In a ruling on a “stay-put” motion successfully defended by attorney Jessica Nguyen, an ISBE impartial hearing officer ruled in favor of the district and denied a parent’s emergency stay-put motion seeking to return a student to the district’s junior high school during ongoing litigation. The hearing officer concluded that the student’s legally operative placement under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) was no longer the junior high school, but instead the ISBE-approved therapeutic day school placement established in the March 6, 2026, IEP. The decision found that because the parent did not challenge the revised placement within the 10-day requirement, the therapeutic day school became the student’s “then-current educational placement” for stay-put purposes.
According to the ruling, the student experienced escalating behavioral challenges during the 2025–2026 school year despite extensive support at the junior high school. In March 2026, the IEP team, including the parent, agreed that the student required a therapeutic day school setting to address significant academic, behavioral, and safety concerns. Under Illinois regulations, districts must implement revised IEPs within 10 school days after providing prior written notice, and the hearing officer found the district complied with that timeline.
The therapeutic day school accepted the student in April, but the parent objected to the specific placement model and filed for due process, arguing that the student should remain at the junior high under IDEA’s stay-put protections. However, the hearing officer concluded the dispute centered on the specific site selected, not the underlying therapeutic placement itself, and held that because the parent did not file for mediation or due process within the applicable 10-school-day implementation period, the district lawfully implemented the revised IEP and therapeutic placement.
This ruling reinforces the significance of Illinois’ 10-school-day implementation rule: if a parent intends to challenge an IEP team’s placement decision, they must act within that window to preserve the prior placement for stay put purposes. The decision provides guidance to districts and parents alike on how stay put operates when an IEP team changes placement and a specific school site is identified shortly thereafter.
Determining the “stayed” placement in a due process hearing is often critical, as litigation can go on for years. Contact Jessica Nguyen or any of our Student/Special Education attorneys with your inquiries.
Source: [Student] v. Meridian CUSD No. 223, Case No. 2026 DP 0239 (Ill. State Bd. of Educ. May 11, 2026)
