Section 25.830  Verification of Completed Activities; Renewal Process

a)         A licensee shall enter any professional development credit earned prior to renewal. The licensee shall enter electronically into the ELIS the name, date, and location of the activity, the number of professional development hours earned, and the provider's name (Section 21B-45(e) of the Code), except that:

1)         any Illinois Administrators' Academy course completed shall be entered by the provider rather than the licensee;

2)         a licensee who holds both a PEL endorsed in school support personnel and one of the professional licenses listed under Section 25.805(b)(2) shall enter the license as an activity on the Professional Development page of ELIS and upload a copy of the valid license into ELIS; and

3)         a licensee who completes applicable higher education coursework shall enter the coursework using the semester-to-hour conversion set forth in Section 25.805(c) and upload a copy of the transcript into ELIS.

b)         Professional development completed after June 30 of the year in which the 5-year renewal cycle ends may be counted towards the renewal requirements for the renewal cycle that ends that year or the subsequent renewal cycle.

c)         A licensee who fails to complete an Administrators' Academy course in a given fiscal year as required by Section 21B-45(e)(2) or (3) of the Code shall be required to complete two courses for each one missed. The licensee may complete these courses at any time during the remainder of the 5-year renewal cycle or prior to the reinstatement of a license that has lapsed pursuant to Section 25.450 of this Part.

d)         Accumulation of the number of hours of professional development activities required under Section 21B-45(e) of the Code and entering them into ELIS shall not entitle the licensee to renewal of the license. Renewal of the licensee's license shall be determined by the State Superintendent.

e)         In accordance with Section 21B-45(e)(5) and (e)(6) of the Code, licensees who are retired, working in positions that do not require a PEL, or working in positions that require a PEL for less than 50 percent of full-time equivalency in a school year, are "exempt" and do not have to complete professional development activities. Prior to renewing the license, the licensee shall request that the ROE record that status in ELIS indicating the starting and ending date of the exemption and the reason the exemption was requested. ROEs must verify that the educator is exempt or retired prior to changing the educator's status. ROEs retain authority to require necessary documentation to make this determination. (See Section 25.880.)

f)         A licensee who does not enter all professional development activities prior to September 1 of the year in which the 5-year renewal cycle ends may not be able to preserve the right of appeal regarding a recommendation for nonrenewal of the license.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 7729, effective May 9, 2024)