SCH CD-504 IMPARTIAL HEARINGS

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB5488

Select Language

×

The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein.

Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet.

The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website.

NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window.

Choose Language

English

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Armenian

Azerbaijani

Basque

Bengali

Bosnian

Catalan

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Estonian

Filipino

Finnish

French

Galician

Georgian

German

Greek

Gujarati

Haitian Creole

Hausa

Hawaiian

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Icelandic

Indonesian

Interlingua

Interlingue

Inuktitut

Irish

Italian

Japanese

Javanese

Kannada

Khmer

Korean

Latin

Latvian

Lithuanian

Luxembourgish

Macedonian

Malagasy

Malayalam

Maltese

Maori

Marathi

Myanmar

Nepali

Norwegian

Odia

Pashto

Punjabi

Romanian

Russian

Samoan

Sango

Sanskrit

Sardinian

Sindhi

Sinhala

Slovak

Slovenian

Somali

Southern Sotho

Spanish

Sundanese

Swahili

Swedish

Tamil

Telugu

Thai

Tigrinya

Tonga

Turkish

Ukrainian

Urdu

Vietnamese

Welsh

Xhosa

Yiddish

Yoruba

Zulu

Powered by
Translate

Close

Illinois General Assembly

Top Navigation Bar

Translate

Learn

Select General Assembly

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules.

ILGA.GOV

LEGISLATION & LAWS

Bills & Resolutions

Public Acts

Illinois Compiled Statutes

Illinois Constitution

Search Legislation

Glossary

Guide

Reports & Inquiry

Legislative Reports

Special Reports

FTP Site

Legislator Lookup

Capitol Complex Phone Numbers

Rules & Regulations

Illinois Register

Administrative Rules

Senate

Members

Schedules

Committees

Request for Remote Testimony

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

Senate Employment Opportunities

Media Guidelines

House

Members

Schedules

Committees

Submit testimony for House Committees

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

House Employment Opportunities

Log In

Mobile Top Bar

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website.

Full Text of HB5488

Home

Legislation

Full Text

HB5488 - 104th General Assembly

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Select Menu

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

House Amendment 001

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

House Amendment 001

Open PDF

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5488

Introduced 2/13/2026, by Rep. Laura Faver Dias

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/14-8.02j new

Amends the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code.
Allows the parent or guardian of a student or a student if the student is
at least 18 years of age or emancipated to request an impartial, federal
Section 504 due-process hearing. Within 3 business days after receipt of
the request, requires a school district, special education joint
agreement, or other educational entity to appoint a qualified, impartial
hearing officer and to notify the hearing officer of the appointment.
Requires a hearing officer to disclose any actual or potential conflict of
interest to the parties. Sets forth requirements for the request, the
notification of a hearing officer appointment, the response to complaints,
and amendments to hearing requests. Sets forth the responsibilities of the
hearing officer and the hearing procedures. Sets forth the qualification
requirements to be a hearing officer. Requires the State Board of
Education to create a training module for hearing officers, conduct the
training, and determine whether an individual is appropriately qualified.
Provides that the provisions apply to all Section 504 impartial
due-process hearings requested after January 1, 2027 in cases regarding
the identification, evaluation, eligibility, accommodations, or
educational placement of a student who, because of a disability, is in need
of or is believed to be in need of accommodations or services from a school
district, special education joint agreement, or other educational entity.
Provides that nothing in the provisions may be construed to require a party
in a Section 504 complaint to exhaust administrative remedies prior to
commencing a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
LRB104 20468 LNS 33937 b
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT
MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

HB5488
LRB104 20468 LNS 33937 b
1

AN ACT concerning education.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The School Code is amended by adding Section
5
14-8.02j as follows:

6

(105 ILCS 5/14-8.02j new)
7

Sec. 14-8.02j.
Section 504 impartial due-process hearings.

