Section 65.130  Program Specifications

a)         Provided that funding for the program is appropriated to the State Board of Education, each eligible applicant shall develop a new teacher induction and mentoring program. Supported with grant funds under this Subpart B, each program shall incorporate:

1)         mentoring for first and second-year teachers that is provided by experienced teachers who have received training to equip them for this role, to assist new teachers in developing the skills and strategies necessary for instructional excellence;

2)         subject to the availability of funding, continued mentoring supports for third-year and fourth-year teachers;

3)         professional development for recipient teachers, mentors, and administrators who have roles in the program;

4)         formative assessment of new teachers' practice with respect to the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards and the content-area standards relevant to their respective fields of assignment; and

5)         the Illinois Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for New Teacher Induction Programs.  (See Appendix A.)

b)         Each program shall serve no fewer than 10 new teachers. If fewer than 10 teachers are proposed to be served, the applicant may either:

1)         participate in a new teacher induction program as part of a joint application; or

2)         provide in its application a specific rationale for the reduction that demonstrates that the applicant has sufficient resources, in addition to funding received under this Subpart B, and adequate personnel to continue the program and provide each new teacher with adequate attention and support comparable to what would be provided in a larger program.

c)         Each new teacher shall have, at the start of the program, less than two years' teaching experience and hold a professional educator license endorsed for early childhood, elementary, secondary, special K-12, or special preschool-age 22 issued pursuant to Article 21B of the School Code. An individual seeking a professional educator license under Section 21B-35 of the School Code and holding an educator license with stipulations endorsed for provisional educator in early childhood, elementary, secondary, special K-12, or special preschool-age 22 also may participate if the individual has less than two years' teaching experience.

d)         Subject to the exceptions of this subsection (d), each program shall be designed to ensure that each new teacher spends no fewer than 40 hours with the mentor assigned, including both classroom observation of the new teacher by the mentor and other interactions between these individuals. 

1)         During a teacher's first year of the program, at least 30 hours of contact between the teacher and mentor shall be face-to-face, either one-on-one or in another configuration, and the remaining interactions may be through electronic means, such as web-based applications, telephone or video.

2)         During a teacher's second year of the program, a minimum of 30 hours of contact is required, of which at least 20 hours shall be face to face.

3)         During a teacher's third or fourth year of the program, a minimum of 20 hours of contact is required, of which at least 10 hours shall be face-to-face.

e)         Each program shall provide for the development of an individual learning plan for each new teacher served and for the provision of professional development that is directly related to the needs identified in the individual learning plan.

f)         Program standards are set forth in Appendix A.

g)         A public school that has a new teacher induction and mentoring program in existence prior to August 20, 2021, that does not meet the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20 of the School Code or this Part may modify the program to meet those requirements and may receive funding as described in Section 21A-25 of the School Code and Section 65.160 of this Part, provided that funding is made available by the State Board of Education from an appropriation made for this purpose.  (Section 21A-10(b) of the School Code)

h)         Each school district shall decide, in conjunction with its exclusive bargaining representative, if any, whether to forgo modifications to a new teacher induction and mentoring program in existence prior to August 20, 2021. If a district does not have a new teacher induction and mentoring program in existence prior to August 20, 2021, or if a district and the exclusive bargaining representative, if any, agree that an eligible entity would better serve the district's needs, the district and the exclusive bargaining representative, if any, shall jointly decide which eligible entity offers the most suitable program. The eligible entity shall include representatives from both the district and the exclusive bargaining representative in the program development discussions to ensure the program captures local need.  (Section 21A-10(c) of the School Code)

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 13208, effective July 13, 2022)