Special education
Mayor-Elect Lightfoot’s Education Transition Committee Survey Responses
The inauguration of Chicago’s new Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, gives us advocates in the disability rights community with an exciting opportunity to help set a new agenda for the city. Legal…
Read MorePolicy Update: Protecting Special Education for Illinois Children
UPDATE, 8/26/2019: After passing both the House and the Senate unanimously, Gov. Pritzker signed both bills into law on August 23. Two special education bills crafted in collaboration with Legal…
Read MoreLETTER TO ISBE: CPS Special Education Update, February 2019
This letter was sent by a special education advocacy group to members of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on the morning of February 26, 2019, prior to a…
Read MoreChicago Public Schools Limiting Services for Students with Special Needs
Amy Zimmerman, Director of Children and Families Partnerships at Legal Council, was featured in a story by WBEZ that exposes problems with Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) newest policy change affecting…
Read MoreImproving Parent Involvement in CPS Special Education
This week, parents of Chicago Public Schools students with special needs won a significant victory: On August 20th, Gov. Rauner signed SB 454. This past May, Legal Council collaborated with…
Read MoreLegal Council Advocates VS. CPS Special Education
After a public inquiry team, led by the Illinois State Board of Education, spent the last five months investigating Chicago Public Schools’ Special Education policies and practices and found significant and unnecessary delays and denials in services, the Board voted Wednesday to approve an independent monitor to oversee CPS as it works to implement changes.
Read MoreCPS Special Ed under investigation
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has begun a “Public Inquiry” into CPS’s handling of special education concerns in response to a coordinated effort by Legal Council for Health…
Read MoreSpecial education expose
First in a series of investigative reporting from WBEZ reveals the Chicago Public Schools overhauled special education and relied on a “secret” set of guidelines “that resulted in limiting services…
Read MoreStay-put protections
Governor Rauner signs a bill drafted by Legal Council for Health Justice which clarifies and strengthens the ability of parents and guardians to pursue mediation where there are disagreements with the school about their child’s special education services. In addition to clarifying the process for children to continue to receive special education services during the entire mediation process (called “stay-put protections”), the bill also requires updating of the Notice of Procedural Safeguards for special education that parents must receive. This notice had not been updated since 2009!
Read MoreChicago Public Schools Vows to Fix Transportation Policy After Parent and Advocate Outcry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Jill Wohl, 312-605-1980 Chicago Public Schools Vows to Fix Transportation Policy After Parent and Advocate Outcry District to continue to provide transportation to preschool students with…
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