Public Act 93-0355
SB533 Enrolled LRB093 10796 NHT 11227 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Article
21A as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/Art. 21A heading new)
ARTICLE 21A. NEW TEACHER INDUCTION AND MENTORING
(105 ILCS 5/21A-5 new)
Sec. 21A-5. Definitions. In this Article:
"New teacher" means the holder of an Initial Teaching
Certificate, as set forth in Section 21-2 of this Code, who
is employed by a public school and who has not previously
participated in a new teacher induction and mentoring program
required by this Article, except as provided in Section
21A-25 of this Code.
"Public school" means any school operating pursuant to
the authority of this Code, including without limitation a
school district, a charter school, a cooperative or joint
agreement with a governing body or board of control, and a
school operated by a regional office of education or State
agency.
(105 ILCS 5/21A-10 new)
Sec. 21A-10. Development of program required. During
the 2003-2004 school year, each public school or 2 or more
public schools acting jointly shall develop, in conjunction
with its exclusive representative or their exclusive
representatives, if any, a new teacher induction and
mentoring program that meets the requirements set forth in
Section 21A-20 of this Code to assist new teachers in
developing the skills and strategies necessary for
instructional excellence, provided that funding is made
available by the State Board of Education from an
appropriation made for this purpose. A public school that has
an existing induction and mentoring program that does not
meet the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20 of this
Code may have school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 to develop
a program that does meet those requirements and may receive
funding as described in Section 21A-25 of this Code, provided
that the funding is made available by the State Board of
Education from an appropriation made for this purpose. A
public school with such an existing induction and mentoring
program may receive funding for the 2005-2006 school year for
each new teacher in the second year of a 2-year program that
does not meet the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20,
as long as the public school has established the required new
program by the beginning of that school year as described in
Section 21A-15 and provided that funding is made available by
the State Board of Education from an appropriation made for
this purpose as described in Section 21A-25.
(105 ILCS 5/21A-15 new)
Sec. 21A-15. When program is to be established and
implemented. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
Code, by the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year (or by
the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year for a public
school that has been given an extension of time to develop a
program under Section 21A-10 of this Code), each public
school or 2 or more public schools acting jointly shall
establish and implement, in conjunction with its exclusive
representative or their exclusive representatives, if any,
the new teacher induction and mentoring program required to
be developed under Section 21A-10 of this Code, provided that
funding is made available by the State Board of Education,
from an appropriation made for this purpose, as described in
Section 21A-25 of this Code. A public school may contract
with an institution of higher education or other independent
party to assist in implementing the program.
(105 ILCS 5/21A-20 new)
Sec. 21A-20. Program requirements. Each new teacher
induction and mentoring program must be based on a plan that
at least does all of the following:
(1) Assigns a mentor teacher to each new teacher
for a period of at least 2 school years.
(2) Aligns with the Illinois Professional Teaching
Standards, content area standards, and applicable local
school improvement and professional development plans, if
any.
(3) Addresses all of the following elements and how
they will be provided:
(A) Mentoring and support of the new teacher.
(B) Professional development specifically
designed to ensure the growth of the new teacher's
knowledge and skills.
(C) Formative assessment designed to ensure
feedback and reflection, which must not be used in
any evaluation of the new teacher.
(4) Describes the role of mentor teachers, the
criteria and process for their selection, and how they
will be trained, provided that each mentor teacher shall
demonstrate the best practices in teaching his or her
respective field of practice. A mentor teacher may not
directly or indirectly participate in the evaluation of a
new teacher pursuant to Article 24A of this Code or the
evaluation procedure of the public school.
(105 ILCS 5/21A-25 new)
Sec. 21A-25. Funding. From a separate appropriation
made for the purposes of this Article, for each new teacher
participating in a new teacher induction and mentoring
program that meets the requirements set forth in Section
21A-20 of this Code or in an existing program that is in the
process of transition to a program that meets those
requirements, the State Board of Education shall pay the
public school $1,200 annually for each of 2 school years for
the purpose of providing one or more of the following:
(1) Mentor teacher compensation.
(2) Mentor teacher training or new teacher training
or both.
(3) Release time.
However, if a new teacher, after participating in the new
teacher induction and mentoring program for one school year,
becomes employed by another public school, the State Board of
Education shall pay the teacher's new school $1,200 for the
second school year and the teacher shall continue to be a
new teacher as defined in this Article. Each public school
shall determine, in conjunction with its exclusive
representative, if any, how the $1,200 per school year for
each new teacher shall be used, provided that if a mentor
teacher receives additional release time to support a new
teacher, the total workload of other teachers regularly
employed by the public school shall not increase in any
substantial manner. If the appropriation is insufficient to
cover the $1,200 per school year for each new teacher, public
schools are not required to develop or implement the program
established by this Article. In the event of an insufficient
appropriation, a public school or 2 or more schools acting
jointly may submit an application for a grant administered by
the State Board of Education and awarded on a competitive
basis to establish a new teacher induction and mentoring
program that meets the criteria set forth in Section 21A-20
of this Code. The State Board of Education may retain up to
$1,000,000 of the appropriation for new teacher induction and
mentoring programs to train mentor teachers, administrators,
and other personnel, to provide best practices information,
and to conduct an evaluation of these programs' impact and
effectiveness.
(105 ILCS 5/21A-30 new)
Sec. 21A-30. Evaluation of programs. The State Board of
Education and the State Teacher Certification Board shall
jointly contract with an independent party to conduct a
comprehensive evaluation of new teacher induction and
mentoring programs established pursuant to this Article. The
first report of this evaluation shall be presented to the
General Assembly on or before January 1, 2009. Subsequent
evaluations shall be conducted and reports presented to the
General Assembly on or before January 1 of every third year
thereafter.
(105 ILCS 5/21A-35 new)
Sec. 21A-35. Rules. The State Board of Education, in
consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board,
shall adopt rules for the implementation of this Article.