The Illinois State Board of Education listened to parents’ comments and complaints Tuesday as part of the review process of Evanston/Skokie School District 65’s special-education services.

The state school board is required to monitor special education across Illinois school districts to ensure that schools comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The reviews do not imply that districts are doing anything wrong with their special-education services.

In addition to holding the forum, the state looks at reports of the district’s past compliance with the act, considers parents’ complaints and analyzes student participation and performance in state tests.

State special-education officials also compare how much time special-education students are spending in general-education classrooms versus special-education classrooms.

The board will send District 65 Superintendent Hardy Murphy a compliance report summarizing the state’s findings and will include recommendations for improvement.

The district will have one calendar year to make those changes, according to James Gunnell, a state special-education administrator.

“There can be financial sanctions if the district is continually out of compliance,” Gunnell said.

Officials gave parents an opportunity to describe their experiences with special education in District 65 at the forum, held at King Lab Magnet School, 2424 Lake St. Topics included educational environments, transition services when moving from school to school, and staffing.

Parents said they were dissatisfied with their communication with District 65 officials.

Flyers publicizing the forum were not sent home with students until Friday, giving parents little time to plan to attend.

“This sends a message that parents with children with special needs don’t matter,” said Marian Casey, director of Answers for Special Kids, a nonprofit organization in Evanston offering parents resources to best support their children with special education.

“I can understand their concerns,” Murphy said. “I think we need to do a better job of educating our parents. I think we need to listen to their concerns and find more ways to get information in their hands.”

Murphy said the district can take advantage of District 65’s Web site as well as newsletters to inform parents of special-education events.

But Evanston parent Lloyd Montgomery said he is pleased with his interactions with District 65.

“I’ve found them to be helpful and professional and they have my child’s interest at heart,” Montgomery said.

Parents at the forum also said their rights should be better explained when they are developing their children’s Individualized Education Plans with teachers and administrators.

The plans serve as a guide for parents and schools to best educate students. Some parents at the meeting did not know, until one special-education official told them, that parents have a right to ask a mediator to help them resolve their conflicts with schools over the individual plans.

Other parents said that teacher aides should be better trained to meet the needs of special-education students.

District 65 Supervisor of Special Services Margie Lenoir said teacher aides, or para-professionals, receive more training than parents know.

The district provides training and seminars for all its para-professionals during fall and spring parent/teacher conferences, Lenoir said.

Reach Lensay Abadula at [email protected].