Rep. Esther Golar

Filed: 4/4/2014

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3948

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3948, AS AMENDED, by
3replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 5. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is
6amended by changing Sections 5, 10, 13, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and
790 as follows:
 
8    (110 ILCS 48/5)
9    Sec. 5. Purpose. The Grow Your Own Teacher preparation
10programs established under this Act shall comprise a major new
11statewide initiative, known as the Grow Your Own Teacher
12Education Initiative, to prepare highly skilled, committed
13teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools, including
14within the Department of Juvenile Justice School District, and
15hard-to-staff teaching positions and who will remain in these
16schools for substantial periods of time.

 

 

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1     The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall help
2to create a statewide pipeline of teachers who are likely
3effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders
4and paraeducators to become effective teachers statewide in
5hard-to-staff schools serving a substantial percentage of
6low-income students and hard-to-staff teaching positions in
7schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
8students. Further, the Initiative shall increase the diversity
9of teachers, including diversity based on race and ethnicity.
10    The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall ensure
11educational rigor by effectively preparing candidates in
12accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching, through
13which graduates shall meet the requirements to secure an
14Illinois initial teaching certificate.
15    The goal of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative
16is to add 1,000 teachers to low-income, hard-to-staff Illinois
17schools by 2016.
18(Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09; 96-414,
19eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
 
20    (110 ILCS 48/10)
21    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
22    "Accredited teacher preparation program" means a
23regionally accredited, Illinois approved teacher education
24program authorized to prepare individuals to fulfill all of the
25requirements to receive an Illinois initial teaching

 

 

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1certificate.
2    "Cohort" means a group of teacher education candidates who
3are enrolled in and share experiences in the same program and
4are linked by their desire to become Illinois teachers in
5hard-to-staff schools and by their need for the services and
6supports offered by the Initiative.
7    "Community organization" means a nonprofit organization
8that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and
9organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that
10will hold the school and the school district accountable for
11achieving high academic standards; in addition to
12organizations with a geographic focus, "community
13organization" includes general parent organizations,
14organizations of special education or bilingual education
15parents, and school employee unions.
16    "Developmental classes" means classes in basic skill
17areas, such as mathematics and language arts that are
18prerequisite to, but not counted towards, degree requirements
19of a teacher preparation program.
20    "Eligible school" means a public elementary, middle, or
21secondary school in this State that serves a substantial
22percentage of low-income students and that is either hard to
23staff or has hard-to-staff teaching positions.
24    "Hard-to-staff school" means a public elementary, middle,
25or secondary school in this State that, based on data compiled
26by the State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board

 

 

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1of Higher Education, serves a substantial percentage of
2low-income students, as defined by the Board of Higher
3Education State Board.
4    "Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching
5category (such as special education, bilingual education,
6mathematics, or science) in which statewide data compiled by
7the State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board of
8Higher Education indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial
9teacher shortage or that has been identified as a critical need
10by the local school board.
11    "Initiative" means the Grow Your Own Teacher Education
12Initiative created under this Act.
13    "Para educator" "Paraeducator" means an individual with a
14history of demonstrated accomplishments in school staff
15positions (such as teacher assistants, school-community
16liaisons, school clerks, and security aides) in schools that
17meet the definition of a hard-to-staff school under this
18Section.
19    "Parent and community leader" means an individual who has
20or had a child enrolled in a school or schools that meet the
21definition of a hard-to-staff school under this Section and who
22has a history of active involvement in the school or who has a
23history of working to improve schools serving a substantial
24percentage of low-income students, including membership in a
25community organization.
26    "Program" means a Grow Your Own Teacher preparation program

 

 

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1established by a consortium under this Act.
2    "Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
3students" means schools that maintain any of grades
4pre-kindergarten through 8, in which at least 35% of the
5students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches
6and schools that maintain any of grades 9 through 12, in which
7at least 25% of the students are eligible to receive free or
8reduced price lunches.
9    "State Board" means the Board of Higher Education.
10(Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09;
1196-1393, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
12    (110 ILCS 48/13)
13    Sec. 13. Transfer of powers and duties to the Board of
14Higher Education. On July 1, 2010, all powers and duties of
15the State Board of Education under this Act were shall be
16transferred to the Board of Higher Education. All rules,
17standards, guidelines, and procedures adopted by the State
18Board of Education under this Act shall continue in effect as
19the rules, standards, guidelines, and procedures of the Board
20of Higher Education, until they are modified or abolished by
21the Board of Higher Education.
22(Source: P.A. 96-1393, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
23    (110 ILCS 48/15)
24    Sec. 15. Creation of Initiative. The Grow Your Own Teacher

 

 

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1Education Initiative is created. The Board of Higher Education
2State Board shall administer the Initiative as a grant
3competition to fund consortia that will carry out Grow Your Own
4Teacher preparation programs.
5(Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05; 94-979, eff. 6-30-06.)
 
