Public Act 097-0682
 
SB3393 EnrolledLRB097 19817 AMC 65091 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 changing Section 
21-14 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/21-14)  (from Ch. 122, par. 21-14)
    Sec. 21-14. Registration and renewal of certificates. 
    (a) A limited
four-year certificate or a certificate issued 
after July 1, 1955, shall
be renewable at its expiration or 
within 60 days thereafter by the
county superintendent of 
schools having supervision and control over the
school where 
the teacher is teaching upon certified evidence of meeting
the 
requirements for renewal as required by this Act and prescribed 
by
the State Board of Education in consultation with the State

Teacher Certification Board.  An elementary supervisory 
certificate
shall not be renewed at the end of the first 
four-year period covered by
the certificate unless the holder 
thereof has filed certified evidence
with the State Teacher 
Certification Board that he has a master's degree
or that he 
has earned 8 semester hours of credit in the field of

educational administration and supervision in a recognized 
institution
of higher learning.  The holder shall continue to 
earn 8 semester hours
of credit each four-year period until 
such time as he has earned a
master's degree.
    All certificates not renewed as provided in this Section or 
registered in accordance with this Code shall lapse after a 
period of 6 months from the expiration of the last year of 
registration. Such certificates may be immediately reinstated 
upon payment by the applicant to the State Board of Education 
of (1) any and all back fees, including without limitation 
registration fees, owed from the time of expiration of the 
certificate until the date of reinstatement; and (2) a $500 
penalty or the demonstration of proficiency by completing 9 
semester hours of coursework from a regionally accredited 
institution of higher education in the content area that most 
aligns with the educator's endorsement area or areas; provided 
that, until September 1, 2012, certificates that have lapsed 
solely for the failure to pay a registration fee may be 
immediately reinstated upon payment only of any and all back 
fees, including without limitation registration fees, owed 
from the time of expiration of the certificate until the date 
of reinstatement.  Any and all back fees and penalty amounts 
shall be deposited by the State Board of Education into the 
Teacher Certificate Fee Revolving Fund.  The certificate may be 
reinstated once the applicant has demonstrated proficiency by 
completing 9 semester hours of coursework from a regionally 
accredited institution of higher education in the content area 
that most aligns with the educator's endorsement area or areas.  
Before the certificate may be reinstated, the applicant shall 
pay all back fees owed from the time of expiration of the 
certificate until the date of reinstatement.  Any certificate 
may be voluntarily surrendered by the certificate holder.  A 
voluntarily surrendered certificate shall be treated as a 
revoked certificate.
    (b) When those teaching certificates issued before 
February 15, 2000 are
renewed for the first time after February 
15, 2000, all
such
teaching
certificates
shall be exchanged for 
Standard Teaching Certificates as provided in subsection
(c) of 
Section 21-2.  All Initial and Standard Teaching Certificates, 
including
those issued to persons who previously held teaching 
certificates issued before
February 15, 2000, shall be 
renewable under the conditions
set forth
in this
subsection 
(b).
    Initial Teaching Certificates are valid for 4 years of 
teaching, as provided in subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of this 
Code, and are renewable every 4 years until the person 
completes 4 years of teaching.  If the holder of an Initial 
Certificate has completed 4 years of teaching but has not 
completed the requirements set forth in paragraph (2) of 
subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code, then the Initial 
Certificate may be reinstated for one year, during which the 
requirements must be met.  A holder of an Initial Certificate 
who has not completed 4 years of teaching may continuously 
register the certificate for additional 4-year periods without 
penalty.  Initial Certificates that are not registered shall 
lapse consistent with subsection (a) of this Section and may be 
reinstated only in accordance with subsection (a).
Standard 
Teaching Certificates are renewable every 5 years as provided

in
subsection (c) of Section 21-2
and subsection (c) of this 
Section.
 For purposes of this Section, "teaching" is defined as 
employment and
performance of
services in an Illinois public or 
State-operated elementary school, secondary
school, or

cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or board 
of control, in a
certificated teaching position, or a charter 
school operating in compliance
with the
Charter Schools Law.
    (c) In compliance with subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of 
this Code, which
provides that a
Standard
Teaching Certificate 
may be renewed by the State Teacher Certification Board
based

upon proof of continuing professional development, the State 
Board of Education
and
the State Teacher Certification Board 
shall jointly:
        (1) establish a procedure for renewing Standard 
    Teaching Certificates,
which shall include but not be 
    limited to annual timelines for the renewal
process and the 
    components set forth in subsections (d) through (k) of this

    Section;
        (2) establish the standards for certificate renewal;
        (3) approve or disapprove the providers of continuing 
    professional development
activities;
        (4) determine the maximum credit for each category of 
    continuing
professional development activities, based upon 
    recommendations submitted by
a continuing professional

    development
activity task force, which shall consist of 6 
    staff members from the State
Board of
Education, appointed 
    by the State Superintendent of Education, and 6 teacher

    representatives, 3 of whom are selected by the Illinois 
    Education Association
and 3 of
whom are selected by the 
    Illinois Federation of Teachers;
        (5) designate the type and amount of documentation 
    required to show that
continuing professional development 
    activities have been completed; and
        (6) provide, on a timely basis to all Illinois 
    teachers, certificate
holders, regional superintendents of 
    schools,
school districts, and others with an interest in 
    continuing professional
development, information about the 
    standards and requirements established
pursuant to this 
    subsection (c).
    (d) Any Standard Teaching Certificate held by an individual 
employed and
performing services in an
Illinois public or 
State-operated elementary school, secondary school, or

cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or board 
of control in a
certificated teaching
position or a
charter 
school in compliance with the Charter Schools Law must be 
maintained
Valid
and
Active through certificate renewal 
activities specified in the certificate
renewal procedure

established pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section, 
provided that
a holder of a Valid
and Active
certificate who is 
only employed on either a part-time basis or day-to-day
basis 
as a
substitute
teacher shall pay only the required 
registration fee to renew his or her
certificate
and maintain 
it as Valid and Active.  All other Standard Teaching 
Certificates
held may be
maintained as
Valid and Exempt through 
the registration process provided for in the
certificate 
renewal
procedure established pursuant to subsection (c) of 
this Section.  A Valid and
Exempt
certificate must
be 
immediately activated, through procedures developed jointly by 
the State
Board of
Education and the State Teacher 
Certification Board, upon the certificate
holder
becoming 
employed and performing services in an Illinois public or

State-operated elementary school,
secondary school, or 
cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or
board 
of control in a
certificated
teaching position or a charter 
school operating in compliance with the Charter
Schools
Law.  A 
holder of a Valid and Exempt certificate may activate his or 
her
certificate
through procedures provided for in the 
certificate renewal procedure
established pursuant to

subsection (c) of this Section.
    (e)(1) A Standard Teaching Certificate that has been 
maintained as Valid
and
Active for the 5 years of the 
certificate's validity shall be renewed as Valid
and Active

upon the certificate holder: (i)
completing an advanced degree 
from an approved institution in an
education-related field; 
(ii)
completing at least
8 semester hours of
coursework as 
described in
subdivision (B) of paragraph (3) of this 
subsection (e);
(iii)
(blank); (iv) completing the National 
Board for
Professional
Teaching Standards process as described 
in subdivision (D) of
paragraph (3) of
this subsection (e); or 
(v) earning 120 continuing professional
development
units 
("CPDU") as described in subdivision (E) of paragraph (3) of

this
subsection (e).  The maximum continuing professional 
development units for each
continuing professional development 
activity identified in subdivisions
(F)
through (J) of 
paragraph (3) of this subsection (e) shall be
jointly 
determined
by the State Board of Education and the State 
Teacher Certification Board.
If, however, the certificate 
holder has maintained the certificate
as Valid and
Exempt for a 
portion of the 5-year period of validity, the number of

continuing
professional development units needed to renew the 
certificate as Valid and
Active shall
be proportionately 
reduced by the amount of time the certificate was Valid and

