Full Text of HB0490 098th General Assembly
HB0490enr 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 before the license is issued , unless the | 2 | | endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage | 3 | | of the test. All applicants completing Illinois-approved, | 4 | | teacher education or school service personnel preparation | 5 | | programs shall be required to pass the State Board of | 6 | | Education's recognized test of basic skills prior to starting | 7 | | their student teaching or starting the final semester of their | 8 | | internship, unless required earlier at the discretion of the | 9 | | recognized, Illinois institution in which they are completing | 10 | | their approved program. No candidate may be fully admitted into | 11 | | an educator preparation program at a recognized Illinois | 12 | | institution until he or she has passed a test of basic skills. | 13 | | An individual who passes a test of basic skills does not need | 14 | | to do so again for subsequent endorsements or other educator | 15 | | licenses. | 16 | | (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be | 17 | | required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area | 18 | | of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There | 19 | | shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall | 20 | | be allowed to student teach, serve as the teacher of record, or | 21 | | begin an internship or residency required for licensure until | 22 | | he or she has passed the applicable content area test. | 23 | | (e) All applicants seeking a State license endorsed in a | 24 | | teaching field shall pass the assessment of professional | 25 | | teaching (APT). Passage of the APT is required for completion | 26 | | of an approved Illinois educator preparation program. |
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| 1 | | (f) Beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates | 2 | | completing teacher preparation programs in this State are | 3 | | required to pass an evidence-based assessment of teacher | 4 | | effectiveness approved by the State Board of Education, in | 5 | | consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure | 6 | | Board. All recognized institutions offering approved teacher | 7 | | preparation programs must begin phasing in the approved teacher | 8 | | performance assessment no later than July 1, 2013. | 9 | | (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and | 10 | | the assessment of professional teaching shall be the tests that | 11 | | from time to time are designated by the State Board of | 12 | | Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation | 13 | | and Licensure Board, and may be tests prepared by an | 14 | | educational testing organization or tests designed by the State | 15 | | Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator | 16 | | Preparation and Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a | 17 | | test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and | 18 | | mathematics. The test of content area knowledge shall assess | 19 | | content knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must | 20 | | be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person | 21 | | taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race, | 22 | | color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to the | 23 | | person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score | 24 | | required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of | 25 | | Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation | 26 | | and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer |
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| 1 | | than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated | 2 | | by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State | 3 | | Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. | 4 | | The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess | 5 | | the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of | 6 | | applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under | 7 | | subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code | 8 | | in the English language and in the language of the transitional | 9 | | bilingual education program requested by the applicant. | 10 | | (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the | 11 | | provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school | 12 | | district subject to Article 34 of this Code. | 13 | | (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the | 14 | | testing requirements under this Section shall include | 15 | | provisions governing test selection, test validation and | 16 | | determination of a passing score, administration of the tests, | 17 | | frequency of administration, applicant fees, frequency of | 18 | | applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score is | 19 | | valid, and appropriate special accommodations. The State Board | 20 | | of Education shall develop such rules as may be needed to | 21 | | ensure uniformity from year to year in the level of difficulty | 22 | | for each form of an assessment.
| 23 | | (Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)
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