SB0808 EngrossedLRB102 04616 CMG 14635 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 Section
521B-30 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/21B-30)
7    Sec. 21B-30. Educator testing.
8    (a) (Blank).
9    (b) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
10State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall design
11and implement a system of examinations, which shall be
12required prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These
13examinations and indicators must be based on national and
14State professional teaching standards, as determined by the
15State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
16Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The State Board of
17Education may adopt such rules as may be necessary to
18implement and administer this Section.
19    (c) (Blank).
20    (c-5) The State Board must adopt rules to implement a
21paraprofessional competency test. This test would allow an
22applicant seeking an Educator License with Stipulations with a
23paraprofessional educator endorsement to obtain the

 

 

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1endorsement if he or she passes the test and meets the other
2requirements of subparagraph (J) of paragraph (2) of Section
321B-20 other than the higher education requirements.
4    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
5required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
6of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
7shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
8be allowed to student teach or serve as the teacher of record
9until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
10    (e) (Blank).
11    (f) Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
12beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing
13teacher preparation programs in this State and all candidates
14subject to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required to pass a
15teacher performance assessment approved by the State Board of
16Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
17and Licensure Board. Subject to appropriation, an individual
18who holds a Professional Educator License and is employed for
19a minimum of one school year by a school district designated as
20Tier 1 under Section 18-8.15 may, after application to the
21State Board, receive from the State Board a refund for any
22costs associated with completing the teacher performance
23assessment under this subsection.
24    (g) The content area knowledge test and the teacher
25performance assessment shall be the tests that from time to
26time are designated by the State Board of Education, in

 

 

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1consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
2Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing
3organization or tests designed by the State Board of
4Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
5and Licensure Board. The test of content area knowledge shall
6assess content knowledge in a specific subject field. The
7tests must be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no
8person taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis
9of race, color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to
10the person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The
11score required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State
12Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
13Preparation and Licensure Board. The tests shall be
14administered not fewer than 3 times a year at such time and
15place as may be designated by the State Board of Education, in
16consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
17Board.
18    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
19the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
20applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
21subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this
22Code in the English language and in the language of the
23transitional bilingual education program requested by the
24applicant.
25    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
26provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school

 

 

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1district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
2    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
3testing requirements under this Section shall include without
4limitation provisions governing test selection, test
5validation and determination of a passing score,
6administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
7applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
8years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
9accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop
10such rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to
11year in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
12    (j) Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, in order to
13obtain a license under this Article, a student teacher
14candidate may not be required to videotape himself or herself
15or his or her students in a classroom setting.
16(Source: P.A. 100-596, eff. 7-1-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18;
17100-932, eff. 8-17-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-220, eff.
188-7-19; 101-594, eff. 12-5-19.)
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20becoming law.