Exempt.
Furthermore, if a certificate holder is employed and 
performs teaching services
on a
part-time basis for all or a 
portion of the certificate's 5-year period of
validity, the 
number
of continuing professional development units needed to 
renew the certificate as
Valid
and Active shall be reduced by 
50% for the amount of time the certificate
holder has
been 
employed and performed teaching services on a part-time basis.  
Part-time
shall
be defined as less than 50% of the school day 
or school term.
    Notwithstanding any other requirements to the contrary, if 
a Standard
Teaching
Certificate has been maintained as Valid 
and Active for the 5 years of the
certificate's validity and 
the certificate holder has completed his or her
certificate 
renewal plan before July 1, 2002, the certificate shall
be 
renewed as Valid and Active.
    (2) Beginning July 1, 2004, in order to satisfy the 
requirements for continuing professional development provided 
for in subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code, each

Valid 
and Active Standard Teaching Certificate holder shall
complete 
professional development activities that address the 
certificate or those certificates that are required of his or 
her
certificated
teaching position, if the certificate holder 
is employed and performing
services in an Illinois public
or 
State-operated elementary school,
secondary school, or 
cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or
board 
of control, or that certificate or those certificates most 
closely
related to his or
her teaching position, if the 
certificate holder is employed in a charter
school.  Except as 
otherwise provided in this subsection (e), the certificate 
holder's activities must address purposes (A), (B),
(C), or (D) 
and must reflect purpose (E) of the following continuing 
professional
development purposes:
        (A) Advance both the certificate holder's knowledge 
    and skills as a
teacher consistent with the Illinois 
    Professional Teaching Standards and the
Illinois Content 
    Area Standards in the certificate holder's areas of

    certification,
endorsement, or teaching assignment in 
    order to keep the certificate holder
current
in those 
    areas.
        (B) Develop the certificate holder's knowledge and 
    skills in areas
determined
to be critical for all Illinois 
    teachers, as defined by the State Board of
Education, known 
    as "State priorities".
        (C) Address the knowledge, skills, and goals of the 
    certificate holder's
local
school improvement plan, if the 
    teacher is employed in an Illinois public
or State-operated 
    elementary school, secondary school, or cooperative or 
    joint
agreement with a governing body or board of control.
        (D) Expand the certificate holder's knowledge and 
    skills in an
additional teaching field or toward
the

    acquisition of another teaching certificate, endorsement, 
    or relevant
education degree.
        (E) Address the needs of serving students with 
    disabilities, including adapting and modifying the general 
    curriculum related to the Illinois Learning Standards to 
    meet the needs of students with disabilities and serving 
    such students in the least restrictive environment.  
    Teachers who hold certificates endorsed for special 
    education must devote at least 50% of their continuing 
    professional development activities to this purpose.  
    Teachers holding other certificates must devote at least 
    20% of their activities to this purpose.

    A speech-language pathologist or audiologist who is

licensed under the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and

Audiology Practice Act and who has met the continuing
education 
requirements of that Act and the rules promulgated
under that 
Act shall be deemed to have satisfied the continuing

professional development requirements established by the State

Board of Education and the Teacher Certification Board to renew

a Standard Certificate.
    (3) Continuing professional development activities may 
include, but are not limited to, the following activities:
        (A) completion of an advanced degree from an approved 
    institution
in an education-related field;
        (B) at
least 8 semester hours of coursework
in an 
    approved education-related program, of which at least 2 
    semester
hours relate
to the continuing professional 
    development purpose set forth in purpose (A) of
paragraph 
    (2) of this subsection (e), completion of which means no


    other continuing professional development activities are 
    required;
        (C) (blank);
        (D) completion of the National Board for

