Education Law: Special Education Placement
Title 23 of the Illinois Administrative Code (2005) includes under Subtitle A: Education, Chapter 1, Part 226: Special Education, requirements for what constitutes a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the state of Illinois. Generally, Illinois statute mandates that special needs students, regardless of disability, be provided with a free and appropriate public education in which placement occurs within the least restrictive environment (LRE). In essence, this section of Illinois statutes calls clearly for each local school district and local school to ensure that special education students, after a thorough assessment and evaluation resulting in the creation of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is provided with necessary educational and ancillary services in any type of placement setting. Generally, however, the spirit of the Illinois law directs that this placement, to the extent that is compatible with positive educational outcomes, be in a mainstream or inclusive classroom.
In the case of Beth B. v. Clay (02-172) the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on an earlier court decision in which concerns regarding the special education placement of Beth B. had been addressed (Supreme Court may reviewà, 2002). In filing suit against the Lake Bluff Illinois School District 65 and Superintendent Mark Van Clay, attorneys for Beth B. alleged that this special education student had been unjustly and unfairly as well as inappropriately from an inclusive Lake Bluff school classroom to a special education classroom and that this transfer was a violation of the student's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Brief of Amice, 2001).
Beth B. was described as suffering from Rett Syndrome, a neurological disorder resulting in several physical and cognitive disabilities. Under her initial IEP, the c...