FMPTIC Fact Sheets & Special Education Resources
Early Intervention
This Early Intervention Fact Sheet from Family Matters Parent Training & Information Center provides families with helpful resources for navigating Illinois Early Intervention services. It includes information on developmental concerns, referrals, eligibility, evaluations, family participation, common Early Intervention terms, and the transition from Early Intervention to Early Childhood Special Education. The fact sheet also connects families to trusted resources from Illinois agencies and national organizations to help them better understand and participate in the Early Intervention process.
Evaluations
This resource helps families understand the purpose of a special education evaluation and how evaluation results can identify a student’s strengths, challenges, and educational support needs. It also provides practical questions parents and guardians can ask schools about the evaluation process, eligibility, recommended services, parental rights, next steps, and ongoing progress monitoring.
Preparing for an IEP Meeting
This fact sheet helps parents and caregivers prepare for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. It offers practical tips for reviewing the IEP process, identifying concerns and questions, preparing goals, gathering evaluation records, understanding who participates on the IEP team, and bringing support to the meeting. It also connects families with trusted resources, including the Illinois State Board of Education Parent Guide to Special Education and Parent Training and Information Centers.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Family Fact Sheet helps Illinois families understand how decisions are made about where and how a child with a disability receives special education services. It explains federal and Illinois LRE requirements, the continuum of placement options, supplementary aids and services, and the important role families play as members of the IEP team. Families will also find common questions and concerns, practical questions to bring to an IEP meeting, strategies for addressing placement barriers, and options available when they disagree with a placement decision.
Transition Fact Sheets: Planning for Life After High School
Family Matters’ Transition Fact Sheets help students with disabilities and their families prepare for life after high school. Transition planning begins early and focuses on the student’s strengths, interests, preferences, needs, and goals for education, employment, independent living, and community participation.
These resources provide practical information about secondary transition planning, student participation, graduation pathways, adult services, self-advocacy, and accommodations in college and the workplace. Families can use the fact sheets to better understand important transition decisions, prepare for IEP meetings, ask informed questions, and identify supports and services that may be needed as students move toward adulthood.
Whether a student plans to attend college or training, enter the workforce, connect with adult services, or continue building independent living skills, early and ongoing planning can help create a clearer path forward.
Behavioral Supports and School Discipline
These fact sheets provide Illinois families, caregivers, educators, and advocates with practical information about behavioral supports and mental health resources for students with disabilities. They connect families to statewide programs, crisis and community-based services, training opportunities, family support organizations, and behavioral health resources.
Families can also learn about crisis and urgent-help options, ways to access mental health care, support groups, advocacy resources, and key Illinois laws and student rights related to behavioral interventions and mental health supports in schools.
Together, these resources can help families identify available supports, better understand their options, and connect with organizations that can assist them in supporting their child’s behavioral, emotional, and mental health needs.
Private and Home School
This fact sheet helps families understand Child Find rights for homeschooled and private school students in Illinois. It explains school districts’ responsibility to identify and evaluate children who may have disabilities, how parents can request an evaluation, and what may happen if a child is found eligible for special education. The resource also highlights available services, important protections under IDEA, and organizations families can contact for additional information and support.
Illinois State Board of Education Resources
Families can make more informed decisions and participate more confidently in their child’s education when they have access to reliable information. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) offers two valuable resources to help families better understand their schools and their educational rights. The Illinois Report Card provides information about public schools across Illinois, including academic performance, school environment, educators, student data, and school highlights. The Illinois Parent Guide: Educational Rights and Responsibilities helps families understand and navigate special education, with information on evaluations, eligibility, IEPs, placement, behavioral supports, discipline, transition, conflict resolution, Section 504, school records, and more. Together, these resources give families helpful tools to stay informed, understand their rights, and actively participate in their child’s education.
Bullying – What to Do as a Parent/Guardian
This Fact Sheet provides practical steps families can take when a child experiences bullying. It offers guidance on listening and validating a child’s concerns, documenting incidents, identifying trusted adults and supports, understanding bullying laws, working with the school’s reporting system, practicing healthy boundaries, and connecting children with counseling or mental health support when needed. The fact sheet also includes links to trusted bullying prevention resources from PACER, StopBullying.gov, and the Illinois State Board of Education.
Parent Advocacy Fact Sheets
These Parent Advocacy Fact Sheets help families build the knowledge and skills needed to advocate effectively for their child’s education. Families will find practical strategies for setting goals, preparing for meetings, gathering information, asking questions, working collaboratively with school teams, and respectfully addressing disagreements. The resources also connect families with trusted special education advocacy organizations and services in Illinois and nationally for additional information and support.
