HB4117eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4117 Engrossed 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.)