102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3730

 

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Tom Demmer

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/Art. 21A heading
105 ILCS 5/21A-5
105 ILCS 5/21A-10
105 ILCS 5/21A-15
105 ILCS 5/21A-20
105 ILCS 5/21A-25
105 ILCS 5/21A-30

    Amends the New Teacher Induction and Mentoring Article of the School Code. Changes the heading of the Article and the definition of "new teacher". Provides that, beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, the State Board of Education shall develop a program to provide grants to mentor training providers to establish a training program for new teacher mentors, and requires each public school to use a teacher induction and mentoring program provided by a mentor trained through a mentor training provider (rather than requiring a public school to develop a new teacher induction and mentoring program). Makes changes concerning program requirements, funding and stipends, the evaluation of programs, and obsolete references. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3730LRB102 13953 CMG 19305 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing the
5heading of Article 21A and Sections 21A-5, 21A-10, 21A-15,
621A-20, 21A-25, and 21A-30 as follows:
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/Art. 21A heading)
8
ARTICLE 21A. TRAINING FOR MENTORING OF NEW
9
TEACHERS NEW TEACHER INDUCTION AND MENTORING

 
10    (105 ILCS 5/21A-5)
11    Sec. 21A-5. Definitions. In this Article:
12    "Mentor training provider" means a regionally accredited
13college or university located in this State or an educational
14non-profit that develops a training program for new teacher
15mentors that includes both initial training in coaching and
16mentoring methods and ongoing professional development.
17    "New teacher" means a student teacher or the holder of a
18Professional Educator License as set forth in Article 21B of
19this Code who has no more than 3 full years of teaching
20experience and the holder of a professional educator license,
21as set forth in Section 21B-20 of this Code, who is employed by
22a public school and who has not previously participated in a

 

 

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1new teacher induction and mentoring program required by this
2Article, except as provided in Section 21A-25 of this Code.
3    "Public school" means any school operating pursuant to the
4authority of this Code, including without limitation a school
5district, a charter school, a cooperative or joint agreement
6with a governing body or board of control, and a school
7operated by a regional office of education or State agency.
8(Source: P.A. 101-643, eff. 6-18-20.)
 
9    (105 ILCS 5/21A-10)
10    Sec. 21A-10. Development of program required.
11    (a) During the 2003-2004 school year through the 2022-2023
12school year, each public school or 2 or more public schools
13acting jointly shall develop, in conjunction with its
14exclusive representative or their exclusive representatives,
15if any, a new teacher induction and mentoring program that
16meets the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20 of this
17Code to assist new teachers in developing the skills and
18strategies necessary for instructional excellence, provided
19that funding is made available by the State Board of Education
20from an appropriation made for this purpose.
21    (b) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, the State
22Board of Education shall develop a program to provide grants
23to mentor training providers to establish a training program
24for new teacher mentors. The training program offered by a
25mentor training provider shall meet the requirements set forth

 

 

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1in Section 21A-20 of this Code to assist new teachers in
2developing the skills and strategies necessary for
3instructional excellence, provided that funding is made
4available by the State Board from an appropriation for this
5purpose. The State Board shall provide grants with priority
6given to training mentor providers that provide training
7services to school districts without trained mentors in
8subject matters and disciplines that are federally designated
9as teacher shortage areas. A public school that has an
10existing induction and mentoring program that does not meet
11the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20 of this Code may
12have school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 to develop a program
13that does meet those requirements and may receive funding as
14described in Section 21A-25 of this Code, provided that the
15funding is made available by the State Board of Education from
16an appropriation made for this purpose. A public school with
17such an existing induction and mentoring program may receive
18funding for the 2005-2006 school year for each new teacher in
19the second year of a 2-year program that does not meet the
20requirements set forth in Section 21A-20, as long as the
21public school has established the required new program by the
22beginning of that school year as described in Section 21A-15
23and provided that funding is made available by the State Board
24of Education from an appropriation made for this purpose as
25described in Section 21A-25.
26(Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)
 

 

 

