Section 227.25  Required Qualifications

As a means of demonstrating that he or she understands the characteristics and educational needs of children and is able to differentiate the curriculum and apply instructional methods to meet the needs of the children as required by Section 14A-30(16) of the School Code, and subject to the provisions of Section 227.20(a)(6) of this Part, each teacher who is assigned to provide instruction in a program funded pursuant to this Part shall have completed, or shall be required to complete at least one of the following:

a)          Nine semester hours of college credit from a regionally accredited institution of higher education and demonstrably related to the education of gifted and talented students;

b)         Both the State and national assessment instruments, namely: 

1)         the self-assessment developed by the Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC) (which shall be based on the "Professional Teaching Standards for Educators Working with Gifted/Talented Learners" (2012), published by IAGC, 800 E. Northwest Highway, Suite 610, Palatine IL 60074 and posted at www.iagcgifted.org; no later editions of or revisions to these standards are incorporated) with a rating of "experienced" or "expert" earned before November 15, 2018; and

2)         the National Evaluation Series (NES) Gifted Education examination (Test Code 312; Pearson Education, Inc., PO Box 226, Amherst MA 01004 (2014));

c)          Six semester hours of college credit from a regionally accredited institution of higher education and demonstrably related to the education of gifted and talented students and any one of the following additional choices:

1)         the self-assessment referred to in subsection (b)(1); or

2)         the Gifted Education examination referred to in subsection (b)(2); or

3)         the applicable gifted education course of instruction offered by the State Board of Education in cooperation with IAGC:

A)        for those successfully completing the course before October 1, 2009, the Gifted Education Institute; or

B)        for those successfully completing the course on or after October 1, 2009, the Gifted Education Seminar; or

4)         two years of experience teaching in, coordinating or directing a program for gifted students; or

5)         participation in no fewer than two State or national conferences on gifted education, such as those offered by IAGC or the National Association for Gifted Children; or

6)         professional development activities demonstrably related to the education of gifted and talented students that are sufficient to generate 30 continuing professional development units (CPDUs) or 30 clock hours of professional development, as defined and quantified in the rules for educator license renewal (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25, Subpart J);

d)        Three semester hours of college credit from a regionally accredited institution of higher education and demonstrably related to the education of gifted and talented students and any two of the additional choices listed in subsections (c)(1) through (6);

e)         The gifted education training referred to in subsection (c)(3) and any two of the additional choices listed in subsection (c);

f)         Coursework that leads to obtaining a gifted teacher endorsement; or

g)         Coursework that leads to obtaining a gifted specialist endorsement.

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 7255, effective June 7, 2019)