Public Act 93-0355

SB533 Enrolled                       LRB093 10796 NHT 11227 b

    AN ACT concerning education.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.  The School Code is amended by adding Article
21A as follows:

    (105 ILCS 5/Art. 21A heading new)
        ARTICLE 21A.  NEW TEACHER INDUCTION AND MENTORING

    (105 ILCS 5/21A-5 new)
    Sec. 21A-5.  Definitions.  In this Article:
    "New teacher" means the holder  of  an  Initial  Teaching
Certificate,  as  set forth in Section 21-2 of this Code, who
is employed by a public school and  who  has  not  previously
participated in a new teacher induction and mentoring program
required  by  this  Article,  except  as  provided in Section
21A-25 of this Code.
    "Public school" means any school  operating  pursuant  to
the  authority  of  this Code, including without limitation a
school district, a charter school,  a  cooperative  or  joint
agreement  with  a  governing body or board of control, and a
school operated by a regional office of  education  or  State
agency.

    (105 ILCS 5/21A-10 new)
    Sec.  21A-10.  Development  of  program required.  During
the 2003-2004 school year, each public school or  2  or  more
public  schools  acting jointly shall develop, in conjunction
with  its  exclusive  representative   or   their   exclusive
representatives,   if   any,  a  new  teacher  induction  and
mentoring program that meets the requirements  set  forth  in
Section  21A-20  of  this  Code  to  assist  new  teachers in
developing  the   skills   and   strategies   necessary   for
instructional  excellence,  provided  that  funding  is  made
available   by   the   State   Board  of  Education  from  an
appropriation made for this purpose. A public school that has
an existing induction and mentoring  program  that  does  not
meet  the  requirements  set  forth in Section 21A-20 of this
Code may have school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 to develop
a program that does meet those requirements and  may  receive
funding as described in Section 21A-25 of this Code, provided
that  the  funding  is  made  available by the State Board of
Education from an appropriation made  for  this  purpose.   A
public  school  with such an existing induction and mentoring
program may receive funding for the 2005-2006 school year for
each new teacher in the second year of a 2-year program  that
does  not  meet the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20,
as long as the public school has established the required new
program by the beginning of that school year as described  in
Section 21A-15 and provided that funding is made available by
the  State  Board of Education from an appropriation made for
this purpose as described in Section 21A-25.

    (105 ILCS 5/21A-15 new)
    Sec. 21A-15.  When  program  is  to  be  established  and
implemented.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provisions of this
Code, by the beginning of the 2004-2005 school  year  (or  by
the  beginning  of  the  2005-2006  school  year for a public
school that has been given an extension of time to develop  a
program  under  Section  21A-10  of  this  Code), each public
school or 2 or  more  public  schools  acting  jointly  shall
establish  and  implement,  in conjunction with its exclusive
representative or their exclusive  representatives,  if  any,
the  new  teacher induction and mentoring program required to
be developed under Section 21A-10 of this Code, provided that
funding is made available by the State  Board  of  Education,
from  an appropriation made for this purpose, as described in
Section 21A-25 of this Code.  A public  school  may  contract
with  an institution of higher education or other independent
party to assist in implementing the program.

    (105 ILCS 5/21A-20 new)
    Sec. 21A-20.  Program  requirements.   Each  new  teacher
induction  and mentoring program must be based on a plan that
at least does all of the following:
         (1)  Assigns a mentor teacher to  each  new  teacher
    for a period of at least 2 school years.
         (2)  Aligns  with the Illinois Professional Teaching
    Standards, content area standards, and  applicable  local
    school improvement and professional development plans, if
    any.
         (3)  Addresses all of the following elements and how
    they will be provided:
              (A)  Mentoring and support of the new teacher.
              (B)  Professional    development   specifically
         designed to ensure the growth of the  new  teacher's
         knowledge and skills.
              (C)  Formative  assessment  designed  to ensure
         feedback and reflection, which must not be  used  in
         any evaluation of the new teacher.
         (4)  Describes  the  role  of  mentor  teachers, the
    criteria and process for their selection,  and  how  they
    will  be trained, provided that each mentor teacher shall
    demonstrate the best practices in  teaching  his  or  her
    respective  field  of  practice. A mentor teacher may not
    directly or indirectly participate in the evaluation of a
    new teacher pursuant to Article 24A of this Code  or  the
    evaluation procedure of the public school.

    (105 ILCS 5/21A-25 new)
    Sec.  21A-25.  Funding.   From  a  separate appropriation
made for the purposes of this Article, for each  new  teacher
participating  in  a  new  teacher  induction  and  mentoring
program  that  meets  the  requirements  set forth in Section
21A-20 of this Code or in an existing program that is in  the
process   of   transition  to  a  program  that  meets  those
requirements, the State Board  of  Education  shall  pay  the
public  school $1,200 annually for each of 2 school years for
the purpose of providing one or more of the following:
         (1)  Mentor teacher compensation.
         (2)  Mentor teacher training or new teacher training
    or both.
         (3)  Release time.
However, if a new teacher, after  participating  in  the  new
teacher  induction and mentoring program for one school year,
becomes employed by another public school, the State Board of
Education shall pay the teacher's new school $1,200  for  the
second  school  year  and the  teacher shall continue to be a
new teacher as defined in this Article.  Each  public  school
shall   determine,   in   conjunction   with   its  exclusive
representative, if any, how the $1,200 per  school  year  for
each  new  teacher  shall  be used, provided that if a mentor
teacher receives additional release time  to  support  a  new
teacher,  the  total  workload  of  other  teachers regularly
employed by the public  school  shall  not  increase  in  any
substantial  manner.  If the appropriation is insufficient to
cover the $1,200 per school year for each new teacher, public
schools are not required to develop or implement the  program
established  by this Article. In the event of an insufficient
appropriation, a public school or 2 or  more  schools  acting
jointly may submit an application for a grant administered by
the  State  Board  of  Education and awarded on a competitive
basis to establish a  new  teacher  induction  and  mentoring
program  that  meets the criteria set forth in Section 21A-20
of this Code. The State Board of Education may retain  up  to
$1,000,000 of the appropriation for new teacher induction and
mentoring  programs to train mentor teachers, administrators,
and other personnel, to provide best  practices  information,
and  to  conduct  an evaluation of these programs' impact and
effectiveness.

    (105 ILCS 5/21A-30 new)
    Sec. 21A-30.  Evaluation of programs.  The State Board of
Education and the State  Teacher  Certification  Board  shall
jointly  contract  with  an  independent  party  to conduct a
comprehensive  evaluation  of  new  teacher   induction   and
mentoring programs established pursuant to this Article.  The
first  report  of  this  evaluation shall be presented to the
General Assembly on or before January  1,  2009.   Subsequent
evaluations  shall  be conducted and reports presented to the
General Assembly on or before January 1 of every  third  year
thereafter.

    (105 ILCS 5/21A-35 new)
    Sec.  21A-35.  Rules.   The  State Board of Education, in
consultation with  the  State  Teacher  Certification  Board,
shall adopt rules for the implementation of this Article.