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Public Act 104-0202
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| HB1861 Enrolled | LRB104 07629 LNS 17673 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections |
14-1.11, 14-1.11a, and 14-7.05 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/14-1.11) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-1.11) |
Sec. 14-1.11. Resident district; parent; legal guardian. |
The resident district is the school district in which the |
parent or guardian, or both parent and guardian, of the |
student reside when: |
(1) the parent has legal guardianship of the student |
and resides within Illinois; or |
(2) an individual guardian has been appointed by the |
courts and resides within Illinois; or |
(3) an Illinois public agency has legal guardianship |
and the student resides either in the home of the parent or |
within the same district as the parent; or |
(4) an Illinois court orders a residential placement |
but the parents retain any legal rights or guardianship |
and have not been subject to a termination of parental |
rights order. |
In cases of divorced or separated parents, when only one |
parent has legal guardianship or custody, the district in |
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which the parent having legal guardianship or custody resides |
is the resident district. When both parents retain legal |
guardianship or custody, the resident district is the district |
in which either parent who provides the student's primary |
regular fixed night-time abode resides; provided, that the |
election of resident district may be made only one time per |
school year. |
When the parent has legal guardianship and lives outside |
of the State of Illinois, or when the individual legal |
guardian other than the natural parent lives outside the State |
of Illinois, the parent, legal guardian, or other placing |
agent is responsible for making arrangements to pay the |
Illinois school district serving the child for the educational |
services provided. Those service costs shall be determined in |
accordance with Section 14-7.01. For a child residing in a |
long-term, acute care facility serving a majority of patients |
who are (i) minor children and (ii) Medicaid-eligible in West |
Harvey-Dixmoor Public Schools District 147 or Thornton |
Township High School District 205, if a parent or guardian |
moves out of this State after the child is placed in such a |
facility, that parent or guardian shall enroll the child in a |
school in the other state to initiate reimbursement to |
Illinois. If the laws, policies, or procedures of the other |
state prohibit the foregoing or if the parent or guardian |
otherwise provides proof of at least one satisfactory attempt |
to enroll the child but is refused by the other state, the |
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child shall continue to be deemed a resident of the last school |
district in which the child was enrolled. This process must be |
conducted when the student is placed in the facility and every |
3 years from the date of placement. |
(Source: P.A. 95-844, eff. 8-15-08.)
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(105 ILCS 5/14-1.11a) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-1.11a) |
Sec. 14-1.11a. Resident district; student. |
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the |
resident district is the school district in which the student |
resides when: |
(1) the parent has legal guardianship but the location |
of the parent is unknown; or |
(2) an individual guardian has been appointed but the |
location of the guardian is unknown; or |
(3) the student is 18 years of age or older and no |
legal guardian has been appointed; or |
(4) the student is legally an emancipated minor; or |
(5) an Illinois public agency has legal guardianship |
and such agency or any court in this State has placed the |
student residentially outside of the school district in |
which the parent lives. |
(b) In cases where an Illinois public agency has legal |
guardianship and has placed the student residentially outside |
of Illinois, the last school district that provided at least |
45 days of educational service to the student shall continue |
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to be the district of residence until the student is no longer |
under guardianship of an Illinois public agency or until the |
student is returned to Illinois. |
If a student who is 18 years of age or older with no legal |
guardian is placed residentially outside of the school |
district in which the student's parent lives and the placement |
is funded by a State agency or through private insurance, then |
the resident district is the school district in which the |
parent lives. |
The resident district of a homeless student is the |
Illinois district in which the student enrolls for educational |
services. Homeless students include individuals as defined in |
the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. |
(c) The State Superintendent of Education may determine |
that the location of the parent or guardian of a student is |
unknown after considering information submitted from the |
school district that last enrolled the student or from the |
school or special education facility providing special |
education and related services to meet the needs of the |
student. The information submitted to the State Superintendent |
of Education must include an affidavit from that school |
district's superintendent or the facility's director attesting |
that the location of the parent or guardian is unknown and at |
least 3 satisfactory 4 items of documentary evidence that a |
minimum of 4 separate attempts were made on 3 separate days to |
locate the parent or guardian and no response was received |
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from the parent or guardian within 14 days after such |
satisfactory attempts. Any determination by the State |
Superintendent of Education that the location of a parent or |
guardian is unknown shall be made as soon as practicable after |
receipt of the affidavit from the school district's |
superintendent or the facility's director. The State |
Superintendent of Education's determination is final. However, |
any determination made by the State Superintendent of |
Education is subject to review and reconsideration any time a |
parent's or guardian's location becomes known. |
A school district or special education facility may |
request assistance with determining the location of a parent |
or guardian from the State Board of Education. This process |
must be conducted when the student is placed in the facility |
and every 3 years from the date of placement. |
(Source: P.A. 102-514, eff. 8-20-21; 103-676, eff. 7-19-24.)
