Full Text of SB2199 98th General Assembly
SB2199eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
| 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 | | 21B-30 as follows: | 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/21B-30) | 7 | | Sec. 21B-30. Educator testing. | 8 | | (a) This Section applies beginning on July 1, 2012. | 9 | | (b) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the | 10 | | State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall design | 11 | | and implement a system of examinations, which shall be required | 12 | | prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These examinations | 13 | | and indicators must be based on national and State professional | 14 | | teaching standards, as determined by the State Board of | 15 | | Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation | 16 | | and Licensure Board. The State Board of Education may adopt | 17 | | such rules as may be necessary to implement and administer this | 18 | | Section. No score on a test required under this Section, other | 19 | | than a test of basic skills, shall be more than 5 years old at | 20 | | the time that an individual makes application for an educator | 21 | | license or endorsement. | 22 | | (c) Applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or | 23 | | an Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass |
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| 1 | | a test of basic skills, unless the endorsement the individual | 2 | | is seeking does not require passage of the test. | 3 | | No candidate may be fully admitted into an educator | 4 | | preparation program at a recognized Illinois institution until | 5 | | he or she has passed a test of basic skills. An individual who | 6 | | passes a test of basic skills does not need to do so again for | 7 | | subsequent endorsements or other educator licenses. | 8 | | (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be | 9 | | required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area | 10 | | of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There | 11 | | shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall | 12 | | be allowed to student teach or , serve as the teacher of record , | 13 | | or begin an internship or residency required for licensure | 14 | | until he or she has passed the applicable content area test. | 15 | | (e) All applicants seeking a State license endorsed in a | 16 | | teaching field shall pass the assessment of professional | 17 | | teaching (APT). Passage of the APT is required for completion | 18 | | of an approved Illinois educator preparation program. | 19 | | (f) Beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates | 20 | | completing teacher preparation programs in this State are | 21 | | required to pass an evidence-based assessment of teacher | 22 | | effectiveness approved by the State Board of Education, in | 23 | | consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure | 24 | | Board. All recognized institutions offering approved teacher | 25 | | preparation programs must begin phasing in the approved teacher | 26 | | performance assessment no later than July 1, 2013. |
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| 1 | | (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and | 2 | | the assessment of professional teaching shall be the tests that | 3 | | from time to time are designated by the State Board of | 4 | | Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation | 5 | | and Licensure Board, and may be tests prepared by an | 6 | | educational testing organization or tests designed by the State | 7 | | Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator | 8 | | Preparation and Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a | 9 | | test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and | 10 | | mathematics. The test of content area knowledge shall assess | 11 | | content knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must | 12 | | be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person | 13 | | taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race, | 14 | | color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to the | 15 | | person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score | 16 | | required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of | 17 | | Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation | 18 | | and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer | 19 | | than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated | 20 | | by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State | 21 | | Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. | 22 | | The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess | 23 | | the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of | 24 | | applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under | 25 | | subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code | 26 | | in the English language and in the language of the transitional |
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| 1 | | bilingual education program requested by the applicant. | 2 | | (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the | 3 | | provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school | 4 | | district subject to Article 34 of this Code. | 5 | | (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the | 6 | | testing requirements under this Section shall include | 7 | | provisions governing test selection, test validation and | 8 | | determination of a passing score, administration of the tests, | 9 | | frequency of administration, applicant fees, frequency of | 10 | | applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score is | 11 | | valid, and appropriate special accommodations. The State Board | 12 | | of Education shall develop such rules as may be needed to | 13 | | ensure uniformity from year to year in the level of difficulty | 14 | | for each form of an assessment.
| 15 | | (Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)
| 16 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 | | becoming law.
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