Professional 
    Teaching
Standards
("NBPTS") process for certification or 
    recertification, completion of which means no other 
    continuing professional development activities are 
    required;
        (E) completion of 120 continuing professional 
    development
units that
satisfy the continuing professional 
    development purposes set forth in
paragraph (2) of this 
    subsection (e) and may include without limitation
the 
    activities identified in subdivisions (F) through
(J) of 
    this paragraph
(3);
        (F) collaboration and partnership activities related 
    to
improving the
teacher's knowledge and skills as a 
    teacher, including the following:
            (i) participating on collaborative planning and 
        professional
improvement
teams and committees;
            (ii) peer review and coaching;
            (iii) mentoring in a formal mentoring program, 
        including service as a
consulting teacher 
        participating in a remediation
process formulated 
        under Section 24A-5 of this Code;
            (iv) participating in site-based management or 
        decision making teams,
relevant committees, boards, or 
        task forces directly related to school
improvement 
        plans;
            (v) coordinating community resources in schools, 
        if the project is a
specific goal of the school 
        improvement plan;
            (vi) facilitating parent education programs for a 
        school, school
district, or
regional office of 
        education directly related to student achievement or

        school improvement plans;
            (vii) participating in business, school, or 
        community partnerships
directly
related to student 
        achievement or school improvement plans; or
            (viii) supervising a student teacher or teacher 
        education candidate in
clinical supervision, provided 
        that the supervision may only be counted
once during 
        the course of 5 years;
        (G) college or university coursework related to 
    improving the
teacher's
knowledge and skills as a teacher 
    as follows:
            (i) completing undergraduate or graduate credit 
        earned from a
regionally
accredited institution in 
        coursework relevant to the certificate area being

        renewed,
including coursework that incorporates 
        induction activities and
development of a portfolio of 
        both student and teacher work that
provides experience 
        in reflective practices,
provided the coursework meets 
        Illinois Professional Teaching Standards
or Illinois 
        Content Area Standards and
supports the essential 
        characteristics of quality professional development; 
        or
            (ii) teaching college or university courses in 
        areas relevant to the
certificate area being renewed, 
        provided that the teaching may only be
counted once 
        during the course of 5 years;
        (H) conferences, workshops, institutes, seminars, and

    symposiums related
to improving the teacher's knowledge 
    and skills as a teacher, subject to disapproval of the 
    activity or event by the State Teacher Certification Board 
    acting jointly with the State Board of Education,
 including

    the following:
            (i) completing non-university credit directly 
        related to student
achievement, school improvement 
        plans, or State priorities;
            (ii) participating in or presenting at workshops, 
        seminars,
conferences,
institutes, and symposiums;
            (iii) training as external reviewers for Quality 
        Assurance;
            (iv) training as reviewers of university teacher 
        preparation programs; or
            (v) participating in or presenting at in-service 
        training programs on suicide prevention. 
    A teacher, however, may not receive credit for conferences, 
    workshops, institutes, seminars, or symposiums that are 
    designed for entertainment, promotional, or commercial 
    purposes or that are solely inspirational or motivational.  
    The State Superintendent of Education and regional 
    superintendents of schools are authorized to review the 
    activities and events provided or to be provided under this 
    subdivision (H) and to investigate complaints regarding 
    those activities and events, and either the State 
    Superintendent of Education or a regional superintendent 
    of schools may recommend that the State Teacher 
    Certification Board and the State Board of Education 
    jointly disapprove those activities and events considered 
    to be inconsistent with this subdivision (H);

