Will County resident Susan Eisenbrandt wiped away tears this week as she learned her son, Mark, will be allowed to remain at his neighborhood high school for five extra months after his 22nd birthday.
Under a previous law, Mark, 21, who has autism and seizure disorders, would have been abruptly yanked from the special education transition program at Lincoln-Way School District 210 on Dec. 9, when he turns 22. But legislation signed this week by Gov. J.B. Pritzker means he can stay on to finish the school year.
“I’m just so happy … It’s been a battle, and finally the hard work is done,” Susan Eisenbrandt said.
Pritzker signed House Bills 40 and 2748 into law at Chicago’s Southside Occupational Academy High School on Wednesday, allowing special education students like Mark to stay in class through the end of the school year in which they turn 22 instead of aging out of services the day of their birthday.
The package also allows special education students who recently turned 22 and were impacted by COVID-19 to remain eligible for educational services up to the end of the regular 2021-22 school year.
“I strongly believe that a core principle of governance is ensuring that our laws are kind to the people they are meant to serve. And there’s nothing kind about taking a student with disabilities out of the classroom on Oct. 16, or Jan. 5, or April 19, just because they turned another day older,” Pritzker said.
“It doesn’t happen to general education students, and it shouldn’t happen to our students with special needs either,” Pritzker said.
State Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Democrat who represents portions of Chicago and the southwest suburbs, and a co-sponsor of the legislation, said the new law is “righting a long-standing wrong.”
State Rep. Fran Hurley, a Chicago Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, added: “Every student deserves to be able to graduate with their class, enjoying the rite of passage that is saying goodbye to their friends and teachers at the end of the school year.”
A second new law, House Bill 2748, allows special education students to remain eligible for services through the end of the regular 2021-22 school year if they turned 22 during the time their in-person instruction, services or activities were suspended for at least three months during the school year because of the pandemic, officials said.
The legislation will give students a chance to recoup “critical in-person classroom instruction time and transition to adult special needs services,” state officials said.
At Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214, officials estimate 15 to 20 special education students will now be allowed to finish the school year in which they turn 22.
Nationwide, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that states provide a free public education to eligible children with disabilities in the U.S.
As of the 2018-19 school year, public agencies provided early intervention, special education and related services to more than 7.5 million infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
By allowing students to finish out the school year in which they turn 22, Illinois is going beyond what is required by federal law, said Laurie VanderPloeg, associate executive director for professional affairs for the Alexandria, Virginia-based Council for Exceptional Children.
For young adults ages 18-21, many U.S. high schools offer transition programs teaching life skills ranging from housekeeping and cooking to job training and employment opportunities in the community, VanderPloeg said.
“I think it’s important to stress how hard local school districts are working to collaborate with families who have infants, toddlers, children and young adults in special education programs,” VanderPloeg said.
About 50 miles southwest of Chicago, in Manhattan, Illinois, Susan Eisenbrandt said the new laws will also allow her to continue working as a program assistant for special education students at her neighborhood school.
Prior to the new law, Eisenbrandt said she would likely have had to quit her job because her son would have been unable to stay home alone.
“This new law was so necessary for students like my son,” Eisenbrandt said.
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcullotta
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