The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the Four Rivers Special Education District in Illinois has entered into an agreement to ensure its disciplinary practices do not deny students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and comply with civil rights obligations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Four Rivers Special Education District operates one school designed specifically to serve students with emotional disabilities and those who benefit from its Learning in Functional Environments program. The district reports that it “houses intensive, supportive special education classrooms to meet the needs of children when the home districts cannot provide the necessary level of supports.” However, OCR’s review found significant compliance concerns. The district referred students to law enforcement for non-criminal behaviors 96 times in one school year, exceeding the total number of enrolled students. These referrals were often for behaviors potentially related to disabilities such as “disruption,” “inappropriate language,” and “phone violation.”
Additionally, several students with disabilities spent extensive time out of the classroom. One student visited the school crisis room 143 times during a single school year, spending up to four hours and 20 minutes there in one day. District records did not reflect evaluations on whether this non-instructional time warranted reevaluation or if compensatory services were needed to ensure equal access to education.
“Four Rivers Special Education District has signed a robust agreement to assure that students with disabilities will not be removed from the classroom or referred to law enforcement for non-criminal, disability-based conduct,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “This agreement will ensure that students placed in the district will receive the appropriate education guaranteed by federal law and will no longer be referred to law enforcement for behaviors a school that advertises its provision of ‘intensive, supportive special education classrooms’ should be fully equipped to manage.”
The resolution agreement commits the district to:
- Convene an IEP meeting for each student with disabilities who missed instructional time due to law enforcement contact or use of the crisis room from 2021-2022 through 2023-2024 school years, revise their IEPs as necessary, determine if FAPE was denied, and provide compensatory education/remedial services if required.
- Develop and implement policies governing use of the crisis room ensuring all students with disabilities receive a FAPE.
- Develop policies governing contacts with law enforcement limited strictly to criminal behaviors unmanageable by the district and consistent steps prior to contacting law enforcement as per Section 504 and Title II.
- Implement a record-keeping system ensuring accurate documentation of each law enforcement contact and use of the crisis room.
- Train administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, and social workers on Section 504 requirements regarding FAPE obligations.
The resolution letter and agreement are available on OCR's website.
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