State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB5949

 
                                              LRB9211429NTpkA

 1        AN ACT concerning teacher quality.

 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
 5    Section 21-1 as follows:

 6        (105 ILCS 5/21-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-1)
 7        Sec.   21-1.   Teacher  qualifications  Qualification  of
 8    teachers.  No one may be certified to teach or  supervise  in
 9    the  public  schools  of  this  State  who  is  not  of  good
10    character,  good  health,  a  citizen of the United States or
11    legally present and authorized for employment, and  at  least
12    19  years  of age.  If the holder of a certificate under this
13    Section is not a citizen of the United States 6  years  after
14    the  date  of  the  issuance of the original certificate, any
15    certificate held  by  such  person  on  that  date  shall  be
16    cancelled  by the board of education and no other certificate
17    to teach shall be issued to such person until such person  is
18    a citizen of the United States.
19        Citizenship  is  not  required  for  the  issuance  of  a
20    temporary  part-time  certificate to participants in approved
21    training programs  for  exchange  students  as  described  in
22    Section  21-10.2.  A certificate issued under this plan shall
23    expire on June 30 following the date of issue.   One  renewal
24    for  one  year  is  authorized  if  the  holder remains as an
25    official participant in an approved exchange program.
26        In determining good character  under  this  Section,  any
27    felony   conviction  of  the  applicant  may  be  taken  into
28    consideration, but such a conviction shall not operate  as  a
29    bar to registration.
30        No  person  otherwise qualified shall be denied the right
31    to be certified, to  receive  training  for  the  purpose  of
 
                            -2-               LRB9211429NTpkA
 1    becoming  a  teacher or to engage in practice teaching in any
 2    school because of a physical  disability  including  but  not
 3    limited  to  visual  and  hearing disabilities; nor shall any
 4    school district refuse to employ a teacher on  such  grounds,
 5    provided  that  the person is able to carry out the duties of
 6    the position for which he applies.
 7        No person may be granted or continue to hold  a  teaching
 8    certificate  who  has knowingly altered or misrepresented his
 9    or her  teaching  qualifications  in  order  to  acquire  the
10    certificate.   Any  other certificate held by such person may
11    be suspended or revoked by the  State  Teacher  Certification
12    Board,  depending  upon  the  severity  of  the alteration or
13    misrepresentation.
14        No one may teach or supervise in the public  schools  nor
15    receive  for  teaching  or supervising any part of any public
16    school fund, who does not hold a certificate of qualification
17    granted by the State Board  of  Education  or  by  the  State
18    Teacher  Certification Board and a regional superintendent of
19    schools as hereinafter provided, or by the board of education
20    of a city having a population exceeding  500,000  inhabitants
21    except as provided in Section 34-6 and in Section 10-22.34 or
22    Section 10-22.34b. However, the provisions of this Article do
23    not  apply to a member of the armed forces who is employed as
24    a teacher of subjects in the Reserve Officer's Training Corps
25    of any school.  Sections 21-2 through 21-24 do not  apply  to
26    cities  having  a  population  exceeding 500,000 inhabitants,
27    until July 1, 1988.
28        Notwithstanding any other  provision  of  this  Act,  the
29    board  of  education  of  any  school district may grant to a
30    teacher of the district a leave of absence with full pay  for
31    a  period of not more than one year to permit such teacher to
32    teach in a foreign state under the provisions of the Exchange
33    Teacher  Program  established  under  Public  Law  584,  79th
34    Congress, and Public Law 402, 80th Congress, as amended.  The
 
                            -3-               LRB9211429NTpkA
 1    school board granting such leave of absence may  employ  with
 2    or  without  pay  a national of the foreign state wherein the
 3    teacher on leave of absence will teach, if  the  national  is
 4    qualified  to  teach  in  that  foreign  state,  and  if that
 5    national will teach in a grade level similar to the one which
 6    was  taught  in  such  foreign  state.  The  State  Board  of
 7    Education shall promulgate and enforce such reasonable  rules
 8    as may be necessary to effectuate this paragraph.
 9    (Source:  P.A.  88-189;  89-159,  eff.  1-1-96;  89-397, eff.
10    8-20-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)

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