6    (110 ILCS 48/20)
7    Sec. 20. Selection of grantees. The Board of Higher
8Education State Board shall award grants to qualified consortia
9that reflect the distribution and diversity of hard-to-staff
10schools and hard-to-staff positions across this State. In
11awarding grants, the Board of Higher Education State Board
12shall select programs that successfully address Initiative
13criteria and that reflect a diversity of strategies in terms of
14serving urban areas, serving rural areas, the nature of the
15participating institutions of higher education, and the nature
16of hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff teaching positions
17on which a program is focused.
18    The Board of Higher Education State Board shall select
19consortia that meet the following requirements:
20        (1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one
21    4-year institution of higher education with an Illinois
22    approved teacher preparation program, at least one school
23    district or group of schools, and one or more community
24    organizations. The consortium membership may also include
25    a 2-year institution of higher education, a school employee

 

 

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1    union, or a regional office of education.
2        (2) The 4-year institution of higher education
3    participating in the consortium shall have past,
4    demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary
5    or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of
6    low-income students.
7        (3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined set
8    of eligible schools that will participate in the program.
9    The consortium shall articulate the steps that it will
10    carry out in preparing teachers for its participating
11    schools and in preparing teachers for one or more
12    hard-to-staff teaching positions in those schools.
13        (4) The consortium shall recruit potential candidates
14    for the program and shall take into consideration when
15    selecting a candidate whether the candidate:
16            (A) holds A candidate in a program under the
17        Initiative must hold a high school diploma or its
18        equivalent; ,
19            (B) meets must meet either the definition of
20        "parent and community leader" or the definition of
21        "paraeducator" contained in Section 10 of this Act; ,
22            (C) has must not have attended college right after
23        high school or must have experienced an interruption in
24        his or her college education; , and does not hold a
25        bachelor's degree.
26            (D) exhibits a strong desire to be a teacher in a

 

 

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1        hard-to-staff school with the passion for academic
2        excellence and the commitment to teach;
3            (E) shows an interest in postsecondary education
4        and may hold an associate's degree, a bachelor's
5        degree, or another postsecondary degree, but a
6        postsecondary education is not required;
7            (F) exhibits a passion to become a teacher and is a
8        parent, a para educator, a community leader, or any
9        other individual from a community with a hard-to-staff
10        school;
11            (G) commits to completing and passing all State
12        standards, including the licensure test to obtain an
13        educator license;
14            (H) possesses a passion for children and teaching;
15            (I) communicates effectively with students,
16        parents, and others; and
17            (J) shows a willingness to set high standards of
18        performance for himself or herself and students.
19        (5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures
20    for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare
21    highly competent teachers. Professional preparation shall
22    include on-going direct experience in target schools and
23    evaluation of this experience.
24        (6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts
25    of candidates, as defined in Section 10 of this Act, on a
26    schedule that enables candidates to work full time while

 

 

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1    participating in the program and allows para educators
2    paraeducators to continue in their current positions. In
3    any fiscal year in which an appropriation for the
4    Initiative is made, the consortium shall guarantee that
5    support will be available to an admitted cohort for the
6    cohort's education for that fiscal year. At the beginning
7    of the Initiative, programs that are already operating and
8    existing cohorts of candidates under this model shall be
9    eligible for funding.
10        (7) The institutions of higher education participating
11    in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the
12    same amount of funds in implementing the program that these
13    institutions spend per student on similar educational
14    programs. Grants received by the consortium shall
15    supplement and not supplant these amounts.
16        (8) The Board of Higher Education State Board shall
17    establish additional criteria for review of proposals,
18    including criteria that address the following issues:
19            (A) Previous experience of the institutions of
20        higher education in preparing candidates for
21        hard-to-staff schools and positions and in working
22        with students with non-traditional backgrounds.
23            (B) The quality of the implementation plan,
24        including strategies for overcoming institutional
25        barriers to the progress of non-traditional
26        candidates.

 

 

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1            (C) If a community college is a participant, the
2        nature and extent of existing articulation agreements
3        and guarantees between the community college and the
4        4-year institution of higher education.
5            (D) The number of candidates to be educated in the
6        planned cohort or cohorts and the capacity of the
7        consortium for adding cohorts in future cycles.
8            (E) Experience of the community organization or
9        organizations in organizing parents and community
10        leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong
11        relational school culture.
12            (F) The qualifications of the person or persons
13        designated by the 4-year institution of higher
14        education to be responsible for cohort support and the
15        development of a shared learning and social
16        environment among candidates.
17            (G) The consortium's plan for collective
18        consortium decision-making, involving all consortium
19        members, including mechanisms for candidate input.
20            (H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of the
21        program on the quality of education in the eligible
22        schools.
23            (I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs of
24        the eligible schools and positions, and the use in
25        curriculum and instructional planning of principles
26        for effective education for adults.

