Regional Student Services Director

Position Title: Regional Student Services Director

Reports To: Executive Director

Terms of Employment: As outlined in contract for services

Location: South Cook Intermediate Service Center 4

Purpose: The Student Services Specialist serves as a highly specialized regional leader responsible for providing intensive technical assistance, compliance oversight, systems improvement, and executive-level consultation to member school districts. This position supports districts in strengthening special education programming, eliminating areas of legal and procedural liability, addressing state and federal findings, and ensuring full implementation of IDEA, Section 504, Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) regulations, and related educational mandates. The position serves as a crisis-response consultant who partners directly with superintendents, special education administrators, and school leadership teams to build sustainable systems that reduce exposure to litigation, complaints, compensatory education claims, due process actions, corrective action plans, and monitoring findings.

Qualifications:

• Illinois Professional Educator License with Director of Special Education endorsement required.
• Master’s degree required; doctorate preferred.
• Minimum of 7–10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in special education administration.
• Demonstrated expertise in IDEA compliance, dispute resolution, corrective action planning, and systems-level leadership.
• Experience leading compliance audits, responding to state findings, and supporting districts through legal and procedural challenges.
• Strong knowledge of Illinois special education regulations and ISBE monitoring processes.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and leadership skills.

Preferred Experience

• Experience serving in an intermediate service center, cooperative, ROE, or state-level leadership role.
• Experience working with school attorneys and hearing processes.
• Proven ability to lead organizational change and systems improvement initiatives.
• Experience conducting district-wide compliance reviews and corrective action implementation.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: *other duties may be assigned

District Compliance and Liability Reduction

• Conduct comprehensive special education systems reviews and compliance audits for member districts.
• Identify areas of procedural, instructional, financial, and legal risk related to IDEA, Section 504, ADA, manifestation determinations, discipline procedures, transportation, and placement decisions.
• Develop district-specific action plans to address ISBE findings, OCR complaints, state complaints, mediation agreements, and due process outcomes.
• Provide recommendations designed to reduce district liability exposure and ensure defensible special education practices.
• Review district policies, procedures, handbooks, forms, and internal protocols for legal sufficiency and alignment with current regulations.
• Support districts in developing sustainable internal monitoring systems to prevent repeat findings.

High-Level Technical Assistance

• Serve as a consultant for complex and high-profile special education matters.
• Provide direct technical support on:
• • IEP compliance and implementation
  • Eligibility determinations
  • Evaluation and reevaluation procedures
  • Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
  • Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA)
  • Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP)
  • Manifestation Determination Reviews (MDR)
  • Extended School Year (ESY)
  • Transition programming
  • Nonpublic placements
  • Discipline and restraint/seclusion compliance
  • Medicaid billing and special education finance
  • Compensatory education analysis
  • Cyclical Monitoring
• Assist districts in situations involving parent complaints, attorney involvement, state investigations, or emergency corrective actions.

Major Regional Support Activities

1. Comprehensive Special Education Audits

Lead multi-day district audits that evaluate:

• Procedural compliance
• IEP quality and implementation
• Service documentation
• Caseload compliance
• Staff licensure
• Behavioral programming
• Data systems
• Discipline practices
• Transportation
• Financial compliance
• Private placement procedures
• Parent communication systems

Deliverables may include:

• Executive summary reports
• Findings analysis

Board presentations

• Administrative coaching plans

2. Corrective Action and Findings Resolution

Provide districts with intensive support to resolve:

• ISBE monitoring findings
• OCR complaints
• State complaints
• Due process corrective actions
• Compliance citations
• Federal grant findings
• Audit exceptions

Services include:

• Root cause analysis
• Compliance calendars
• Procedure revision
• Staff retraining
• Internal accountability structures
• Progress monitoring

3. Executive Leadership Coaching

Provide coaching and mentorship for:

• Directors of Special Education
• Assistant Superintendents
• Building Principals
• Student Services Administrators
• LEA Representatives

Topics include:

• Legally defensible decision-making
• Difficult parent meetings
• Data-based programming decisions
• Staffing structures
• Crisis management
• High-risk student cases
• Board communication

4. Due Process and Litigation Prevention

Assist districts in proactively reducing litigation risk through:

• Record reviews
• IEP defensibility reviews
• Meeting facilitation
• Resolution session support
• Parent communication coaching
• Early dispute resolution strategies
• Provide recommendations that strengthen district practices.

5. District Systems Development

Support districts in building sustainable systems including:

• Internal compliance monitoring structures
• Special education procedural manuals
• MTSS alignment
• Service tracking systems
• IEP quality assurance protocols
• Staff accountability systems
• Special education operational procedures

6. Regional Professional Development

Design and deliver advanced professional learning for district personnel on:

• IDEA compliance
• Procedural safeguards
• Legally compliant IEP development
• Behavioral intervention requirements
• Transition compliance
• Documentation standards
• Section 504 compliance
• Discipline protections
• State and federal regulatory updates

Additional Responsibilities

• Maintain current expertise regarding IDEA, Section 504, ADA, ISBE regulations, and emerging legal precedent.
• Collaborate with attorneys (as appropriate), ISBE representatives, outside evaluators, and community agencies.
• Analyze district data to identify systemic trends and areas of concern.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT *Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Regularly required to talk and hear to exchange information in person and by telephone.
• Frequently required to use hands and fingers to handle or operate standard office equipment.
• Occasionally required to stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, and stoop or kneel.
• Must be able to lift and/or move up to 20 pounds occasionally (e.g., office supplies, files).
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

• Work is generally performed in a standard office setting with moderate noise levels (e.g., conversations, printers, phones).
• The position requires the ability to work in a fast-paced environment with frequent interruptions.
• Duties may involve occasional travel between work sites, schools, or off-site meetings.
• Work hours are typically during the standard business day, but occasional evening or weekend work may be required for meetings or events.
• The work environment is generally climate controlled and ergonomically equipped.