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| [ Engrossed ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
90_SB0557
105 ILCS 5/21-5c new
Amends the School Code to create a statewide alternative
teacher certification program. Effective immediately.
SRS90S0021KSsa
SRS90S0021KSsa
1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by adding Section 21-5c.
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 adding Section
5 21-5c as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/21-5c new)
7 Sec. 21-5c. Alternative certification. The State Board
8 of Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
9 Certification Board, shall establish and implement an
10 alternative certification program under which persons who
11 meet the requirements of and successfully complete the
12 program established by this Section shall be issued an
13 alternative teaching certificate for teaching in schools in
14 this State. The program shall be limited to not more than
15 1,000 new participants during each year that the program is
16 in effect. The State Board of Education, in cooperation with
17 one or more partnerships formed with universities that offer
18 4-year baccalaureate and masters degree programs and that are
19 recognized institutions as defined in Section 21-21 and one
20 or more not-for-profit organizations in the State that
21 support excellence in teaching, shall within 30 days after
22 submission by a partnership approve a course of study
23 developed by the partnership that persons in the program must
24 successfully complete in order to satisfy one criterion for
25 issuance of an alternative certificate under this Section.
26 The Alternative Teacher Certification program course of study
27 must include the current content and skills contained in the
28 university's current courses for State certification which
29 have been approved by the State Board of Education, in
30 consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board, as
31 the requirement for State teacher certification.
-2- SRS90S0021KSsa
1 The alternative certification program established under
2 this Section shall be known as the Alternative Teacher
3 Certification program. The Alternative Teacher Certification
4 Program shall be offered by the submitting partnership and
5 may be offered in conjunction with one or more not-for-profit
6 organizations in the State. The program shall be comprised
7 of the following 3 phases: (a) a course of study offered on
8 an intensive basis in education theory, instructional
9 methods, and practice teaching; (b) the person's assignment
10 to a full-time teaching position for one school year; and (c)
11 a comprehensive assessment of the person's teaching
12 performance by school officials and the partnership
13 participants and a recommendation by the partner institution
14 of higher education to the State Board of Education that the
15 person be issued a standard alternative teaching certificate.
16 Successful completion of the Alternative Teacher
17 Certification program shall be deemed to satisfy any other
18 practice or student teaching and subject matter requirements
19 established by law.
20 A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
21 one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
22 shall be issued under this Section 21-5c to persons who at
23 the time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
24 certificate under this Section:
25 (1) have graduated from an accredited college or
26 university with a bachelor's degree;
27 (2) have successfully completed the first phase of
28 the Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided
29 in this Section; and
30 (3) have passed the tests of basic skills and
31 subject matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a.
32 A standard alternative teaching certificate, valid for 4
33 years of teaching in the common schools and renewable as
34 provided in Section 21-14, shall be issued under this Section
-3- SRS90S0021KSsa
1 21-5c to persons who first complete the requirements for the
2 provisional alternative teaching certificate and who at the
3 time of applying for a standard alternative teaching
4 certificate under this Section have successfully completed
5 the second and third phases of the Alternative Teacher
6 Certification program as provided in this Section.
7 A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
8 or a standard alternative teaching certificate under this
9 Section shall be treated as a regularly certified teacher for
10 purposes of compensation, benefits, and other terms and
11 conditions of employment afforded teachers in the school who
12 are members of a bargaining unit represented by an exclusive
13 bargaining representative, if any.
14 The State Board of Education may adopt rules and
15 regulations that are consistent with this Section and that
16 the State Board deems necessary to establish and implement
17 the program.
18 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19 becoming law.