HB5437 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 38232 RJT 68366 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5437

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Tony M. McCombie

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

110 ILCS 48/10
110 ILCS 48/13-1 new
110 ILCS 48/20
110 ILCS 48/35
110 ILCS 48/90
110 ILCS 48/13 rep.

Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. Transfers the powers and duties under the Act from the Board of Higher Education to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Replaces the requirement that the Board of Higher Education must contract annually for an independent evaluation of program implementation with the requirement that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission monitor and evaluate the implementation of the program. Provides that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission may elect to contract for an independent evaluation with an outside entity. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning higher education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is amended by changing Sections 10, 20, 35, and 90 and by adding Section 13-1 as follows:

(110 ILCS 48/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Accredited teacher preparation program" means a regionally accredited, Illinois approved teacher education program authorized to prepare individuals to fulfill all of the requirements to receive an Illinois initial teaching certificate.

"Cohort" means a group of teacher education candidates who are enrolled in and share experiences in the same program and are linked by their desire to become Illinois teachers in hard-to-staff schools and by their need for the services and supports offered by the Initiative. A cohort may include a high school student enrolled in a dual credit course offered by a participating institution of higher education.

"Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

"Community organization" means a nonprofit organization that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that will hold the school and the school district accountable for achieving high academic standards; in addition to organizations with a geographic focus, "community organization" includes general parent organizations, organizations of special education or bilingual education parents, and school employee unions.

"Developmental classes" means classes in basic skill areas, such as mathematics and language arts that are prerequisite to, but not counted towards, degree requirements of a teacher preparation program.

"Dual credit course" has the meaning given to that term under the Dual Credit Quality Act.

"Eligible school" means an early childhood program licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services in which no less than 40% of the children it serves are receiving subsidized care under the Department of Human Services' Child Care Assistance Program, a Head Start or Early Head Start Program, a Preschool for All Program, or a prevention initiative or a public elementary, middle, or secondary school in this State that serves a substantial percentage of low-income students and that is either hard to staff or has hard-to-staff teaching positions.

"Hard-to-staff school" means an early childhood program licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services in which no less than 40% of the children it serves are receiving subsidized care under the Department of Human Services' Child Care Assistance Program, a Head Start or Early Head Start Program, a Preschool for All Program, or a prevention initiative or a public elementary, middle, or secondary school in this State that, based on data compiled by the State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board of Higher Education, serves a substantial percentage of low-income students, as defined by the Board of Higher Education.

"Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching category (such as special education, bilingual education, mathematics, or science) in which statewide data compiled by the State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board of Higher Education indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial teacher shortage or that has been identified as a critical need by the local school board.

"Initiative" means the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative created under this Act.

"Para educator" means an individual with a history of demonstrated accomplishments in school staff positions (such as teacher assistants, school-community liaisons, school clerks, and security aides) in schools that meet the definition of a hard-to-staff school under this Section.

"Parent and community leader" means an individual who has or had a child enrolled in a school or schools that meet the definition of a hard-to-staff school under this Section and who has a history of active involvement in the school or who has a history of working to improve schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students, including membership in a community organization.

"Program" means a Grow Your Own Teacher preparation program established by a consortium under this Act.

"Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students" means schools that maintain any of grades pre-kindergarten through 8, in which at least 35% of the students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches and schools that maintain any of grades 9 through 12, in which at least 25% of the students are eligible to receive free or reduced price lunches.

(Source: P.A. 101-122, eff. 7-26-19.)

(110 ILCS 48/13-1 new)

Sec. 13-1. Transfer of powers and duties to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. On July 1, 2024, all powers and duties of the Board of Higher Education under this Act are to be transferred to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall assist in transferring these duties; however, no rules shall be adopted regarding candidate eligibility that are more restrictive than Section 20.

(110 ILCS 48/20)

Sec. 20. Selection of grantees. The Commission Board of Higher Education shall, subject to appropriation, allocate funds to Grow Your Own Illinois for the purpose of administering the program and awarding grants as needed to qualified consortia that reflect the distribution and diversity of hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff positions across this State. In awarding grants, Grow Your Own Illinois shall select programs that successfully address Initiative criteria and that reflect a diversity of strategies in terms of serving urban areas, serving rural areas, the nature of the participating institutions of higher education, and the nature of hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff teaching positions on which a program is focused.

Grow Your Own Illinois shall select, manage, and oversee consortia that meet the following requirements:

(1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one 4-year institution of higher education with an Illinois approved teacher preparation program, at least one school district or group of schools, and one or more community organizations. The consortium membership may also include a 2-year institution of higher education, a school employee union, or a regional office of education.

(2) The 4-year institution of higher education participating in the consortium shall have past, demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students.

(3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined set of eligible schools that will participate in the program. The consortium shall articulate the steps that it will carry out in preparing teachers for its participating schools and in preparing teachers for one or more hard-to-staff teaching positions in those schools.

(4) The consortium shall recruit potential candidates for the program and shall take into consideration when selecting a candidate whether the candidate:

(A) holds a high school diploma or its equivalent or is a high school student enrolled in a dual credit course offered by a participating institution of higher education;

(B) meets either the definition of "parent and community leader" or the definition of "para educator" contained in Section 10 of this Act;

(C) (blank);

(D) exhibits a willingness to be a teacher in a hard-to-staff school with the goal of maintaining academic excellence;

(E) shows an interest in postsecondary education and may hold an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree, or another postsecondary degree, but a postsecondary education is not required;

(F) is a parent, a para educator, a community leader, or any other individual from a community with a hard-to-staff school;

(G) commits to completing and passing all State standards, including the licensure test to obtain an educator license;

(H) shows a willingness to set high standards of performance for himself or herself and students; and

(I) demonstrates commitment to the program by:

(i) maintaining a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent as determined by the Board of Higher Education);

(ii) attending monthly cohort meetings; and

(iii) applying for financial aid from all other financial aid resources before applying for assistance from the program.