8

(a) This Section applies to all federal Section 504
9
impartial due-process hearings requested after January 1, 2027
10
in cases regarding the identification, evaluation,
11
eligibility, accommodations, or educational placement of a
12
student who, because of a disability, is in need of or is
13
believed to be in need of accommodations or services from a
14
school district, special education joint agreement, or other
15
educational entity.

16

(b) As used in this Section:
17

"Day" means the computation of days under Section 1.11 of
18
the Statute on Statutes.
19

"Disability" has the meaning given to that term in the
20
Environmental Barriers Act.
21

"Impartial", with respect to a hearing, means that a
22
person (i) is not currently a resident of the school district,
23
special education joint agreement, or other educational entity

HB5488
- 2 -
LRB104 20468 LNS 33937 b
1
that is a party to the hearing, except this disqualification
2
does not apply to a hearing in which the party is a school
3
district organized under Article 34; (ii) has not represented
4
a party to the hearing as legal counsel within one year prior
5
to the request for the hearing; and (iii) does not have a
6
conflict of interest or has a conflict of interest that the
7
parties have agreed in writing to waive.
8

"Qualified" means that a person meets the minimum
9
requirements to be an impartial hearing officer under
10
subsection (f).
11

(c) An impartial Section 504 due-process hearing may be
12
requested by the parent or guardian of a student or by a
13
student if the student is at least 18 years of age or
14
emancipated. The request shall be made in writing to the
15
superintendent of the school district where the student
16
resides. If the respondent is a special education joint
17
agreement or other educational entity, the request shall be
18
made in writing to the chief administrator of the special
19
education joint agreement or other educational entity.
20

The hearing request shall, at a minimum, include (i) the
21
name of the student, (ii) the student's address of residence,
22
(iii) the name of the school the student is attending, (iv) a
23
brief description of the nature of the problem relating to the
24
identification, evaluation, eligibility, accommodations, or
25
educational placement of the student, and (v) a proposed
26
resolution of the problem to the extent known and available to

HB5488
- 3 -
LRB104 20468 LNS 33937 b
1
the party requesting the hearing. If the student is a homeless
2
child as defined in the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless
3
Assistance Act, available contact information for the student
4
shall be provided.
5

Within 3 business days after receipt of the hearing
6
request, the school district, special education joint
7
agreement, or other educational entity shall appoint a
8
qualified, impartial hearing officer and shall notify the
9
hearing officer of the appointment. Within 5 business days
10
after the hearing officer's appointment, the hearing officer
11
shall notify the parties of the appointment in writing. Within
12
7 business days after the hearing request is received, the
13
respondent shall file and serve upon the complainant a written
14
response or other documentation indicating the respondent's
15
position on the issues raised in the hearing request. The
16
complainant shall have 5 days after the initial hearing
17
request is received to file an amended hearing request as a
18
matter of right. No further amendments of the hearing request
19
may be filed without leave of the hearing officer. The filing
20
of an amended hearing request shall reset the timelines under
21
this Section.
22

(d) A hearing officer must disclose to the parties any
23
actual or potential conflict of interest, including, but not
24
limited to, (i) former employment with the school district,
25
special education joint agreement, or other educational entity
26
that is a party to the hearing or (ii) any personal,

HB5488
- 4 -
LRB104 20468 LNS 33937 b
1
professional, or financial interest that may interfere with
2
the hearing officer's objectivity as a hearing officer. If the
3
hearing officer has a conflict of interest, the hearing
4
officer shall recuse himself or herself unless all parties
5
agree in writing to waive the conflict of interest. A party may
6
raise facts that constitute a conflict of interest at any time
7
during the proceedings.
8

(e) The hearing officer shall be responsible for
9
scheduling and conducting the hearing. The hearing officer
10
shall not initiate or participate in any ex parte
11
communications with the parties or their counsel, except to
12
arrange the date, time, and location of the hearing. The
13
hearing officer may convene a prehearing conference at least 5
14
days prior to the hearing to address how the hearing will be
15
conducted, including, but not limited to, the exchange of
16
witness lists and documentation, the introduction of evidence,
17
and the scheduling of witnesses.
18

