Section 27.10  Purpose and Effective Dates

This Part establishes the standards that, together with the standards set forth in Initial Approval of Educator Preparation Programs by the State Board of Education (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.120), shall apply to the issuance of endorsements in specific teaching fields on a professional educator license pursuant to Article 21B of the School Code [105 ILCS 5].  The standards set forth in this Part shall apply both to candidates for the respective endorsements and to the programs that prepare them.

a)         Transition to New Standards

1)         Beginning October 1, 2024, approval of any teacher preparation program or course of study in any field covered by this Part pursuant to the State Board's rules for Educator Licensure (23 Ill. Adm. Code 25, Subpart C) shall be based on the congruence of that program's or course's content with the standards identified in this Part.  

2)         This Part also includes the standards from the former Part (prior to adoption of this new Part) that will continue to apply until October 1, 2024, or, for Section 27.420, until September 1, 2015.

3)         Beginning October 1, 2020, no candidate shall be admitted into a program that has not been approved under this Part. Any candidate who is enrolled in a program not approved under this Part shall complete the program on or before October 1, 2024 and be entitled (i.e., receive verification by the candidate's institution of higher education that he/she has completed an approved preparation program and has met the testing and experience requirements for licensure in the specific content area sought) by October 1, 2025.

b)         The examinations required for issuance of an endorsement in any field covered by this Part shall be based on the relevant standards set forth in this Part.

c)         Beginning February 1, 2018, the standards set forth in Sections 27.100 and 27.130 will be replaced by the standards set forth in Part 21 (Standards for Endorsements in the Middle Grades) both for the approval of any teacher preparation program or course of study in the middle grades and the basis of the examinations required for issuance of an endorsement for teaching literacy (e.g., English language arts) or mathematics in the middle grades.

d)         Programs approved under previous standard alignments shall align to updated standards by June 30 of the following fiscal year.

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 8630, effective May 12, 2020)