State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Engrossed ][ Senate Amendment 001 ]


92_SB1843

 
                                               LRB9214177NTmg

 1        AN ACT in relation to 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 adding Section
 5    14-9.05 as follows:

 6        (105 ILCS 5/14-9.05 new)
 7        Sec.  14-9.05.  Temporary   special   education   teacher
 8    certification.
 9        (a)  The  General  Assembly  makes  all  of the following
10    findings:
11             (1) There exists  throughout  this  State  a  severe
12        shortage of special education teachers, and this shortage
13        has  existed  for  many  years and gives no indication of
14        abating at anytime in the future.
15             (2)  As  a  result  of  this  shortage  of   special
16        education  teachers, school districts and private special
17        education facilities throughout this State are finding it
18        increasingly difficult to hire and maintain a  sufficient
19        number of special education teachers to meet the needs of
20        their children with disabilities.
21             (3)  If  a  solution  is  not found to alleviate the
22        effects of this shortage of special  education  teachers,
23        the  high  quality  of  special education that the school
24        districts and private  special  education  facilities  of
25        this State provide could be in jeopardy.
26             (4)   As  a  result  of  this  shortage  of  special
27        education teachers and the  potential  impact  that  this
28        shortage  may  have  on  this  State's  special education
29        system, the General Assembly believes  that  a  temporary
30        certification  process  for special education teachers is
31        necessary.
 
                            -2-                LRB9214177NTmg
 1        (b) The State Teacher  Certification  Board  shall  issue
 2    temporary special education teacher certificates for teaching
 3    children  with disabilities, other than students who are deaf
 4    or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or speech  or
 5    language impaired, to persons who satisfy the requirements of
 6    this  Section.  Certificates  shall be issued only during the
 7    3-year period beginning on July 1, 2002. The  powers  granted
 8    to  the  State  Teacher  Certification  Board  concerning the
 9    issuance of temporary special education teacher  certificates
10    under  this  Section  expire on July 1, 2005. Notwithstanding
11    that expiration, any certificate issued before July  1,  2005
12    is valid until the date of the certificate's expiration. Once
13    issued,  a temporary special education teacher certificate is
14    valid for a period of 3 years.
15        (c) A person seeking  certification  under  this  Section
16    must meet all of the following requirements:
17             (1)  The  person  possesses  either a valid teaching
18        certificate issued  by  any  state  or  a  possession  or
19        territory  of  the  United States or a certificate issued
20        pursuant to Section 21-9 of this Code.
21             (2)  The  person  has  the  qualifications   to   be
22        certified to teach under Section 21-1 of this Code.
23        (d)  A person seeking temporary special education teacher
24    certification  must  be  enrolled  in  an  approved   special
25    education   teacher   preparation  program  at  a  recognized
26    institution of higher learning, as defined under  Article  21
27    of  this Code, and meet, within 3 years after issuance of the
28    temporary  special   education   teacher   certificate,   the
29    requirements  to  receive  a  special certificate pursuant to
30    Section 21-4 of this  Code,  except  that  a  person  seeking
31    temporary  special  education  teacher  certification who has
32    been teaching under a certificate valid for teaching  in  the
33    common schools of this State for a minimum of 3 years and who
34    has  received  a  satisfactory  evaluation and an appropriate
 
                            -3-                LRB9214177NTmg
 1    teaching performance critique from the institution of  higher
 2    learning is exempt from the student teaching requirement. The
 3    holder  of  a temporary special education teacher certificate
 4    must pass the basic skills test required for certification to
 5    teach in the common schools of this  State  within  one  year
 6    after  issuance  of  the  temporary special education teacher
 7    certificate.
 8        (e) A person is not eligible for employment by  a  school
 9    district,  for  employment  in  a  program  under  a  special
10    education  joint  agreement,  or  for employment in a private
11    special education facility as a temporarily certified special
12    education teacher unless he or she holds a  valid  substitute
13    teacher's  certificate pursuant to Section 21-9 of this Code.
14    The person must not be  employed  to  replace  any  currently
15    employed  teacher who otherwise would not be replaced for any
16    reason. Before being assigned to a  classroom  with  children
17    with  disabilities  for  the  first  time,  the  person  must
18    successfully  complete  a  pre-service  training  program  on
19    educating  children  with disabilities that has been approved
20    by the State Board of Education and that is provided  by  the
21    employing  entity  or  a  recognized  institution  of  higher
22    learning,  as  defined  under  Article  21  of  this Code. An
23    employing entity must  assign  a  mentoring  teacher  to  the
24    person  for  the  duration  of his or her employment with the
25    entity as a temporarily certified special education teacher.
26        (f) A person employed by a school district or employed in
27    a program under a special  education  joint  agreement  as  a
28    temporarily  certified  special  education teacher shall have
29    that employment credited to him or her  for  the  purpose  of
30    determining,  under  the provisions of this Code, eligibility
31    to enter upon contractual continued  service,  provided  that
32    the  employment  immediately precedes and is consecutive with
33    the year in which the person becomes certified under  Article
34    21  of this Code. For the purposes of determining the minimum
 
                            -4-                LRB9214177NTmg
 1    salary payable to the person and the employment benefits that
 2    the person is entitled to, the person is deemed to have  been
 3    trained  at  a  recognized institution of higher learning, as
 4    defined under Article 21 of this  Code,  and  the  person  is
 5    eligible  for  salary  and  benefits as a beginning full-time
 6    teacher of the employing entity.
 7        (g) The provisions of Article 21 of this Code that  apply
 8    to  certificates  issued  under Article 21 apply to temporary
 9    special education teacher certificates  to  the  extent  that
10    those provisions are not contradicted by or inconsistent with
11    any provision of this Section.
12        (h)  In  order to assist the State Board of Education and
13    the State  Teacher  Certification  Board  in  evaluating  the
14    special  education  certification  process in this State, any
15    school district, program  under  a  special  education  joint
16    agreement, or private special education facility that hires a
17    temporarily certified special education teacher must annually
18    report all of the following to the State Board of Education:
19             (1)  The  number  of  temporarily  certified special
20        education teachers that have been hired.
21             (2) The  number  of  temporarily  certified  special
22        education   teachers  hired  who  have  obtained  special
23        certificates pursuant to Section 21-4 of this Code.
24             (3) The total number of children  with  disabilities
25        that are serviced.
26             (4)   The   number   of  special  education  teacher
27        vacancies that exist.
28             (5) The other methods that are being  undertaken  to
29        fill special education teacher vacancies.
30        (i)  The  State  Board of Education, in consultation with
31    the State Teacher Certification Board, may  adopt  any  rules
32    necessary to implement and administer this Section.

33        Section  90.  The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
 
                            -5-                LRB9214177NTmg
 1    Section 8.26 as follows:

 2        (30 ILCS 805/8.26 new)
 3        Sec. 8.26. Exempt mandate.   Notwithstanding  Sections  6
 4    and  8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required
 5    for  the  implementation  of  any  mandate  created  by  this
 6    amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly.

 7        Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July
 8    1, 2002.

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