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1    (105 ILCS 5/21A-15)
2    Sec. 21A-15. When program is to be established and
3implemented.
4    (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, by
5the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year through the
62022-2023 school year (or by the beginning of the 2005-2006
7school year through the 2022-2023 school year for a public
8school that has been given an extension of time to develop a
9program under Section 21A-10 of this Code), each public school
10or 2 or more public schools acting jointly shall establish and
11implement, in conjunction with its exclusive representative or
12their exclusive representatives, if any, the new teacher
13induction and mentoring program required to be developed under
14Section 21A-10 of this Code, provided that funding is made
15available by the State Board of Education, from an
16appropriation made for this purpose, as described in Section
1721A-25 of this Code. A public school may contract with an
18institution of higher education or other independent party to
19assist in implementing the program.
20    (b) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, each public
21school shall use a teacher induction and mentoring program
22provided by a mentor trained through a mentor training
23provider, provided that funding is made available by the State
24Board of Education, from an appropriation made for this
25purpose, as described in Section 21A-25 of this Code.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
2    (105 ILCS 5/21A-20)
3    Sec. 21A-20. Program requirements.
4    (a) Through the 2022-2023 school year, each Each new
5teacher induction and mentoring program must be based on a
6plan that at least does all of the following:
7        (1) Assigns a mentor teacher to each new teacher for a
8    period of at least 2 school years.
9        (2) Aligns with the Illinois Professional Teaching
10    Standards, content area standards, and applicable local
11    school improvement and professional development plans, if
12    any.
13        (3) Addresses all of the following elements and how
14    they will be provided:
15            (A) Mentoring and support of the new teacher.
16            (B) Professional development specifically designed
17        to ensure the growth of the new teacher's knowledge
18        and skills.
19            (C) Formative assessment designed to ensure
20        feedback and reflection, which must not be used in any
21        evaluation of the new teacher.
22        (4) Describes the role of mentor teachers, the
23    criteria and process for their selection, and how they
24    will be trained, provided that each mentor teacher shall
25    demonstrate the best practices in teaching his or her

 

 

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1    respective field of practice. A mentor teacher may not
2    directly or indirectly participate in the evaluation of a
3    new teacher pursuant to Article 24A of this Code or the
4    evaluation procedure of the public school.
5    (b) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, the mentor
6training program for new teachers shall include both initial
7training in coaching and mentoring methods and ongoing
8professional development in collaboration with other mentors
9and training providers. In order to be eligible for a grant
10from the State Board under Section 21A-25, a mentor training
11program shall train only mentors who meet all the following
12requirements:
13        (1) Are the holder of a Professional Educator License
14    or a Professional Educator License in retired status with
15    at least 5 years of teaching experience.
16        (2) Have a rating of "proficient" or "excellent" on
17    each of their last 2 evaluations under Article 24A of this
18    Code.
19        (3) Have completed a mentor training program provided
20    by a mentor training provider and have demonstrated
21    competency in new teacher mentoring skills.
22    Upon meeting these requirements, a mentor shall be
23eligible to mentor new teachers in any content area and grade
24level for which the trained mentor holds an endorsement on the
25Professional Educator License or Professional Educator License
26in retired status. If a mentor is not available in the new

 

 

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1teacher's content area or grade level, the school district
2shall provide a mentor that best matches the new teacher's
3content area and grade level.
4    Each new teacher mentoring program shall address all of
5the following elements and how they will be provided:
6        (A) Mentoring and support of the new teacher.
7        (B) Professional development specifically designed to
8    ensure the growth of the new teacher's knowledge and
9    skills.
10        (C) A formative assessment designed to ensure feedback
11    and reflection, which must not be used in any evaluation
12    of the new teacher.
13    Under a new teacher mentoring program, the new teacher
14shall receive a minimum number of hours of mentoring services
15in the following manner:
16        (i) 60 hours in the first year of teaching, including
17    2 observations by the trained mentor;
18        (ii) 30 hours in the second year of teaching,
19    including 2 observations by the trained mentor; and
20        (iii) 20 hours in the third year of teaching,
21    including one observation by the trained mentor.
22(Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
23    (105 ILCS 5/21A-25)
24    Sec. 21A-25. Funding; stipends.
25    (a) Through the 2022-2023 school year, from From a

 

 

