SB2199enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2199 Enrolled LRB098 06402 NHT 36444 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 Sections 21B-30 and 21B-35 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/21B-30)

Sec. 21B-30. Educator testing.

(a) This Section applies beginning on July 1, 2012.

(b) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall design and implement a system of examinations, which shall be required prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These examinations and indicators must be based on national and State professional teaching standards, as determined by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The State Board of Education may adopt such rules as may be necessary to implement and administer this Section. No score on a test required under this Section, other than a test of basic skills, shall be more than 5 years old at the time that an individual makes application for an educator license or endorsement.

(c) Applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or an Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass a test of basic skills, unless the endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage of the test.

No candidate may be fully admitted into an educator preparation program at a recognized Illinois institution until he or she has passed a test of basic skills. An individual who passes a test of basic skills does not need to do so again for subsequent endorsements or other educator licenses.

(d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall be allowed to student teach or , serve as the teacher of record, or begin an internship or residency required for licensure until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.

(e) All applicants seeking a State license endorsed in a teaching field shall pass the assessment of professional teaching (APT). Passage of the APT is required for completion of an approved Illinois educator preparation program.

(f) Beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing teacher preparation programs in this State are required to pass an evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness approved by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. All recognized institutions offering approved teacher preparation programs must begin phasing in the approved teacher performance assessment no later than July 1, 2013.

(g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and the assessment of professional teaching shall be the tests that from time to time are designated by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing organization or tests designed by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and mathematics. The test of content area knowledge shall assess content knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to the person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.

The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code in the English language and in the language of the transitional bilingual education program requested by the applicant.

(h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school district subject to Article 34 of this Code.

(i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the testing requirements under this Section shall include provisions governing test selection, test validation and determination of a passing score, administration of the tests, frequency of administration, applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop such rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to year in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.

(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)

(105 ILCS 5/21B-35)

Sec. 21B-35. Minimum requirements for educators trained in other states or countries.

(a) All out-of-state applicants applying for a Professional Educator License must meet all of the following requirements:

(1) Have completed a comparable state-approved education program, as defined by the State Superintendent of Education.

(2) Have a degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education and the degreed major or a constructed major must directly correspond to the license or endorsement sought.

(3) Except for school service personnel prepared by out-of-state programs, have Have completed a minimum of one course in the methods of instruction of the exceptional child. School service personnel prepared by out-of-state programs shall meet the same requirements concerning courses in the methods of instruction of the exceptional child as in-State candidates in school service personnel areas, as defined by rules.

(4) Except for school service personnel prepared by out-of-state programs, have Have completed a minimum of 6 semester hours of coursework in methods of reading and reading in the content area. School service personnel prepared by out-of-state programs shall meet the same requirements concerning coursework in methods of reading and reading in the content area as in-State candidates in school service personnel areas, as defined by rules.

(5) Except for school service personnel prepared by out-of-state programs, have Have completed a minimum of one course in instructional strategies for English language learners. School service personnel prepared by out-of-state programs shall meet the same requirements concerning courses in instructional strategies for English language learners as in-State candidates in school service personnel areas, as defined by rules.

(6) Have successfully met all Illinois examination requirements.

(7) Have completed student teaching or an equivalent experience.

If one or more of the criteria in subsection (a) of this Section are not met, then out-of-state applicants who hold a valid, comparable certificate from another state and have passed a test of basic skills and content area test, as required by Section 21B-20 of this Code, may qualify for a provisional educator endorsement on an Educator License with Stipulations, in accordance with Section 21B-20 of this Code, with the exception that an individual shall not serve as a principal or assistant principal while holding the provisional educator endorsement.

(b) In order to receive a Professional Educator License, applicants trained in another country must meet all of the following requirements:

(1) Have completed a comparable education program in another country.

(2) Have had transcripts evaluated by an evaluation service approved by the State Superintendent of Education.

(3) Hold a degreed major that must directly correspond to the license or endorsement sought.

(4) Have completed a minimum of one course in the methods of instruction of the exceptional child.

(5) Have completed a minimum of 6 semester hours of coursework in methods of reading and reading in the content area.

(6) Have completed a minimum of one course in instructional strategies for English language learners.

(7) Have successfully met all State licensure examination requirements.

(8) Have completed student teaching or an equivalent experience.

If one or more of these criteria are not met, then an applicant trained in another country who has passed a test of basic skills and content area test, as required by Section 21B-20 of this Code, may qualify for a provisional educator endorsement on an Educator License with Stipulations, with the exception that an individual shall not serve as a principal or assistant principal while holding the provisional educator endorsement.

(c) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, may adopt such rules as may be necessary to implement this Section.

(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.