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(105 ILCS 5/14-7.05) |
Sec. 14-7.05. Placement in residential facility; payment |
of educational costs. For any student with a disability in a |
residential facility placement made or paid for by an Illinois |
public State agency or made by any court in this State, the |
school district of residence as determined pursuant to this |
Article is responsible for the costs of educating the child |
and shall be reimbursed for those costs in accordance with |
this Code. Subject to this Section and relevant State |
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appropriation, the resident district's financial |
responsibility and reimbursement must be calculated in |
accordance with the provisions of Section 14-7.02 of this |
Code. In those instances in which a district receives a block |
grant pursuant to Article 1D of this Code, the district's |
financial responsibility is limited to the actual educational |
costs of the placement, which must be paid by the district from |
its block grant appropriation. Resident district financial |
responsibility and reimbursement applies for both residential |
facilities that are approved by the State Board of Education |
and non-approved facilities, subject to the requirements of |
this Section. The Illinois placing agency or court remains |
responsible for funding the residential portion of the |
placement and for notifying the resident district prior to the |
placement, except in emergency situations. For a child |
residing in a long-term, acute care facility serving a |
majority of patients who are (i) minor children and (ii) |
Medicaid-eligible in West Harvey-Dixmoor Public Schools |
District 147 or Thornton Township High School District 205, |
the following shall apply: |
(1) If the child is not currently enrolled in a school |
district or if the resident school district is unknown, |
the appropriate resident school district must be |
identified and the child must be enrolled in that district |
prior to the placement of the child, except in emergency |
situations. The residential facility shall require the |
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parent or guardian of the child to sign a contract upon |
placement in the residential facility affirming that the |
parent or guardian understands the parent's or guardian's |
obligations under State law, including the obligation to |
enroll the child in the appropriate school district of |
residence at time of placement or upon the child reaching |
the age of 3. The identified school district of residence |
under this Article may not deny enrollment on the basis of |
the child's placement. |
(2) For the 2025-2026 school year and every school |
year thereafter, for a child with an out-of-state resident |
district whose out-of-state resident district has refused |
to enroll the child in the district, despite being |
contacted by both the nonpublic school within the |
applicable facility and the State Board of Education, the |
resident district shall be the student's most recent |
resident district in Illinois and that resident district |
shall be the responsible payor. The reimbursement of |
receipts paid under these circumstances shall be paid out |
of the line item as found in Section 18-3 of this Code. |
(3) For fiscal year 2027 only, subject to |
appropriation, the equivalent of each applicable child's |
tuition receipts for the 2025-2026 school year, as found |
in paragraph (1), shall be paid to the resident district |
determined by this Section. The provisions of this |
paragraph (3), other than this sentence, are inoperative |
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after June 30, 2027. |
The residential facility in which the student is placed shall |
notify the resident district of the student's enrollment as |
soon as practicable after the placement. Failure of the |
placing agency or court to notify the resident district prior |
to the placement does not absolve the resident district of |
financial responsibility for the educational costs of the |
placement; however, the resident district shall not become |
financially responsible unless and until it receives written |
notice of the placement by either the placing agency, court, |
or residential facility. The placing agency or parent shall |
request an individualized education program (IEP) meeting from |
the resident district if the placement would entail additional |
educational services beyond the student's current IEP. The |
district of residence shall retain control of the IEP process, |
and any changes to the IEP must be done in compliance with the |
federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. |
Prior to the placement of a child in an out-of-state |
special education residential facility, the placing agency or |
court must refer to the child or the child's parent or guardian |
the option to place the child in a special education |
residential facility located within this State, if any, that |
provides treatment and services comparable to those provided |
by the out-of-state special education residential facility. |
The placing agency or court must review annually the placement |
of a child in an out-of-state special education residential |
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facility. As a part of the review, the placing agency or court |
must refer to the child or the child's parent or guardian the |
option to place the child in a comparable special education |
residential facility located within this State, if any. |
Payments shall be made by the resident district to the |
entity providing the educational services, whether the entity |
is the residential facility or the school district wherein the |
facility is located, no less than once per quarter unless |
otherwise agreed to in writing by the parties. |
A residential facility providing educational services |
within the facility, but not approved by the State Board of |
Education, is required to demonstrate proof to the State Board |
of (i) appropriate licensure of teachers for the student |
population, (ii) age-appropriate curriculum, (iii) enrollment |
and attendance data, and (iv) the ability to implement the |
child's IEP. A school district is under no obligation to pay |
such a residential facility unless and until such proof is |
provided to the State Board's satisfaction. |
When a dispute arises over the determination of the |
district of residence under this Section, any person or |
entity, including without limitation a school district or |
residential facility, may make a written request for a |
residency decision to the State Superintendent of Education, |
who, upon review of materials submitted and any other items of |
information he or she may request for submission, shall issue |
his or her decision in writing. The decision of the State |