SB0808 EnrolledLRB102 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. A candidate may not be required to submit
18test materials by video submission. Subject to appropriation,
19an individual who holds a Professional Educator License and is
20employed for a minimum of one school year by a school district
21designated as Tier 1 under Section 18-8.15 may, after
22application to the State Board, receive from the State Board a
23refund for any costs associated with completing the teacher
24performance assessment under this subsection.
25    (g) The content area knowledge test and the teacher
26performance assessment shall be the tests that from time to

 

 

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

 

 

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1provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
2district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
3    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
4testing requirements under this Section shall include without
5limitation provisions governing test selection, test
6validation and determination of a passing score,
7administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
8applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
9years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
10accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop
11such rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to
12year in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
13(Source: P.A. 100-596, eff. 7-1-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18;
14100-932, eff. 8-17-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-220, eff.
158-7-19; 101-594, eff. 12-5-19.)
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17becoming law.