Director of Special Services

Illinois Education Job Bank; Oak Forest (IL); On-site; USD 110,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Illinois Education Job Bank is seeking an experienced Director of Special Education to lead program planning, budgeting, and oversight of IDEA-funded services for district and SWCCCASE programs.

The role requires a Master's degree, significant Special Education administration credentials, and collaboration with district staff to ensure compliant, high-quality services for students with disabilities. Competitive pay and full benefits are provided.

Qualifications

• Minimum of Master's degree in education or related field.
• At least 30 semester hours in Special Education, distributed per Illinois administrator certification rules.
• State Director of Special Education endorsement preferred.
• Board may accept alternatives to the above qualifications.

Responsibilities

• Report to the Superintendent on planning, needs, and projections for Special Education; submit projections for next year's budget.
• Develop yearly class lists/assignments for Special Education students in district and SWCCCASE programs.
• Co-plan and establish Special Education teacher schedules.
• Coordinate with principals on student assignments and homerooms.
• Coordinate IDEA funds and grant proposals; monitor program delivery.
• Liaise between District 142 and SWCCCASE; attend director meetings; coordinate with supervisory staff.
• Prepare for ISBE monitoring; participate in state/federal reviews; assist with curriculum and program revisions.
• Arrange homebound/hospital instruction; manage referrals and evaluations for specialized services.

Education

Master's degree

30 semester hours in Special Education

State Director of Special Education endorsement (preferred)

Alternatives to qualifications as Board may accept

Job description

• Report to the Superintendent on program planning, needs and projection for Special Education (number of students, types of classes, number of staff required); submit written projections to Chief School Business Official for development of the following fiscal year budget
  PERFORMANCE RESPONSIBILITIES (continued)
• Develop yearly class lists/assignments with the principal and Special Education staff for all Special Education students (Southwest Cook County Cooperative for Special Education and District programs)
• Co-plan and establish Special Education teacher schedules
• Ongoing consultation with school principals regarding assignment of students to classes and homerooms
• Serve as District in-service project coordinator for requests and allocations of IDEA in-service funds; compile yearly assessment data for IDEA grant; write yearly IDEA grant proposal
• Monitor and ensure consistent delivery of programs and services
• Liaison between District 142 and Southwest Cook County Cooperative for Special Education (SWCCCASE); as District representative, attend month director meetings for Special Education administrators
• Plan and coordinate with the SWCCCASE supervisory staff related to District needs (programming, in-service, staff needs, curriculum)
• Maintain communication with local private schools and other outside agencies regarding services, referral procedures, etc.
• Arrange for homebound and hospital-based instruction for both Regular Education and Special Education students
• Serve as the McKinney-Vento Liaison, working with District 142 students and families experiencing homelessness
• Facilitate end-of-year procedures with Special Education staff
• Cooperate in grant writing for District 142 Pre-Kindergarten program
• Assume responsibility for pupil accounting and records, including verification of all tuition invoices, both for District children placed in other districts or private placements
• Gather and assemble student information for extraordinary claim (89-313)
• In-service all newly-employed District Special Education staff relative to policies and procedures
• Complete and submit required documents and forms to ISBE (quarterly FACTS 94-142 and 89-313, deviation requests, yearly transitional plans, etc.)
• Approve Special Education staff orders
• Plan in-service activities for Special Education staff (District and SWCCCASE)
• Develop and revise Special Education forms to meet compliance standards; in-service staff on revisions and procedures
• Coordinate referrals, evaluations, and services with Birth-6 Program
• Ensure initial/re-evaluations and annual reviews for students served within and outside
  District 142
• Coordinate and prepare for yearly internal monitoring process as directed by ISBE; develop written remediation plans, if needed
• Participate in state, federal, and county monitoring/compliance visits as scheduled
• Approve and coordinate extended year programs/services for District 142 Special Education students
• Coordinate and manage referrals from private schools and outside agencies in regard to evaluations and securing services
• Screen and process referrals for specialized support services and evaluations: Physical therapy, vision itinerant, hearing itinerant, audiological, psychiatric, neurological, bilingual, and other specialized evaluations
• Provide students and their families with information for outside agencies/services
• Participate as a member of District Crisis Intervention Team
• Coordinate bus arrangements for Special Education transportation
• Serve as mediator of teacher-pupil, teacher-parent, and teacher-administrator conflicts
• Participate in student suspension cases concerning Individual Education Plan (IEP) students
• Approve requests for outside meetings and arrangement of substitutes (Special Education)
  
• Participates in recruitment, interviewing, and selection of professional and paraprofessional Special Education staff

Qualifications

• State Director of Special Education endorsement, preferred
• Minimum of Master's degree
• At least thirty (30) semester hours in Special Education, distributed according to the requirements for certification of an administrator of Special Education in Illinois, preferred
• Such alternatives to the above qualifications as the Board may find appropriate and acceptable
• Such other qualifications of academic, professional, and personal excellence as the Board of Education may specify

Salary/Benefits

Salary Range: $110,000 to $125,000+, based on experience

Benefits:
Additional fringe benefits beyond the items noted below are contingent upon contractual obligations between the administrator and the Board of Education, as noted in the administrator's contract.

In addition to the annual salary provided, the Board shall make full payment of member's contribution, on behalf of the administrator, to the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System (TRS).

Sick Leave Days per school year: 16

Accumulation of Sick Leave Days per school year: Unlimited

Personal Business Leave Days per school year: 3
NOTE: Unused Personal Business Leave Days will be added to accumulated Sick Leave Days. One day will be allowed to carry over.

Vacation Days per school year: 20 days upon employment
NOTE: All vacation days must be pre-approved by the Superintendent or designee, based on district/school needs.

Paid Holidays:
Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln's Birthday (or Presidents' Day), Casimir Pulaski Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, and Independence Day

NOTE: Veterans Day and Lincoln's Birthday or Presidents' Day will be observed as paid holidays in those years that it is a Board-approved Legal School Holiday. If an employee is required to work on a designated holiday, the employee will receive a floating holiday to be used prior to June 30 of that year.

NOTE: When Independence Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the preceding Friday or following Monday will be observed as a paid holiday.

Health/Dental and Vision Insurance Coverage:
The Board will pay the full premium cost of single or family coverage for those administrators electing to participate in any health, dental, or vision insurance plan offered and approved by the District.

Employees who elect not to participate in the health insurance plan extended by the Board of Education will receive up to $1,300.00 per year.

Term Life Insurance:
The Board will provide term life insurance to each administrator in the amount of $50,000.

Tuition Reimbursement:
The Board of Education will provide an eligible employee reimbursement for tuition following the same protocol listed in Section 12.1 Tuition Reimbursement of the FREA contract, with the exception of the reimbursement amount listed in Section 6 will be increased by $100 per semester credit hour.

Paid Professional Membership Dues:
The District will reimburse the administrator for dues paid to professional associations of choice, not to exceed $1,000.00 annually.

Reimbursement of Accumulated Sick Leave Upon Retirement/Death:
See Section 12.7.2 of the FREA Agreement at www.d142.org.

Retirement Incentive:
Per Board of Education approval, administrators who meet certain criterial may participate in the Administrator Retirement Program.