The hearing shall be held at a time and place that are
19
reasonably convenient for the parties involved. The hearing
20
date shall be no earlier than 15 business days after the
21
respondent's receipt of the hearing request and no later than
22
45 business days after the respondent's receipt of the hearing
23
request. If the student's health or safety requires
24
accelerated attention, the parent or guardian may request an
25
expedited hearing to begin no later than 20 days after the
26
respondent receives the hearing request. The hearing officer

HB5488
- 5 -
LRB104 20468 LNS 33937 b
1
shall grant this request upon a determination of good cause.
2
The hearing may be held by remote means at the discretion of
3
the hearing officer. However, all or a portion of the hearing
4
shall be held in person upon the request of a party for good
5
cause.
6

The hearing shall address only those issues properly
7
raised under this Section in the hearing request.
8

The parent or guardian involved in the hearing shall have
9
the right to have the student who is the subject of the hearing
10
present. Any party may be represented by legal counsel. A
11
parent, guardian, or student may be accompanied and advised by
12
people with special knowledge or training with respect to the
13
problems of students with disabilities at the party's own
14
expense.
15

Any party to the hearing has the right to present evidence
16
and confront and cross-examine witnesses.
17

The length of the hearing may not exceed 7 days unless good
18
cause is shown. Good cause shall be determined by the hearing
19
officer.
20

The school district, special education joint agreement, or
21
other educational entity that is the responding party shall be
22
responsible for the costs of the hearing officer and for
23
providing a written or electronic verbatim record of the
24
proceedings.
25

The school district, special education joint agreement, or
26
other educational entity that is a party to the hearing must

HB5488
- 6 -
LRB104 20468 LNS 33937 b
1
provide and pay for interpretation services for a parent or
2
student who has a primary language other than English at all
3
stages of the process, including the hearing and the
4
prehearing conference. An interpreter may be requested by any
5
party and must be qualified under standards adopted by the
6
State Board of Education. For a parent or student who is deaf
7
or hard of hearing, the interpreter must be licensed under the
8
Interpreter for the Deaf Licensure Act of 2007.
9

The hearing officer shall issue a final written decision,
10
including findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 10
11
business days after the conclusion of the hearing and mail a
12
copy of the decision to each party.
13

(f) To be qualified to serve as a Section 504 impartial
14
due-process hearing officer an individual must, at a minimum,
15
possess the following credentials:
16

(1) a juris doctor degree from an accredited law
17

school and an active license to practice law in this State
18

or another jurisdiction or a master's or doctoral degree
19

in education or another field related to disability law or
20

people with disabilities;
21

(2) the knowledge of and ability to understand the
22

requirements of Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation
23

Act of 1973, its implementing federal regulations, related
24

State statutes and rules, and legal interpretations of
25

those statutes, regulations, and rules by federal and
26

State courts;

HB5488
- 7 -
LRB104 20468 LNS 33937 b
1

(3) the demonstrated ability to conduct hearings in
2

accordance with appropriate standard legal practice; and
3

(4) the demonstrated ability to issue and write clear
4

and concise decisions that address the issues in the case
5

and meet appropriate legal standards.
6

(g) The State Board of Education shall create a training
7
module for Section 504 impartial due-process hearing officers,
8
conduct the training, and determine whether an individual is
9
appropriately qualified. The training process and
10
determination of whether an individual is qualified shall
11
include a review of the individual's experience, an
12
examination, and a sample of issue analysis and writing a
13
decision based on a hypothetical case. The State Board of
14
Education shall cover the costs associated with the training
15
and the determination of whether an individual is qualified.
16

(h) Nothing in this Section may be construed to require a
17
party in a Section 504 complaint to exhaust administrative
18
remedies prior to commencing a civil action in a court of
19
competent jurisdiction.

Footer

Disclaimer

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.

Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.
Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn