Full Text of HB3948 98th General Assembly
HB3948enr 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 Grow
Your Own Teacher Education Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Sections 5, 10, 13, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and | 6 | | 90 as follows:
| 7 | | (110 ILCS 48/5)
| 8 | | Sec. 5. Purpose. The Grow Your Own Teacher preparation
| 9 | | programs established under this Act shall comprise a major new
| 10 | | statewide initiative, known as the Grow Your Own Teacher
| 11 | | Education Initiative, to prepare highly skilled, committed
| 12 | | teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools, including | 13 | | within the Department of Juvenile Justice School District, and
| 14 | | hard-to-staff teaching positions and who will remain in these
| 15 | | schools for substantial periods of time. | 16 | |
The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall
help | 17 | | to create a statewide pipeline of teachers who are likely | 18 | | effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders
| 19 | | and paraeducators to become effective teachers statewide in | 20 | | hard-to-staff schools serving a substantial percentage of | 21 | | low-income students and
hard-to-staff teaching positions in | 22 | | schools
serving a substantial percentage of low-income | 23 | | students.
Further, the Initiative shall increase the diversity |
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| 1 | | of
teachers, including diversity based on race and ethnicity.
| 2 | | The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall ensure
| 3 | | educational rigor by effectively preparing candidates in
| 4 | | accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching, through
| 5 | | which graduates shall meet the requirements to secure an
| 6 | | Illinois initial teaching certificate.
| 7 | | The goal of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative | 8 | | is to add 1,000 teachers to low-income, hard-to-staff Illinois | 9 | | schools by 2016.
| 10 | | (Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09; 96-414, | 11 | | eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
| 12 | | (110 ILCS 48/10) | 13 | | Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act: | 14 | | "Accredited teacher preparation program" means a
| 15 | | regionally accredited, Illinois approved teacher education | 16 | | program authorized to
prepare individuals to fulfill all of the | 17 | | requirements to
receive an Illinois initial teaching | 18 | | certificate. | 19 | | "Cohort" means a group of teacher education candidates who | 20 | | are enrolled in and share experiences in the same program and | 21 | | are linked by their desire to become Illinois teachers in | 22 | | hard-to-staff schools and by their need for the services and | 23 | | supports offered by the Initiative. | 24 | | "Community organization" means a nonprofit organization | 25 | | that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and |
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| 1 | | organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that | 2 | | will hold the school and the school district accountable for | 3 | | achieving high academic standards; in addition to | 4 | | organizations with a geographic focus, "community | 5 | | organization" includes general parent organizations, | 6 | | organizations of special education or bilingual education | 7 | | parents, and school employee unions. | 8 | | "Developmental classes" means classes in basic skill | 9 | | areas, such as mathematics and language arts that are | 10 | | prerequisite to, but not counted towards, degree requirements | 11 | | of a teacher preparation program.
| 12 | | "Eligible school" means a public elementary, middle, or | 13 | | secondary school in this State that serves a substantial | 14 | | percentage of low-income students and that is either hard to | 15 | | staff or has hard-to-staff teaching positions.
| 16 | | "Hard-to-staff school" means a public elementary, middle, | 17 | | or secondary school in this State that, based on data compiled | 18 | | by the State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board | 19 | | of Higher Education, serves a substantial percentage of | 20 | | low-income students, as defined by the Board of Higher | 21 | | Education State Board . | 22 | | "Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching
| 23 | | category (such as special education, bilingual education, | 24 | | mathematics, or science)
in which statewide data compiled by | 25 | | the State Board of Education
in conjunction with the Board of | 26 | | Higher Education indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial
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| 1 | | teacher shortage or that has been identified as a critical need | 2 | | by the local school board.
| 3 | | "Initiative" means the Grow Your Own Teacher Education
| 4 | | Initiative created under this Act. | 5 | | "Para educator" "Paraeducator" means an individual with a | 6 | | history of
demonstrated accomplishments in school staff | 7 | | positions (such
as teacher assistants, school-community | 8 | | liaisons, school
clerks, and security aides) in schools that | 9 | | meet the definition of a hard-to-staff school under this | 10 | | Section.
| 11 | | "Parent and community leader" means an individual who has | 12 | | or had a child enrolled in a school or schools that meet the | 13 | | definition of a hard-to-staff school under this Section and who | 14 | | has a history of active involvement in the school or who has a | 15 | | history of working to improve schools serving a
substantial | 16 | | percentage of low-income students, including membership in a | 17 | | community organization. | 18 | | "Program" means a Grow Your Own Teacher preparation program
| 19 | | established by a consortium under this Act.
| 20 | | "Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
| 21 | | students" means schools that maintain any of grades | 22 | | pre-kindergarten through 8, in which at least 35% of the | 23 | | students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches | 24 | | and schools that maintain any of grades 9 through 12, in which | 25 | | at least 25% of the students are eligible to receive free or | 26 | | reduced price lunches. |
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| 1 | | "State Board" means the Board of Higher Education.
| 2 | | (Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09; | 3 | | 96-1393, eff. 7-29-10.) | 4 | | (110 ILCS 48/13) | 5 | | Sec. 13. Transfer of powers and duties to the Board of | 6 | | Higher Education. On July 1, 2010, all powers and duties of | 7 | | the State Board of Education under this Act were shall be | 8 | | transferred to the Board of Higher Education. All rules, | 9 | | standards, guidelines, and procedures adopted by the State | 10 | | Board of Education under this Act shall continue in effect as | 11 | | the rules, standards, guidelines, and procedures of the Board | 12 | | of Higher Education, until they are modified or abolished by | 13 | | the Board of Higher Education.
| 14 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1393, eff. 7-29-10.) | 15 | | (110 ILCS 48/15)
| 16 | | Sec. 15. Creation of Initiative. The Grow Your Own Teacher | 17 | | Education Initiative is created. The Board of Higher Education | 18 | | State Board shall administer the Initiative as a grant | 19 | | competition to fund consortia that will carry out Grow Your Own | 20 | | Teacher preparation programs.
| 21 | | (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05; 94-979, eff. 6-30-06.) | 22 | | (110 ILCS 48/20)
| 23 | | Sec. 20. Selection of grantees. The Board of Higher |
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| 1 | | Education State Board shall award grants to qualified consortia | 2 | | that reflect the distribution and diversity of hard-to-staff | 3 | | schools and hard-to-staff positions across this State. In | 4 | | awarding grants, the Board of Higher Education State Board | 5 | | shall select programs that successfully address Initiative | 6 | | criteria and that reflect a diversity of strategies in terms of | 7 | | serving urban areas, serving rural areas, the nature of the | 8 | | participating institutions of higher education, and the nature | 9 | | of hard-to-staff schools and
hard-to-staff teaching positions | 10 | | on which a program is focused.
| 11 | | The Board of Higher Education State Board shall select | 12 | | consortia that meet the following requirements:
| 13 | | (1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one | 14 | | 4-year institution of higher education with an Illinois | 15 | | approved teacher preparation program, at least one school | 16 | | district or group of schools, and one or more community | 17 | | organizations. The consortium membership may also include | 18 | | a 2-year institution of higher education, a school employee | 19 | | union, or a regional office of education.
| 20 | | (2) The 4-year institution of higher education | 21 | | participating in the consortium shall have past, | 22 | | demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary | 23 | | or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of | 24 | | low-income students. | 25 | | (3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined set | 26 | | of eligible schools that will participate in the program. |
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| 1 | | The consortium shall articulate the steps that it will | 2 | | carry out in preparing teachers for its participating
| 3 | | schools and in preparing teachers for one or more | 4 | | hard-to-staff teaching positions in those
schools. | 5 | | (4) The consortium shall recruit potential candidates | 6 | | for the program and shall take into consideration when | 7 | | selecting a candidate whether the candidate: | 8 | | (A) holds A candidate in a program under the | 9 | | Initiative must hold a high school diploma or its | 10 | | equivalent ; , | 11 | | (B) meets must meet either the definition of | 12 | | "parent and community leader" or the definition of | 13 | | "para educator" contained in Section 10 of this Act ; , | 14 | | (C) has must not have attended college right after | 15 | | high school or must have experienced an interruption in | 16 | | his or her college education ; , and does not hold a | 17 | | bachelor's degree. | 18 | | (D) exhibits a willingness to be a teacher in a | 19 | | hard-to-staff school with the goal of maintaining | 20 | | academic excellence; | 21 | | (E) shows an interest in postsecondary education | 22 | | and may hold an associate's degree, a bachelor's | 23 | | degree, or another postsecondary degree, but a | 24 | | postsecondary education is not required; | 25 | | (F) is a parent, a para educator, a community | 26 | | leader, or any other individual from a community with a |
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| 1 | | hard-to-staff school; | 2 | | (G) commits to completing and passing all State | 3 | | standards, including the licensure test to obtain an | 4 | | educator license; | 5 | | (H) shows a willingness to set high standards of | 6 | | performance for himself or herself and students; and | 7 | | (I) demonstrates commitment to the program by: | 8 | | (i) maintaining a cumulative grade point | 9 | | average of at least a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale (or the | 10 | | equivalent as determined by the Board of Higher | 11 | | Education); | 12 | | (ii) attending monthly cohort meetings; and | 13 | | (iii) applying for financial aid from all | 14 | | other financial aid resources before applying for | 15 | | assistance from the program. | 16 | | (5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures | 17 | | for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare | 18 | | highly competent teachers. Professional preparation shall | 19 | | include on-going direct experience in target schools and | 20 | | evaluation of this experience. | 21 | | (6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts | 22 | | of candidates, as defined in Section 10 of this Act, on a | 23 | | schedule that enables candidates to work full time while | 24 | | participating in the program and allows para educators | 25 | | paraeducators to continue in their current positions. In | 26 | | any fiscal year in which an appropriation for the |
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| 1 | | Initiative is made, the
consortium shall guarantee that | 2 | | support will be available to an admitted cohort for the | 3 | | cohort's education for that fiscal year. At the beginning | 4 | | of the Initiative, programs that are already operating and | 5 | | existing cohorts of candidates under this model shall be | 6 | | eligible for funding. | 7 | | (7) The institutions of higher education participating | 8 | | in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the | 9 | | same amount of funds in implementing the program that these | 10 | | institutions spend per student on similar educational | 11 | | programs. Grants received by the consortium shall | 12 | | supplement and not supplant these amounts. | 13 | | (8) The Board of Higher Education State Board shall | 14 | | establish additional criteria for review of proposals, | 15 | | including criteria that address the following issues: | 16 | | (A) Previous experience of the institutions of | 17 | | higher education in preparing candidates for | 18 | | hard-to-staff schools and positions and in working | 19 | | with students with non-traditional backgrounds. | 20 | | (B) The quality of the implementation plan, | 21 | | including strategies for overcoming institutional | 22 | | barriers to the progress of non-traditional | 23 | | candidates. | 24 | | (C) If a community college is a participant, the | 25 | | nature and extent of existing articulation agreements | 26 | | and guarantees between the community college and the |
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| 1 | | 4-year institution of higher education. | 2 | | (D) The number of candidates to be educated in the | 3 | | planned cohort or cohorts and the capacity of the | 4 | | consortium for adding cohorts in future cycles. | 5 | | (E) Experience of the community organization or | 6 | | organizations in organizing parents and community | 7 | | leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong | 8 | | relational school culture. | 9 | | (F) The qualifications of the person or persons | 10 | | designated by the 4-year institution of higher | 11 | | education to be responsible for cohort support and the | 12 | | development of a shared learning and social | 13 | | environment among candidates. | 14 | | (G) The consortium's plan for collective | 15 | | consortium decision-making, involving all consortium | 16 | | members, including mechanisms for candidate input. | 17 | | (H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of the | 18 | | program on the quality of education in the eligible | 19 | | schools. | 20 | | (I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs of | 21 | | the eligible schools and positions, and the use in | 22 | | curriculum and instructional planning of principles | 23 | | for effective education for adults. | 24 | | (J) The availability of classes under the program | 25 | | in places and times accessible to the candidates. | 26 | | (K) Provision of a level of performance to be |
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| 1 | | maintained by candidates as a condition of continuing | 2 | | in the program. | 3 | | (L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher | 4 | | education to ensure that candidates take advantage of | 5 | | existing financial aid resources before using the loan | 6 | | funds described in Section 25 of this Act. | 7 | | (M) The availability of supportive services, | 8 | | including, but not limited to, counseling, tutoring, | 9 | | transportation, technology and technology support, and | 10 | | child care. | 11 | | (N) A plan for continued participation of | 12 | | graduates of the program in a program of support for at | 13 | | least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings. | 14 | | (O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation | 15 | | of candidates' teaching skills that ensures that | 16 | | graduates of the program are as prepared for teaching | 17 | | as other individuals completing the institution of | 18 | | higher education's preparation program for the | 19 | | certificate sought. | 20 | | (P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides | 21 | | reports at least yearly on the progress of candidates | 22 | | towards graduation and the impact of the program on the | 23 | | target schools and their communities. | 24 | | (Q) Contributions from schools, school districts, | 25 | | and other consortia members to the program, including | 26 | | stipends for candidates during their student teaching. |
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| 1 | | (R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the | 2 | | program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced | 3 | | requirements for external funding, in subsequent | 4 | | cycles.
| 5 | | (S) The inclusion in the planned program of | 6 | | strategies derived from community organizing that will | 7 | | help candidates develop tools for working with parents | 8 | | and other community members.
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09.) | 10 | | (110 ILCS 48/25)
| 11 | | Sec. 25. Expenditures under the Initiative. | 12 | | (a) Every program under the Initiative shall implement a | 13 | | program of forgivable loans to cover any portion of tuition, | 14 | | books, and fees of candidates under the program in excess of | 15 | | the candidates' grants-in-aid. All students admitted to a | 16 | | cohort shall be eligible for a forgivable student loan. Loans | 17 | | shall be fully forgiven if a graduate completes 5 years of | 18 | | service in hard-to-staff schools
or hard-to-staff teaching | 19 | | positions, with partial forgiveness for shorter periods of | 20 | | service. The Board of Higher Education State Board shall | 21 | | establish standards for the approval of requests for waivers or | 22 | | deferrals from individuals to waive this obligation. The Board | 23 | | of Higher Education State Board shall also define standards for | 24 | | the fiscal management of these loan funds. | 25 | | (b) The Board of Higher Education State Board shall award |
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| 1 | | grants under the Initiative in such a way as to provide the | 2 | | required support for a cohort of candidates for any fiscal year | 3 | | in which an appropriation for the Initiative is made. Program | 4 | | budgets must show expenditures and needed funds for the entire | 5 | | period that candidates are expected to be enrolled. | 6 | | (c) No funds under the Initiative may be used to supplant | 7 | | the average per-capita expenditures by the institution of | 8 | | higher education for candidates. | 9 | | (d) Where necessary, program budgets shall include the | 10 | | costs of child care and other indirect expenses, such as | 11 | | transportation, tutoring, technology, and technology support, | 12 | | necessary to permit candidates to maintain their class | 13 | | schedules. Grant funds may be used by any member of a | 14 | | consortium to offset such costs, and the services may be | 15 | | provided by the community organization or organizations, by any | 16 | | other member of the consortium, or by independent contractors. | 17 | | (e) The institution of higher education may expend grant | 18 | | funds to cover the additional costs of offering classes in | 19 | | community settings and for tutoring services. | 20 | | (f) The community organization or organizations may | 21 | | receive a portion of the grant money for the expenses of | 22 | | recruitment, community orientation, and counseling of | 23 | | potential candidates, for providing space in the community, and | 24 | | for working with school personnel to facilitate individual work | 25 | | experiences and support of candidates. | 26 | | (g) The school district or school employee union or both |
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| 1 | | may receive a portion of the grant money for expenses of | 2 | | supporting the work experiences of candidates and providing | 3 | | mentors for graduates.
Notwithstanding the provisions of | 4 | | Section 10-20.15 of the School Code, school districts may also | 5 | | use these or other applicable public funds to pay participants | 6 | | in programs under the Initiative for student teaching required | 7 | | by an accredited teacher preparation program. | 8 | | (h) One or more members of the consortium may expend funds | 9 | | to cover the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator. | 10 | | (i) Grant funds may also be expended to pay directly for | 11 | | required developmental classes for candidates beginning a | 12 | | program.
| 13 | | (Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09.) | 14 | | (110 ILCS 48/30) | 15 | | Sec. 30. Implementation of Initiative. The State Board | 16 | | shall develop guidelines and application procedures for the | 17 | | Initiative in fiscal year 2011. The Board of Higher Education | 18 | | State Board may, if it chooses, award a small number of | 19 | | planning grants during any
fiscal year to potential consortia. | 20 | | Other than existing cohorts, the first programs under the | 21 | | Initiative shall be awarded grants in such a way as to allow | 22 | | candidates to begin their work at the beginning of the | 23 | | 2006-2007 school year. | 24 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1393, eff. 7-29-10.) |
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| 1 | | (110 ILCS 48/35)
| 2 | | Sec. 35. Independent program evaluation. The Board of | 3 | | Higher Education State Board shall contract for an independent | 4 | | evaluation of program implementation by each of its | 5 | | participating consortia and of the impact of each program, | 6 | | including the extent of candidate persistence in program | 7 | | enrollment, acceptance as an education major in a 4-year | 8 | | institution of higher education, completion of a bachelor's | 9 | | degree in teaching, obtaining a teaching position in a target | 10 | | school or similar school, subsequent effectiveness as a | 11 | | teacher, and persistence in teaching in a target school or | 12 | | similar school. The evaluation shall assess the Initiative's | 13 | | overall effectiveness and shall identify particular program | 14 | | strategies that are especially effective.
| 15 | | (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05; 94-979, eff. 6-30-06.) | 16 | | (110 ILCS 48/90)
| 17 | | Sec. 90. Rules. The Board of Higher Education State Board | 18 | | may adopt any rules necessary to carry out its responsibilities | 19 | | under this Act.
| 20 | | (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
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