Public Act 096-0414
 
HB4117 Enrolled LRB096 03842 NHT 13875 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is
amended by changing Section 5 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 48/5)
    Sec. 5. Purpose. The Grow Your Own Teacher preparation
programs established under this Act shall comprise a major new
statewide initiative, known as the Grow Your Own Teacher
Education Initiative, to prepare highly skilled, committed
teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools, including
within the Department of Juvenile Justice School District, and
hard-to-staff teaching positions and who will remain in these
schools for substantial periods of time.
     The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall
effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders
and paraeducators to become effective teachers statewide in
hard-to-staff schools serving a substantial percentage of
low-income students and hard-to-staff teaching positions in
schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
students. Further, the Initiative shall increase the diversity
of teachers, including diversity based on race, ethnicity, and
disability.
    The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall ensure
educational rigor by effectively preparing candidates in
accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching, through
which graduates shall meet the requirements to secure an
Illinois initial teaching certificate.
    The goal of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative
is to add 1,000 teachers to low-income, hard-to-staff Illinois
schools by 2016 with an average retention period of 7 years, as
opposed to the current rate of 2.5 years for new teachers in
such areas.
(Source: P.A. 94-979, eff. 6-30-06; 95-476, eff. 1-1-08.)