        (I) other educational experiences related to improving 
    the
teacher's
knowledge and skills as a teacher, including 
    the following:
            (i) participating in action research and inquiry 
        projects;
            (ii) observing programs or teaching in schools, 
        related businesses, or
industry that is systematic, 
        purposeful, and relevant to certificate renewal;
            (iii) traveling related to one's teaching 
        assignment, directly related to
student achievement or 
        school improvement plans and approved by the regional 
        superintendent of schools or his or her designee at 
        least
30 days prior to the travel experience,
provided 
        that the traveling shall not include time spent 
        commuting to
destinations where the learning 
        experience will occur;
            (iv) participating in study groups related to 
        student achievement or
school
improvement plans;
            (v) serving on a statewide education-related 
        committee, including but
not
limited to the State 
        Teacher Certification Board, State Board of Education

        strategic agenda teams, or the State Advisory Council 
        on Education of
Children with Disabilities;
            (vi) participating in work/learn programs or 
        internships; or
            (vii) developing a portfolio of student and 
        teacher work;
        (J) professional leadership experiences related to 
    improving
the teacher's
knowledge and skills as a teacher, 
    including the following:
            (i) participating in curriculum development or 
        assessment activities
at the
school, school district, 
        regional office of education, State, or national

        level;
            (ii) participating in team or department 
        leadership in a school or
school
district;
            (iii) participating on external or internal school 
        or school district
review
teams;
            (iv) publishing educational articles, columns, or 
        books relevant to
the
certificate area being renewed; 
        or
            (v) participating in non-strike related 
        professional association or
labor organization
service 
        or
activities related to professional development;
        (K) receipt of a subsequent Illinois certificate or 
    endorsement pursuant to this  Article;

        (L) completion of requirements for meeting the 
    Illinois criteria for becoming "highly qualified" (for 
    purposes of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Public 
    Law 107-110) in an additional teaching area;

        (M)  successful completion of 4 semester hours of 
    graduate-level coursework on the assessment of one's own 
    performance in relation to the Illinois Teaching 
    Standards, as described in clause (B) of paragraph (2) of 
    subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code; or
        (N)  successful completion of a minimum of 4 semester 
    hours of graduate-level coursework addressing preparation 
    to meet the requirements for certification by the National 
    Board for Professional Teaching Standards, as described in 
    clause (C) of paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of Section 
    21-2 of this Code.

    (4) A person must complete the requirements of this 
subsection (e) before the expiration of his or her Standard 
Teaching Certificate and must submit assurance to the regional 
superintendent of schools or, if applicable, a local 
professional development committee authorized by the regional 
superintendent to submit recommendations to him or her for this 
purpose.  The statement of assurance shall contain a list of the 
activities completed, the provider offering each activity, the 
number of credits earned for each activity, and the purposes to 
which each activity is attributed.  The certificate holder shall 
maintain the evidence of completion of each activity for at 
least one certificate renewal cycle.  The certificate holder 
shall affirm under penalty of perjury that he or she has 
completed the activities listed and will maintain the required 
evidence of completion.  The State Board of Education or the 
regional superintendent of schools for each region shall 
conduct random audits of assurance statements and supporting 
documentation.
    (5) (Blank).
    (6) (Blank).
    (f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, a 
school district is authorized to enter into an agreement with 
the exclusive bargaining representative, if any, to form a 
local professional development committee (LPDC).  The 
membership and terms of members of the LPDC may be determined 
by the agreement.  Provisions regarding LPDCs contained in a 
collective bargaining agreement in existence on the effective 
date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly 
between a school district and the exclusive bargaining 
representative shall remain in full force and effect for the 
term of the agreement, unless terminated by mutual agreement. 
The LPDC shall make recommendations to the regional 
superintendent of schools on renewal of teaching certificates.  
The regional superintendent of schools for each region shall

perform
the following functions:
        (1)
review recommendations for certificate renewal, if 
    any, received from LPDCs;
        (2) (blank);
        (3) (blank);
        (4) (blank);
        (5) determine whether certificate holders have met the

