The looming end of a contract for a program that supports students with hearing or vision needs at Illinois State University’s lab schools has put their services’ future in doubt and caused anxiety for the students’ families.
The Heart of Illinois Low Incidence Association [HILIA] is an independent program that collaborates with ISU to provide education services to students from more than 30 school districts in McLean, DeWitt, Livingston and Logan counties who are blind, deaf, hard of hearing or have low vision. Sixteen students are receiving HILIA instruction at ISU’s Thomas Metcalf School or University High School this year. Nearly 200 more receive help from HILIA staff in their home school districts.
The agreement that allows HILIA to deliver services to students at the lab schools is set to expire in June 2027. ISU said it needs more time to first resolve an ongoing dispute with a union representing lab school employees, which wants HILIA staff represented under its contract. ISU has rejected that idea, and says the proposed deal from HILIA could expose ISU “to unsustainable administrative and litigation costs.” In response, ISU says HILIA opted to end the deal in June 2027.
The two sides are still negotiating, and ISU says it and HILIA both “intend for the partnership to continue.” But that uncertainty is not sitting well with some parents.
“It's very stressful,” said Laurel Hartnett, whose 3-year-old daughter, Hazel, is deaf and receives HILIA instruction at Metcalf. “It makes me worry for my kid. It makes me concerned about her teachers that I've grown to love and trust so much.”
Hartnett's daughter attends Metcalf but lives in Cullom, an hour northeast of Bloomington-Normal in Livingston County. There is not another program providing similar services that is any closer.
Anna Cazares’ child Santino has been in the HILIA program at Metcalf since 2023. Cazares is from Bloomington.
“For me, this came so randomly, like in . . . a typical letter we get every year,” said Cazares. “We get a notice, ‘Make sure that you register your child through their home district school as well as Metcalf. Oh, and by the way, there might be some changes coming to HILIA,’ and nothing else beyond that.”
How we got here
The problem traces back to the unionization effort that got tied up in the courts.
The Lab School Education Association organized about 123 employees at the lab schools. After the union was certified, ISU challenged it in court and claimed the bargaining unit should not include the 22 HILIA employees because they’re jointly employed by ISU and HILIA — not just ISU.
An appellate court ruled in ISU’s favor in September and sent it back to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board for another look.
ISU told HILIA it could not agree to an extension of their agreement until after the union dispute was resolved. Parents were told HILIA could not wait for the labor dispute to run its course.
“The appellate ruling fundamentally reshapes the labor landscape for this program,” ISU told HILIA families. “Any future extension would require a framework that fully addresses all administrative costs and services HILIA currently receives at no charge from the University.”
Ben Matthews, representative for the Lab School Education Association, shared a statement with WGLT regarding the court ruling that HILIA employees could not be represented by the LSEA.
“While we don't agree with the Court's interpretation and decision, we've decided our best option to get employees the voice, respect and representation they deserve is to move forward rather than to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
"We've filed a motion with the IELRB [Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board] asking them, as they take up the Court's decision, to certify the bargaining unit as-is without HILIA employees included. That is consistent with the Court's determination, reflective of the desire of our lab school employees to have a union, and allows us to get back to the bargaining table as quickly as possible. We anticipate the IELRB discussing this issue and making a decision at their November 18 meeting.
"Additionally, we are continuing to advocate for and represent those HILIA employees as part of our union until the IELRB makes a final determination. And we are talking with those employees about their options moving forward. Those options are impacted by whatever decisions HILIA and ISU make, and when those decisions get made.”
Read the LSEA’s communications on the situation.
'A mechanism to find the money'
Since initial communications, parents and staff learned that HILIA could continue to effectively rent space at Metcalf for another year after the contract expires. But under that scenario, parents were told in an email from HILIA leadership the staff’s employment statuses would change. Under the current agreement, ISU provides the location with the lab schools and hires staff, but HILIA reimburses the university for salaries paid to employees.
“HILIA and the school districts actually get money from the state to run the program and to pay the staff,” said ISU President Aondover Tarhule. “And that's — so we hire them and we pay them in the first instance, but we get reimbursed.”
If HILIA and ISU have no agreement, Tarlule said the university cannot afford to pay them as employees. In the 2026 fiscal year, HILIA reimbursed the university more than $1.3 million.
“The funding comes from the school district, so if we were to take it over, we would have to find a mechanism to find the money," he said.
Staff who work for the HILIA program do not want to lose credit for time worked.
“So we're losing out on that continuation of accrual of time,” said HILIA program speech pathologist Rachel Wells.
Wells is nearing her 20th year at ISU, which would make her eligible for fully subsidized healthcare through the state of Illinois. She also receives free tuition as she pursues a master’s degree.
Wells spoke about the situation during public comment at last month's ISU Board of Trustees meeting, pointing to confusion among HILIA parents and staff and asking ISU for help. Specifically, Wells said she wanted the university to keep HILIA staff as ISU employees.
The most recent communication to parents and staff was that they would be employees of the Regional Office of Education and HILIA, but no longer ISU.
Josh Olsen, the HILIA board president, has sent communications to parents and staff with updates on the future of the program. Olsen initially agreed to an interview with WGLT, though that interview never took place and he has not been available for comment since.
Finding community
Morgan Redeker's daughter, Remy, is a preschool student at Metcalf who was born deaf. Redeker, of Bloomington, graduated from ISU with a master's in speech-language pathology, and she’s worked with deaf and hard-of-hearing children before.
“My biggest thing is continuity of services,” said Redeker. “How are we going to really have the staff that work with them?”
If the HILIA program ever leaves the ISU lab schools, Redeker said she worries the kids will lose a space where they know they are accepted.
“It's not just the staff that work directly with the students who are deaf or hard of hearing, or blind or low vision,” said Redeker. “It's the whole building, right? All of Metcalf knows, understands, accepts the deaf/hard of hearing and blind/low vision community because it's been a part of their program for 30 years.”
Cazares said her son, Santino, struggled to communicate with kids his age who do not understand sign language.
“Watching him grow up with challenges like trying to play with other kids at the park, and those other kids not recognizing or understanding him, and him not understanding them, is a very challenging thing to go through as a parent,” said Cazares.
But she felt “fireworks” when she took him to Metcalf for the first time.
“I had never seen him just melt into an environment before simply because it understood him and he understood it,” said Cazares. “It was exactly how we communicated at home. It was really incredible to see, and then to meet other parents that could get that. It really is like love at first sight.”
“A good way to think about this program at Metcalf and U-High is like an oasis,” added Hartnett. “These services are not really accessible just anywhere. It's not about just making accommodations for kids, it's really about giving them what they deserve.”
In an Oct. 5 letter to HILIA families, delivered jointly by Olsen and Brian Zugelder, dean of ISU’s College of Education, it was explained that:
“HILIA and the University have reached a preliminary understanding in principle that center-based programming will continue at the Laboratory Schools through the 2027-2028 school year, at minimum. The organizations are continuing to work through the details necessary to formalize understanding and to explore options that may provide longer-term stability.
"We recognize the uncertainty and stress this process has created for families and staff, and we appreciate your patience as this work continues. Both HILIA and the University are committed to working collaboratively and diligently toward an agreement that supports continuity of services for students and provides greater clarity and stability for families and staff. We will continue to share information as details are finalized.”