 

 

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1            (J) The availability of classes under the program
2        in places and times accessible to the candidates.
3            (K) Provision of a level of performance to be
4        maintained by candidates as a condition of continuing
5        in the program.
6            (L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher
7        education to ensure that candidates take advantage of
8        existing financial aid resources before using the loan
9        funds described in Section 25 of this Act.
10            (M) The availability of supportive services,
11        including, but not limited to, counseling, tutoring,
12        transportation, technology and technology support, and
13        child care.
14            (N) A plan for continued participation of
15        graduates of the program in a program of support for at
16        least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings.
17            (O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation
18        of candidates' teaching skills that ensures that
19        graduates of the program are as prepared for teaching
20        as other individuals completing the institution of
21        higher education's preparation program for the
22        certificate sought.
23            (P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides
24        reports at least yearly on the progress of candidates
25        towards graduation and the impact of the program on the
26        target schools and their communities.

 

 

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1            (Q) Contributions from schools, school districts,
2        and other consortia members to the program, including
3        stipends for candidates during their student teaching.
4            (R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the
5        program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced
6        requirements for external funding, in subsequent
7        cycles.
8            (S) The inclusion in the planned program of
9        strategies derived from community organizing that will
10        help candidates develop tools for working with parents
11        and other community members.
12(Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09.)
 
13    (110 ILCS 48/25)
14    Sec. 25. Expenditures under the Initiative.
15    (a) Every program under the Initiative shall implement a
16program of forgivable loans to cover any portion of tuition,
17books, and fees of candidates under the program in excess of
18the candidates' grants-in-aid. All students admitted to a
19cohort shall be eligible for a forgivable student loan. Loans
20shall be fully forgiven if a graduate completes 5 years of
21service in hard-to-staff schools or hard-to-staff teaching
22positions, with partial forgiveness for shorter periods of
23service. The Board of Higher Education State Board shall
24establish standards for the approval of requests for waivers or
25deferrals from individuals to waive this obligation. The Board

 

 

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1of Higher Education State Board shall also define standards for
2the fiscal management of these loan funds.
3    (b) The Board of Higher Education State Board shall award
4grants under the Initiative in such a way as to provide the
5required support for a cohort of candidates for any fiscal year
6in which an appropriation for the Initiative is made. Program
7budgets must show expenditures and needed funds for the entire
8period that candidates are expected to be enrolled.
9    (c) No funds under the Initiative may be used to supplant
10the average per-capita expenditures by the institution of
11higher education for candidates.
12    (d) Where necessary, program budgets shall include the
13costs of child care and other indirect expenses, such as
14transportation, tutoring, technology, and technology support,
15necessary to permit candidates to maintain their class
16schedules. Grant funds may be used by any member of a
17consortium to offset such costs, and the services may be
18provided by the community organization or organizations, by any
19other member of the consortium, or by independent contractors.
20    (e) The institution of higher education may expend grant
21funds to cover the additional costs of offering classes in
22community settings and for tutoring services.
23    (f) The community organization or organizations may
24receive a portion of the grant money for the expenses of
25recruitment, community orientation, and counseling of
26potential candidates, for providing space in the community, and

 

 

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1for working with school personnel to facilitate individual work
2experiences and support of candidates.
3    (g) The school district or school employee union or both
4may receive a portion of the grant money for expenses of
5supporting the work experiences of candidates and providing
6mentors for graduates. Notwithstanding the provisions of
7Section 10-20.15 of the School Code, school districts may also
8use these or other applicable public funds to pay participants
9in programs under the Initiative for student teaching required
10by an accredited teacher preparation program.
11    (h) One or more members of the consortium may expend funds
12to cover the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator.
13    (i) Grant funds may also be expended to pay directly for
14required developmental classes for candidates beginning a
15program.
16(Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09.)
 
17    (110 ILCS 48/30)
18    Sec. 30. Implementation of Initiative. The State Board
19shall develop guidelines and application procedures for the
20Initiative in fiscal year 2011. The Board of Higher Education
21State Board may, if it chooses, award a small number of
22planning grants during any fiscal year to potential consortia.
23Other than existing cohorts, the first programs under the
24Initiative shall be awarded grants in such a way as to allow
25candidates to begin their work at the beginning of the

 

 

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12006-2007 school year.
2(Source: P.A. 96-1393, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
3    (110 ILCS 48/35)
4    Sec. 35. Independent program evaluation. The Board of
5Higher Education State Board shall contract for an independent
6evaluation of program implementation by each of its
7participating consortia and of the impact of each program,
8including the extent of candidate persistence in program
9enrollment, acceptance as an education major in a 4-year
10institution of higher education, completion of a bachelor's
11degree in teaching, obtaining a teaching position in a target
12school or similar school, subsequent effectiveness as a
13teacher, and persistence in teaching in a target school or
14similar school. The evaluation shall assess the Initiative's
15overall effectiveness and shall identify particular program
16strategies that are especially effective.
17(Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05; 94-979, eff. 6-30-06.)
 
18    (110 ILCS 48/90)
19    Sec. 90. Rules. The Board of Higher Education State Board
20may adopt any rules necessary to carry out its responsibilities
21under this Act.
22(Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)".