    requirements for certificate renewal and notify 
    certificate holders
if the decision is not to renew the 
    certificate;
        (6) provide a certificate holder with the opportunity 
    to appeal a recommendation made by a LPDC, if any, not to 
    renew the certificate to the regional professional 
    development review committee;
        (7) issue and forward recommendations for renewal or 
    nonrenewal
of certificate holders' Standard Teaching 
    Certificates to the State Teacher Certification Board; and
        (8) (blank).
    (g)(1) Each regional superintendent of schools shall 
review and concur or
nonconcur
with each recommendation for 
renewal or nonrenewal of a Standard Teaching
Certificate he or 
she receives from a local professional development committee, 
if any,
or, if
a certificate
holder appeals the recommendation 
to the regional professional development
review committee, the

recommendation for renewal or nonrenewal he or she receives 
from a regional
professional
development review committee and, 
within 14 days of receipt of the
recommendation,
shall
provide 
the State Teacher Certification Board with verification of the

following, if applicable:
        (A) the certificate holder has satisfactorily 
    completed professional development and continuing 
    education activities set forth in paragraph (3) of 
    subsection (e) of this Section;
        (B) the certificate holder has submitted the statement 
    of assurance required under paragraph (4) of subsection (e) 
    of this Section, and this statement has been attached to 
    the application for renewal;
        (C) the local professional development committee, if 
    any, has recommended the
renewal of the certificate 
    holder's Standard Teaching Certificate and
forwarded the 
    recommendation to the regional superintendent of schools;
        (D) the certificate holder has appealed his or her 
    local professional
development committee's recommendation 
    of nonrenewal, if any, to the regional
professional 
    development review committee and the result of that appeal;
        (E) the regional superintendent of schools has 
    concurred or nonconcurred
with
the
local professional 
    development committee's or regional professional

    development review committee's recommendation, if any, to 
    renew or nonrenew the
certificate holder's Standard 
    Teaching Certificate and made a
recommendation to that 
    effect; and
        (F) the established registration fee for the Standard 
    Teaching
Certificate has
been paid.
    If

the notice required by this subsection
(g) includes a 
recommendation of certificate nonrenewal, then, at the same 
time the regional superintendent of schools provides the State 
Teacher Certification Board with the notice, he or she
shall

also notify the
certificate holder in writing, by certified 
mail, return receipt requested, that
this notice has been 
provided to the
State
Teacher
Certification Board.
    (2) Each certificate holder shall have the right to appeal

his or her
 local
professional development committee's 
recommendation of nonrenewal, if any, to the
regional

professional development review committee, within 14 days of 
receipt of notice
that the
recommendation has
been sent to the 
regional superintendent of schools.  Each regional

superintendent of schools shall
establish a regional 
professional development review committee or committees
for 
the
purpose of
advising the regional superintendent of schools, 
upon request, and handling
certificate
holder appeals.  This 
committee shall
consist of at least 4 classroom teachers, one 
non-administrative
certificated
educational
employee, 2 
administrators, and one at-large member who shall be either (i) 
a
parent, (ii)
a member of the business community, (iii) a 
community member, or (iv) an
administrator, with preference 
given to an individual chosen from among those
persons
listed 
in items (i), (ii), and (iii) in order to secure representation 
of an
interest not already
represented on the committee.  The 
teacher and non-administrative certificated
educational 
employee members of the review committee shall be selected by 
their
exclusive representative, if any, and the administrators 
and at-large member
shall be
selected by the regional 
superintendent of schools.  A regional superintendent
of 
schools
may add additional members to the committee, provided 
that the same proportion
of
teachers to administrators and 
at-large members on the committee is maintained.  Any
additional 
teacher and non-administrative certificated educational 
employee members
shall be selected by their exclusive 
representative, if any.  Vacancies in positions on a
regional 
professional development review committee shall be filled in 
the same manner
as the original selections.  Committee members 
shall serve staggered 3-year terms.  All
individuals selected to 
serve on regional professional development review committees

must be known to demonstrate the best practices in teaching or 
their respective
field of
practice.
    (h)(1) The State Teacher Certification Board shall review 
the regional
superintendent of schools' recommendations to 
renew or nonrenew Standard
Teaching Certificates
and notify 
certificate holders in writing whether their certificates have

been renewed or
nonrenewed within 90 days of receipt of the 
recommendations,
unless a certificate holder has appealed a 
regional
superintendent of schools'
recommendation of 
nonrenewal, as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection

