The Northwestern Illinois Association

	The Northwestern Illinois Association
	A Regional Special Education Cooperative
	About Us

Assistive Technology Autism Spectrum Disorders Audiology Deaf and Hard of Hearing Early Intervention Orthopedic and Multiple Impairments Supported Employment Therapy Vision Additional Programs and Services Professional Development Inservice Opportunities Paraprofessional Training Staff Directory Member Districts Executive Board FOIA Uniform Grievance Procedure Members Minutes/Agendas

		Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) NORTHWESTERN ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) Description and Purpose The Northwestern Illinois Association (NIA) is a regional special education cooperative organized pursuant to The School Code of Illinois for the purpose of providing special education services to students with disabilities, ages birth through 21 inclusive, who reside in the 10 most northwestern counties of Illinois: Boone, Carroll, De Kalb, Jo Daviess, Kane, Lee, Ogle, Whiteside, Winnebago and Stephenson. Sycamore School District 427 serves as administrative district for NIA. Please refer to the NIA region map for a listing of the member districts/cooperatives. The NIA provides a variety of direct and supportive services to member school districts. These services address the individual needs of students, provide information, technical assistance and support to families and educational teams and may include: Assistive Technology Audiology Services Early Childhood and Life-Skills Supervision Early Intervention (0 -3 years) Inclusion Facilitation Professional Development Autism Spectrum Disorder Consultation/Training Services for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services for Students who have Orthopedic or Multiple Disabilities Services for Students with Vision Impairments Speech/Language Supported Employment Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy NIA Offices Sycamore Administration Office 245 W. Exchange Street, Suite 4 Sycamore, Illinois 60178 P (815) 895–9227 F (815) 895–2971 Rockford Satellite Office – Hearing Department 3615 Westgate Parkway Rockford, Illinois 61108 P (815) 229-2161 F (815) 229-2159 Audiology P (815) 229-2880 Rockford Satellite Office – Vision/Multi/Therapy/Autism Spectrum Disorders 3626 East State Street Rockford, Illinois 61108 P (815) 964-0937 F (815) 964-2210 St. Charles Satellite Office – Vision Multi/Hearing/Audiology Clinic 2422 West Main Street St. Charles, Illinois 60174 P (630) 513-5012 F (630) 513-1957 Therapy Department P (630) 513-6781 F (630) 513-1980 Sterling Satellite Office 2002 East Fifth Street Sterling, Illinois 61081 P (815) 625-7931 F (815) 625-8098 Transvision Program P.O. Box 676 19323 East Grant Highway Marengo, Illinois 60152-0676 P (815) 923-7545 F (815) 923-7547 Prairie Hill Elementary School Audio Booth 14714 Willowbrook Road South Beloit, Illinois 61080 Elgin Audio Booth Northwestern Illinois Association – Regional Deaf Program Country Trails Elementary School 3701 Highland Woods Blvd. Elgin, Illinois 60124 P (847) 717-8175 F (847) 717-8174 Central Middle School 44W303 Plato Road Burlington, Illinois 60109 P (847) 464-6000 Central High School 44W625 Plato Road Burlington, Illinois 60109 P (847) 464-6030 Operating Budget Staff NIA employs approximately 115 full time and 79 part time staff. Executive Board NIA is governed by an Executive Board per the NIA Articles of Agreement. The Executive Board is composed of twelve members: four members from each sub-region. Members shall be from the following categories: school board member, district administrator, director of special education and at-large member. Current Board Members Jay Augustine, District Administrator Carla Cumblad, Special Education Director Cynthia Dennis, School Board Member Drew Hoffman, Member-at-Large Mike Noble, Special Education Director Wayne Riesen, Member-at-Large Karen Sanders, Member-at-Large Pam Scanlan, School Board Member Sheri Smith, District Administrator Lisa Wiet, School Board Member Sarah Willey, District Administrator Tom Zelten, Special Education Director FOIA Requests A request to inspect or copy records shall be made in writing and should be submitted to the designated NIA’s Freedom of Information Officers via personal delivery, mail, electronic mail (e-mail), telefax, or other means available to NIA. In the event that a written request is submitted to another officer or employee of NIA, the request shall be immediately forwarded to the Freedom of Information Officers. The request must specify the particular record(s) to be inspected or copied and may include a request for certification of a copy of a record. The NIA shall not require the request to specify its purpose, except to determine whether the request is for commercial purposes or whether to grant a request for a fee waiver. No fees shall be charged for the first fifty (50) pages of black and white letter or legal sized copies. Thereafter, a fee of $.15 per page may be charged for copying black and white letter or legal-size documents. If the NIA provides copies in color or in a size other than letter or legal, the fees shall be the actual cost incurred in reproducing for non-standardized documents. The NIA shall charge $1.00 per document for certification of records. No charge shall be made for staff time spent searching for or reviewing records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing the records. FOIA Officers Laura Frankiewicz, Ed.D. Regional Director 245 West Exchange Street, Suite 4 Sycamore, Illinois 60178 P (815) 895–9227 F (815) 895 – 2971 lfrankiewicz@thenia.org Jean Tritle Administrative Assistant of Human Resources 245 West Exchange Street, Suite 4 Sycamore, Illinois 60178 P (815) 895–9227 F (815) 895–2971 jtritile@thenia.org Documents Available for Immediate Disclosure NIA Organization Chart NIA Region Map NIA Annual Financial Review NIA Annual Audit NIA Board Policy NIA Personnel Handbook NIA Articles of Agreement NIA Guidelines for Baseline and Program Support/Related Services