94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
HB3624

 

Introduced 2/24/2005, by Rep. William B. Black

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/21-5b

    Amends the School Code. Increases the maximum number of new participants that may be in the Alternative Teacher Certification Program each year from 260 to 500. In the provision concerning the employment requirement, removes the minimum period of time that the person must have been employed. Effective July 1, 2005.


LRB094 07157 RAS 37311 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3624 LRB094 07157 RAS 37311 b

1     AN ACT concerning teacher certification.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 21-5b as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/21-5b)
7     Sec. 21-5b. Alternative certification. The State Board of
8 Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
9 Certification Board, shall establish and implement an
10 alternative certification program under which persons who meet
11 the requirements of and successfully complete the program
12 established by this Section shall be issued an alternative
13 teaching certificate for teaching in the schools. The program
14 shall be limited to not more than 500 260 new participants
15 during each year that the program is in effect. The State Board
16 of Education, in cooperation with a partnership formed with a
17 university that offers 4-year baccalaureate and masters degree
18 programs and that is a recognized institution as defined in
19 Section 21-21 and one or more not-for-profit organizations in
20 the State which support excellence in teaching, shall within 30
21 days after submission by the partnership approve a course of
22 study developed by the partnership that persons in the program
23 must successfully complete in order to satisfy one criterion
24 for issuance of an alternative certificate under this Section.
25 The Alternative Teacher Certification program course of study
26 must include the current content and skills contained in the
27 university's current courses for State certification which
28 have been approved by the State Board of Education, in
29 consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board, as the
30 requirement for State teacher certification.
31     The alternative certification program established under
32 this Section shall be known as the Alternative Teacher

 

 

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1 Certification program. The Alternative Teacher Certification
2 Program shall be offered by the submitting partnership and may
3 be offered in conjunction with one or more not-for-profit
4 organizations in the State which support excellence in
5 teaching. The program shall be comprised of the following 3
6 phases: (a) the first phase is the course of study offered on
7 an intensive basis in education theory, instructional methods,
8 and practice teaching; (b) the second phase is the person's
9 assignment to a full-time teaching position for one school
10 year; and (c) the third phase is a comprehensive assessment of
11 the person's teaching performance by school officials and the
12 partnership participants and a recommendation by the partner
13 institution of higher education to the State Board of Education
14 that the person be issued a standard alternative teaching
15 certificate. Successful completion of the Alternative Teacher
16 Certification program shall be deemed to satisfy any other
17 practice or student teaching and subject matter requirements
18 established by law.
19     A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
20 one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
21 shall be issued under this Section 21-5b to persons who at the
22 time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
23 certificate under this Section:
24         (1)  have graduated from an accredited college or
25     university with a bachelor's degree;
26         (2)  have successfully completed the first phase of
27     the Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided
28     in this Section;
29         (3)  have passed the tests of basic skills and subject
30     matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a; and
31         (4)  have been employed for a period of at least 5
32     years in an area requiring application of the individual's
33     education; however, this requirement does not apply with
34     respect to a provisional alternative teaching certificate
35     for teaching in schools situated in a school district that
36     is located in a city having a population in excess of

 

 

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1     500,000 inhabitants.
2 A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
3 under this Section shall be treated as a regularly certified
4 teacher for purposes of compensation, benefits, and other terms
5 and conditions of employment afforded teachers in the school
6 who are members of a bargaining unit represented by an
7 exclusive bargaining representative, if any.
8     Until February 15, 2000, a standard alternative teaching
9 certificate, valid for 4 years for teaching in the schools and
10 renewable as provided in Section 21-14, shall be issued under
11 this Section 21-5b to persons who first complete the
12 requirements for the provisional alternative teaching
13 certificate and who at the time of applying for a standard
14 alternative teaching certificate under this Section have
15 successfully completed the second and third phases of the
16 Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in this
17 Section. Alternatively, beginning February 15, 2000, at the end
18 of the 4-year validity period, persons who were issued a
19 standard alternative teaching certificate shall be eligible,
20 on the same basis as holders of an Initial Teaching Certificate
21 issued under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of this Code, to
22 apply for a Standard Teaching Certificate, provided they meet
23 the requirements of subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code
24 and further provided that a person who does not apply for and
25 receive a Standard Teaching Certificate shall be able to teach
26 only in schools situated in a school district that is located
27 in a city having a population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
28     Beginning February 15, 2000, persons who have completed the
29 requirements for a standard alternative teaching certificate
30 under this Section shall be issued an Initial Alternative
31 Teaching Certificate valid for 4 years of teaching and not
32 renewable. At the end of the 4-year validity period, these
33 persons shall be eligible, on the same basis as holders of an
34 Initial Teaching Certificate issued under subsection (b) of
35 Section 21-2 of this Code, to apply for a Standard Teaching
36 Certificate, provided they meet the requirements of subsection

 

 

HB3624 - 4 - LRB094 07157 RAS 37311 b

1 (c) of Section 21-2.
2     This alternative certification program shall be
3 implemented so that the first provisional alternative teaching
4 certificates issued under this Section are effective upon the
5 commencement of the 1997-1998 academic year and the first
6 standard alternative teaching certificates issued under this
7 Section are effective upon the commencement of the 1998-1999
8 academic year.
9     The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the
10 partnership establishing the Alternative Teacher Certification
11 program, shall adopt rules and regulations that are consistent
12 with this Section and that the State Board of Education deems
13 necessary to establish and implement the program.
14 (Source: P.A. 91-609, eff. 1-1-00.)
 
15     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
16 2005.