(5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare highly competent teachers. Professional preparation shall include on-going direct experience in target schools and evaluation of this experience.

(6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts of candidates, as defined in Section 10 of this Act, on a schedule that enables candidates to work full time while participating in the program and allows para educators to continue in their current positions. In any fiscal year in which an appropriation for the Initiative is made, the consortium shall guarantee that support will be available to an admitted cohort for the cohort's education for that fiscal year. At the beginning of the Initiative, programs that are already operating and existing cohorts of candidates under this model shall be eligible for funding.

(7) The institutions of higher education participating in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the same amount of funds in implementing the program that these institutions spend per student on similar educational programs. Grants received by the consortium shall supplement and not supplant these amounts.

(8) Grow Your Own Illinois shall establish and oversee additional criteria for review of proposals, including criteria that address the following issues:

(A) Previous experience of the institutions of higher education in preparing candidates for hard-to-staff schools and positions and in working with students with non-traditional backgrounds.

(B) The quality of the implementation plan, including strategies for overcoming institutional barriers to the progress of non-traditional candidates.

(C) If a community college is a participant, the nature and extent of existing articulation agreements and guarantees between the community college and the 4-year institution of higher education.

(D) The number of candidates to be educated in the planned cohort or cohorts and the capacity of the consortium for adding cohorts in future cycles.

(E) Experience of the community organization or organizations in organizing parents and community leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong relational school culture.

(F) The qualifications of the person or persons designated by the 4-year institution of higher education to be responsible for cohort support and the development of a shared learning and social environment among candidates.

(G) The consortium's plan for collective consortium decision-making, involving all consortium members, including mechanisms for candidate input.

(H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of the program on the quality of education in the eligible schools.

(I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs of the eligible schools and positions, and the use in curriculum and instructional planning of principles for effective education for adults.

(J) The availability of classes under the program in places and times accessible to the candidates.

(K) Provision of a level of performance to be maintained by candidates as a condition of continuing in the program.

(L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher education to ensure that candidates take advantage of existing financial aid resources before using the loan funds described in Section 25 of this Act.

(M) The availability of supportive services, including, but not limited to, counseling, tutoring, transportation, technology and technology support, and child care.

(N) A plan for continued participation of graduates of the program in a program of support for at least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings.

(O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation of candidates' teaching skills that ensures that graduates of the program are as prepared for teaching as other individuals completing the institution of higher education's preparation program for the certificate sought.

(P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides reports at least yearly on the progress of candidates towards graduation and the impact of the program on the target schools and their communities.

(Q) Contributions from schools, school districts, and other consortia members to the program, including stipends for candidates during their student teaching.

(R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced requirements for external funding, in subsequent cycles.

(S) The inclusion in the planned program of strategies derived from community organizing that will help candidates develop tools for working with parents and other community members.

Subject to the requirements under the Dual Credit Quality Act, a participating institution of higher education may offer a high school student a dual credit course under the program.

The Board of Higher Education may not adopt rules regarding candidate eligibility that are more restrictive than this Section.

(Source: P.A. 101-122, eff. 7-26-19.)

(110 ILCS 48/35)

Sec. 35. Annual Independent program evaluation.

(a) Annually, at a time determined by the Commission in consultation with Grow Your Own Illinois (GYO-IL), GYO-IL shall submit a report to assist the Commission in monitoring GYO-IL's, and each of its participating consortia, performance and grant activities. The report shall describe the following:

(1) GYO-IL's anticipated expenditures for the next fiscal year;

(2) the number of qualified students receiving grant assistance at each institution of higher learning during the previous fiscal year;

(3) the total monetary value of grant funds paid to each institution of higher learning at which a qualified student was enrolled during the previous fiscal year;

(4) the number of grant recipients who completed a baccalaureate degree during the previous fiscal year;

(5) the number of grant recipients who fulfilled their teaching obligation by completing 5 years of service in hard-to-staff schools or hard-to-staff teaching positions during the previous fiscal year;

(6) the number of grant recipients who failed to fulfill their teaching obligation during the previous fiscal year;

(7) the number of grant recipients granted a waiver or deferral to waive the 5 years of service requirement described in subsection (a) of Section 25 during the previous fiscal year; and

(8) other information that the Commission may reasonably request.

(b) The Commission may elect to contract for an independent evaluation of program implementation with an outside entity if the Commission so chooses. The independent evaluation must consider and collect all of the information outlined in this Section.

(c) The Auditor General shall prepare an annual audit of the operations and finances of the Grow Your Own Illinois and each consortium that received any State funds in the previous fiscal year. This audit shall be provided to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Commission. The Board of Higher Education shall contract for an independent evaluation of program implementation by each of its participating consortia and of the impact of each program, including the extent of candidate persistence in program enrollment, acceptance as an education major in a 4-year institution of higher education, completion of a bachelor's degree in teaching, obtaining a teaching position in a target school or similar school, subsequent effectiveness as a teacher, and persistence in teaching in a target school or similar school. The evaluation shall assess the Initiative's overall effectiveness and shall identify particular program strategies that are especially effective.

(Source: P.A. 98-1036, eff. 1-1-15.)

(110 ILCS 48/90)

Sec. 90. Rules. The Commission Board of Higher Education may adopt any rules necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this Act.

(Source: P.A. 98-1036, eff. 1-1-15.)

(110 ILCS 48/13 rep.)

Section 10. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is amended by repealing Section 13.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.