(h).  The State Teacher Certification Board shall verify that 
the
certificate holder
has met the renewal criteria set forth 
in paragraph (1) of subsection (g) of
this Section.
    (2) Each certificate holder shall have the right to appeal 
a regional
superintendent of school's recommendation to 
nonrenew his or her Standard
Teaching Certificate
to
the State 
Teacher Certification Board, within 14 days of receipt of 
notice that
the
decision has been sent to the State Teacher 
Certification Board, which shall
hold an
appeal hearing within 
60 days of receipt of the appeal.  When such an appeal is
taken,

the certificate holder's Standard Teaching Certificate shall 
continue to be
valid until the
appeal is finally determined.  
The State Teacher Certification Board shall
review the
regional 
superintendent of school's recommendation, the regional 
professional
development review committee's recommendation, if 
any, and the local
professional
development committee's 
recommendation, if any, and all relevant documentation to 
verify
whether the certificate holder has met the renewal 
criteria set forth in
paragraph (1) of
subsection (g) of this 
Section.  The State Teacher Certification Board may
request that

the certificate holder appear before it.  All actions taken by 
the State
Teacher
Certification Board shall require a quorum 
and be by a simple majority of those
present and voting.
A 
record of
all votes
shall be maintained.  The State Teacher 
Certification Board shall notify the
certificate
holder in 
writing, within 7 days of completing the review, whether his or 
her
Standard
Teaching Certificate has been renewed or 
nonrenewed, provided that if the State
Teacher
Certification 
Board determines to nonrenew a certificate, the written notice

provided to
the certificate holder shall be by certified mail, 
return receipt requested.
All certificate
renewal or 
nonrenewal decisions of the State Teacher Certification Board 
are
final and
subject to administrative review.
    (i) Holders of Master Teaching Certificates shall meet the 
same
requirements
and follow the same procedures as holders of 
Standard Teaching Certificates,
except
that their renewal 
cycle shall be as set forth in subsection (d) of Section
21-2 
of this
Code and their renewal requirements shall be subject to 
paragraph (8) of subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code.
    A holder of a
teaching certificate endorsed as a 
speech-language pathologist who
has been granted the 
Certificate of Clinical Competence by the
American 
Speech-Language Hearing Association may renew his or her

Standard Teaching Certificate pursuant to the 10-year renewal 
cycle set
forth in subsection (d) of Section 21-2 of this Code.
    (j) Holders of Valid and Exempt Standard and Master 
Teaching Certificates
who are not employed and performing 
services in an Illinois public or
State-operated
elementary 
school, secondary school, or cooperative or joint agreement 
with a
governing body or board of control, in a certificated 
teaching position,
may
voluntarily activate their certificates 
through the regional superintendent of schools of the regional 
office of
education for the geographic area where their 
teaching is done.  These certificate holders shall follow the 
same renewal
criteria
and procedures as all other Standard and 
Master Teaching Certificate holders,
except
that their 
continuing professional development activities need not


reflect or
address the knowledge, skills, and goals of a local 
school improvement plan.
    (k) (Blank).
    (l) (Blank).
    (m)  The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act 
of the 93rd General Assembly that affect renewal of Standard 
and Master Certificates shall apply to those persons who hold 
Standard or Master Certificates on or after the effective date 
of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly and shall 
be given effect upon renewal of those certificates.

(Source: P.A. 96-951, eff. 6-28-10; 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.