Special Education

The purpose of special education is to provide equal access to education for children ages birth through 21 years old by providing specialized services that will lead to school success.

Rockford Public Schools is committed to including students with disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate with students who are not disabled. We encourage strong collaboration with regular education staff to provide services to students in the most inclusive manner to benefit all students in the classroom.

We work to meet the individual needs of students. Special Education services range from academic intervention to related services in areas such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Therapeutic services are available to students who require intervention in the realm of social, emotional and adjustment areas.

Beyond providing specialized instruction and related services to eligible students, we are also responsible for actively seeking out and identifying all children from birth through age 21 within the district who may be eligible for special education and related services.

If you, your child’s health care provider, teacher or someone else suspects that your child may benefit from special education services, we encourage you to follow the Special Education Process below.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Process

Step One: Pre-Referral

Main objectives of the pre-referral process:

•   Document and define the difficulties the child is having.
•   Evaluate the data gathered from the classroom accommodations that have already been tried.
•   Determine if additional accommodations should be tried.
•   Review the effects of different instructional interventions.

The goal of the pre-referral process is to determine if the behavioral and/or educational challenges exhibited by the child can be resolved in their general education classroom with accommodations and interventions. To avoid unnecessary evaluations and placements, the assessments used at this stage are purely intervention-based. Typically crafted in the general education class, this step is conducted with the use of direct performance procedures. During the pre-referral process, teachers will try various teaching approaches to determine if the struggles your child is having can be resolved without specialized testing or placement. If your child continues to struggle, he/she will be referred to the next step in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process.

Step Two: Referral

There are two ways to identify a child as possibly needing special education and/or related services:

Child Find is a process for identifying, locating and evaluating children between the ages of 3 and 21 years within the district who may be eligible for special education or related services.
Referral from a parent/guardian or school personnel. A request for an evaluation must be submitted in writing to the principal or the case manager. The request should be signed, dated and include an explanation of educational concerns and any supporting documentation.

The school must provide the parent/guardian written notice of their decision on whether an evaluation is needed. This notice must be given within 14 school days of receiving the request.

Step Three: Assessment Planning Process

If the school agrees to evaluate your student, an assessment planning meeting is scheduled within 14 school days of receiving the request for an evaluation. The purpose of the meeting is to determine what evaluations are needed to assess the child in all areas related to their suspected disability. Before the evaluation process can begin, the parent/guardian must provide written consent.

Multidisciplinary teams become involved to help determine the child’s distinctive strengths and needs. Other than the parents, the team may include the school psychologist, speech and language therapist, social worker, classroom teacher and special education teacher.

An array of data types, assessment instruments and methods are used during this stage in order to create an accurate report later used to determine the correct path for the student. If the final decision is that the child has a disability that requires special education, a baseline of performance is determined.

Step Four: Evaluation

The initial evaluation must be completed and, if the student is found to be eligible for special education, the IEP team must develop the Individual Education Plan within 60 school days after the date the written consent was obtained.

Parents/Guardians must receive copies of the draft evaluations at least three school days prior to the eligibility meeting.

If the student is not found eligible for special education, the team may consider eligibility under a Section 504 Plan.

Step Five: Development of the Individual Education Plan

The next step in the process is to create the actual IEP. The IEP team must meet to develop the IEP within the 60 day timeline. As a parent, attending an IEP meeting for the first time may be an overwhelming experience. To help calm your nerves and know your child is receiving the help they deserve, you have the right to bring a child advocate with you to the meeting. Child advocates are professionals familiar with the special education process and work specifically for the child and their parents.

The IEP identifies the student’s unique needs and describes how the school will address those needs. The IEP establishes goals and identifies the supplementary aids, supports and services to allow the student to meet those goals. If this is the student's initial IEP, services cannot begin until the parent gives their permission by signing a consent for placement.

The student’s IEP must be reviewed by the IEP team at least once per year.

Student Records
Helpful Links

Student Records

All special education records (IEP/504 Plan) can be requested with the Special Education Records Department. Please contact Kaliyah Turner, kaliyah.turner@rps205.com.

Destruction of Records

The Special Education Department destroys special education temporary records every year in the summer. It is important to note that these records may be of benefit to the student and/or parent in the future in certifying eligibility for certain government services and aids. Parents, custodians, or students-turned-adults have the rights to copies or originals of these records prior to their destruction.

Transfer of Records to Another Illinois Public School

Notice of a student’s transfer to another school district should be given to the building principal in advance so that the records can be prepared to be sent to the new school. According to the Illinois School Student Records Act of 1975 as amended, student records must be transferred to another school in which the student has enrolled or intends to enroll upon request of the records custodian of the other school. Before moving or transferring to a new school, parents are welcome to review and/or request a copy of their child’s school records.

Release of Student Records Form