Section 1.730  Minimum Requirements for Secondary Teachers and Specified Subject Area Teachers in Grades 9-12 through June 30, 2004

This Section is applicable to educators licensed to teach in any of grades 9-12 prior to July 1, 2004.  All coursework requirements must be completed through a regionally accredited institution.  Each subsection of this Section applies only to secondary teachers in the respective content area.

a)         16 semester hours of coursework in the applicable of the following content areas is required:

1)         Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources;

2)         Art;

3)         Business, Marketing, and Computer Education;

4)         Business, Marketing, and Computer Education − Business Computer Programming;

5)         Computer Applications;

6)         Computer Science;

7)         Dance;

8)         Drama/Theatre Arts;

9)         English Language Arts;

10)        Family and Consumer Science;

11)        Health Education;

12)        Health Science;

13)        Library Information Specialist;

14)        Mathematics;

15)        Music;

16)        Physical Education;

17)        Reading Teacher (also see Section 1.745);

18)        Safety and Driver's Education;

19)        Science

A)        Biology;

B)        Chemistry;

C)        Earth and Space;

D)        Environmental;

E)        Physics;

20)        Social Science

A)        Economics;

B)        Geography;

C)        History;

D)        Political Science;

E)        Psychology;

F)         Sociology and Anthropology;

21)        Technology Education;

22)        Technology Specialist; or

23)        World Language (language specific)

b)         Career and Technical Education

All instructional personnel and coordinators shall hold a valid professional educator license endorsed in a teaching field or an educator license with stipulations endorsed for career and technical education.

1)         Instructional Personnel − The requirements for instructional personnel in the following areas is a minimum of 2,000 hours of employment experiences in the content area to be taught:

A)        Arts and Communication; Finance and Business Services;

B)        Health Sciences and Technology; Human and Public Services; Information Technology;

C)        Manufacturing, Engineering Technology, and Trades;

D)        Hospitality and Tourism;

E)        Personal Care Services;

F)         Early Childhood Education;

G)        Family and Consumer Sciences Occupational;

H)        Law Enforcement;

I)         Fire Science;

J)         Legal Studies/Pre-Law;

K)        Architecture and Construction;

L)        Manufacturing;

M)       Transportation, Distribution, and Technology;

N)        Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM);

O)        Audio/Video/Film Technology;

P)         Visual and Design Arts;

Q)        Journalism and Broadcasting.

2)         Instructional Personnel − The requirements for instructional personnel in the areas of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Information Technology; Finance and Business Services; and Family and Consumer Sciences are:

A)        A minimum of 60 semester hours of postsecondary coursework; and

B)        Content knowledge/occupational proficiency demonstrated by meeting one of the following criteria:

i)          16 semester hours of related postsecondary coursework;

ii)         A passing score on the ILTS or PRAXIS corresponding content exam;

iii)        2,000 hours of verified experience in the content area within the last 10 years; or

iv)        A minimum of three years full-time (51% or more of duties dedicated to teaching in the content area) postsecondary teaching experience in the corresponding content areas within the last 10 years.

3)         Instructional Personnel

A)        The additional requirements for instructional personnel, beyond those listed for occupational experience listed in this Part, include, in the area of Legal Studies/Pre-Law:

i)          A minimum of 60 semester hours of postsecondary coursework; and

ii)         Content knowledge proficiency demonstrated by completing 16 semester hours of related postsecondary coursework.

B)        Coursework requirements can be waived by the State Board if the individual holds the appropriate State or national industry licenses or certifications and those documents are valid and current.

C)        For those occupations in which employment or preparation is regulated by law or licensure, compliance with those laws is mandated.

4)         Special Vocational Teacher Coordinator

In schools with cooperative courses to serve students with special needs, such as a Work Experience and Career Exploration Program, vocationally reimbursed Special Education Cooperative Education, and STEP programs, the coordinator shall meet the requirements for specialized cooperative occupational education coordinators (except that the 16 semester hours in occupational education shall be waived).

5)         Compliance with Legal, Governmental, and Professional Requirements

For those occupations in which employment or preparation is regulated by law or licensure, compliance with those laws is required.

6)         The requirements of this subsection (b) are not applicable to personnel employed prior to September 1, 1978.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 8535, effective May 29, 2024)