedback from stakeholders of the due process hearing system – including Hearing Officers, members of the special education Illinois Bar, members of the Screening Committee, members of the Attorney General’s Committee on Due Process, and persons involved in the hearing process in other states – on how the hearing process might be improved. While various facets of the process have been mentioned, many spoke about the benefit of, and need for, a more consistent approach among the state’s Hearing Officers with respect to their handling of the process, from prehearing through the final decision. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that Hearing Officers must conduct hearings and render and write decisions in accordance with“appropriate, standard legal practice.” IDEA, however, does not define this term. Accordingly, in an effort to improve the hearing process, and to identify appropriate standard practices that would provide for consistency of approach, in early 2012, SESS began working with Hearing Officers and, thereafter, the members of the Screening Committee and the Attorney General’s Committee on Due Process, to develop a set of appropriate standard practices (ASP) with accompanying forms and record certification procedures. This document – entitled Appropriate Standard Practices (ASP)–is the result of that collaboration. The ASP provide guidance and do not have the force of law. However, there is nothing in the IDEA or its implementing regulations that would prohibit hearing officers from making discretionary determinations on procedural matters not addressed in the IDEA, so long as such determinations are made in a manner that is consistent with the hearing rights of the parties and basic principles of due process. The ASP, therefore, reflect how many aspects of the hearing process should generally be conducted in areas

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Appropriate Standard Practices (ASP) for Illinois due process hearings?

The ASP aim to promote a more consistent approach among hearing officers in conducting due process hearings from prehearing through final decisions, supported by accompanying forms and record certification procedures.

Do the ASP have the force of law?

No. The ASP provide guidance and do not have the force of law, though they are intended to reflect how hearing procedures should generally be handled consistent with due process rights.

Are hearing officers required to use the accompanying forms and certification procedures?

Hearing officers are expected to substantially implement these practices, including use of the forms, in all hearings. Parties and counsel are also expected to comply unless the hearing officer finds good cause to depart from a standard practice.

Oct 10, 2026

Upload by Sarah