Section 25.92  Endorsement for Visiting International Educator

The procedure and requirements described in this Section shall apply when Illinois school districts conduct formal recruitment programs outside the United States to secure the services of qualified teachers.  All teachers recruited for employment on a J-1 visa shall apply for and be evaluated for the ELS-VIT.

a)         The school district that is seeking to recruit teachers shall enter into a written agreement with the State Board regarding its recruitment program, shall provide assurances as the State Board may require regarding compliance with applicable procedures, training of representatives, and support for candidates employed under the program.  In accordance with Section 21B-20(2)(I) of the Code, the school district also shall be responsible for preliminary verification that each candidate:

1)         holds the equivalent of a minimum of a bachelor's degree issued in the United States;

2)         has been prepared as a teacher at the grade level for which the candidate will be employed;

3)         has adequate content knowledge in the subject matter to be taught; and

4)         has an adequate command of the English language.

b)         A representative of the recruiting school district shall review the equivalence of each candidate's degree to a bachelor's degree earned in the United States, the concentration of the candidate's coursework in the area of potential teaching assignment, and the grade levels for which the candidate has been prepared, using foreign credential evaluation reports provided by State Board-approved evaluation companies, pursuant to Section 25.425(c).

c)         A representative of the recruiting school district who has been trained by the State Board or its designee in the use of the required instruments shall confirm evidence of each candidate's English proficiency in one of the following ways:

1)         A candidate's degree from an institution of higher education in which the mode of instruction was English;

2)         A candidate's major in the English language; or

3)         Passing scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT), the Cambridge English Assessment with Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), or any other English language exam approved by the State Superintendent in consultation with the SEPLB.

d)         The recruiting school district shall provide a report to the State Superintendent outlining the district's conclusions regarding each candidate whose eligibility it considers to have been verified.  This report shall provide or summarize at least:

1)         the information that has led the district to conclude that the individual's degree should be considered the equivalent of a bachelor's degree earned in the United States;

2)         how the district has identified the grade levels for which the individual has been prepared;

3)         the information that has led the district to conclude that the coursework completed by the individual is at least comparable to a major in the field of specialization and that the individual has passed a test that provides evidence of subject-matter competency; and

4)         evidence of English language proficiency.

e)         Either the recruiting district or the candidate shall furnish to one of the evaluation services identified in Section 25.425(d) the candidate's university transcript, the diploma reflecting the degree granted, and the results from the comprehensive terminal examination or the periodic formal examinations required by the university where the candidate completed teacher preparation, as applicable, along with translations of all these materials into English.  Approved evaluation service providers shall submit official translated evaluation reports, inclusive of the criteria required in Section 25.425(c)(1), to the State Superintendent.

f)         The recruiting school district shall affirm:

1)         that the individual has been issued a J-1 visa by the U.S. Department of State in accordance with federal law;

2)         that each potential candidate is of good character, as defined in Section 21B-15 of the Code; and

3)         that the district will require the candidate to undergo State and federal background checks, as specified in Section 10-21.9 or 34-18.5 of the Code, prior to employment in the district.

g)         Upon receipt and verification of the information and documents identified in subsections (c), (d), and (f), confirmation of the individual's eligibility from the evaluation service to which credentials were submitted under subsection (e), and an application for the educator license with stipulations endorsed for visiting international educator from the individual, accompanied by the fee required by Section 21B-40 of the Code, the State Board shall issue an educator license with stipulations endorsed for visiting international educator in the content-area, grade levels, bilingual language, and foreign language the individual is qualified to teach.  The individual shall not be required to pass any test that forms part of the Illinois Licensure Testing System (see Subpart I) in order to qualify for this license.  An individual with an educator license with stipulations endorsed for visiting international educator may teach that individual's native language without formal preparation as a teacher of that language, provided that it was the language of instruction in the program completed.

h)         The educator license with stipulations endorsed for visiting international educator shall be valid until June 30 immediately following five years after the endorsement being issued and shall not be renewable.  The licensee shall pay the fee required by Section 21B-40 of the Code to register the license with the regional superintendent in the region where the teaching will be done.

i)          A holder of an educator license with stipulations endorsed for visiting international educator shall be permitted to teach in bilingual education programs in the language that was the medium of instruction in the holder's teacher preparation program.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 12973, effective July 13, 2022)