Special Needs

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), public schools must offer services to all students with special needs.  Students enrolled in public schools, full or part time, must be offered all services specified in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP); students in home schools must be offered the same services offered to other nonpublic students in their district.  The Illinois State Board of Education legal department states, however, that there is nothing in Illinois law requiring any parent to accept such services.