HB3730- 8 -LRB102 13953 CMG 19305 b

1separate appropriation made for the purposes of this Article,
2for each new teacher participating in a new teacher induction
3and mentoring program that meets the requirements set forth in
4Section 21A-20 of this Code or in an existing program that is
5in the process of transition to a program that meets those
6requirements, the State Board of Education shall pay the
7public school $1,200 annually for each of 2 school years for
8the purpose of providing one or more of the following:
9        (1) Mentor teacher compensation.
10        (2) Mentor teacher training or new teacher training or
11    both.
12        (3) Release time.
13However, if a new teacher, after participating in the new
14teacher induction and mentoring program for one school year,
15becomes employed by another public school, the State Board of
16Education shall pay the teacher's new school $1,200 for the
17second school year and the teacher shall continue to be a new
18teacher as defined in this Article. Each public school shall
19determine, in conjunction with its exclusive representative,
20if any, how the $1,200 per school year for each new teacher
21shall be used, provided that if a mentor teacher receives
22additional release time to support a new teacher, the total
23workload of other teachers regularly employed by the public
24school shall not increase in any substantial manner. If the
25appropriation is insufficient to cover the $1,200 per school
26year for each new teacher, public schools are not required to

 

 

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1develop or implement the program established by this Article.
2In the event of an insufficient appropriation, a public school
3or 2 or more schools acting jointly may submit an application
4for a grant administered by the State Board of Education and
5awarded on a competitive basis to establish a new teacher
6induction and mentoring program that meets the criteria set
7forth in Section 21A-20 of this Code. The State Board of
8Education may retain up to $1,000,000 of the appropriation for
9new teacher induction and mentoring programs to train mentor
10teachers, administrators, and other personnel, to provide best
11practices information, and to conduct an evaluation of these
12programs' impact and effectiveness.
13    (b) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, from a
14separate appropriation made for the purposes of this Article,
15the State Board of Education shall provide grants to mentor
16training providers in the amount of $1,500 annually for each
17of the 4 school years of a new teacher mentor program under
18this Article to provide mentor compensation. In order to be
19eligible for the $1,500 stipend, the mentor must provide 60
20contact hours of mentoring activities, which must include at
21least 2 in-person observations of the new teacher's classroom
22practice and may include the following:
23        (1) new teacher observation of the trained mentor's
24    classroom activities;
25        (2) joint observations of another teacher's classroom
26    activities;

 

 

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1        (3) reflective conversations about the new teacher's
2    classroom practice;
3        (4) joint planning time;
4        (5) participation in professional learning led by the
5    trained mentor; and
6        (6) any other activities approved by the State Board.
7    If the State Board does not receive appropriations in an
8amount to provide $1,500 stipends to all trained mentors,
9stipends shall be prorated in an equal amount to all
10qualifying mentors. If proration occurs in which the stipend
11amount falls below $1,200, then the State Board shall provide
12stipends to trained mentors in Tier 1 and Tier 2 school
13districts, as designated under Section 18-8.15 of this Code,
14in an amount equal to $1,200. The remaining mentors shall
15receive a prorated stipend in an equal amount.
16    After providing funding for stipends, if any
17appropriations are left available for this purpose, the State
18Board shall provide grants to Tier 1 and Tier 2 school
19districts, as designated under Section 18-8.15 of this Code,
20to provide release time for mentors and new teachers to meet
21and observe classes during the school day.
22(Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)
 
23    (105 ILCS 5/21A-30)
24    Sec. 21A-30. Evaluation of programs.
25    (a)The State Board of Education and the State Educator

 

 

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1Preparation and Licensure Board shall jointly contract with an
2independent party to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of new
3teacher induction and mentoring programs established pursuant
4to this Article. The first report of this evaluation shall be
5presented to the General Assembly on or before January 1,
62009. Subsequent evaluations shall be conducted and reports
7presented to the General Assembly on or before January 1 of
8every third year thereafter through January 1, 2022. The first
9report presented to the General Assembly after the effective
10date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly
11shall be presented to the General Assembly before January 1,
122026 and subsequent evaluations shall be conducted and reports
13presented to the General Assembly on or before January 1 of
14every third year.
15    (b) Regional offices of education shall oversee mentors
16and mentor training providers in their educational service
17regions, including assigning mentors who are retired educators
18to school districts in need of trained mentors. For the
192024-2025 school year and each subsequent school year, the
20regional superintendent of schools shall report to the State
21Board of Education on the scope and quality of mentoring
22programs provided within the educational service region, which
23information shall be included in the State Board's report
24under subsection (a) of this Section.
25(Source: P.A. 101-643, eff. 6-18-20.)
 
26    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

HB3730- 12 -LRB102 13953 CMG 19305 b

1becoming law.