Section 25.90  Endorsement for Transitional Bilingual Educator

An individual holding an ELS-TBE can only serve students who are English learners in Transitional Bilingual Education settings. Requirements for the ELS-TBE, issued pursuant to Section 21B-20(2)(G) of the Code, shall be as follows:

a)         Requirements of Prior Education or Certification or Licensure.  The applicant shall:

1)         have possessed, within five years prior to the date of application, a valid teaching certificate, license, or comparable legal authorization issued by a foreign country or by a state or possession or territory of the United States; or

2)         hold a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution of higher education in the United States or a degree from an institution of higher learning in a foreign country that SEPLB determines to be the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning in the United States (Section 21B-20(2)(G) of the Code). The applicant must submit an official transcript from the U.S. institution or a certified transcript from the foreign institution. The State Superintendent will determine equivalency by comparing the applicant's course of study to that required for a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning in the United States on factors including:

A)        the applicant's length of study at the foreign institution (which shall be equivalent to four years of postsecondary study);

B)        the number of credit hours or similar units of instruction that the applicant has successfully completed (which shall be the equivalent of 120 semester hours);

C)        the content of the applicant's courses and the distribution of courses among the various disciplines constituting a bachelor's degree program in the United States, which shall include the equivalent of a 32-semester-hour major field of study;

D)        the applicant's grades or similar evidence of successful academic performance; and

E)        the foreign institution's accreditation status, if any.

b)         Language Requirements

1)         The applicant must demonstrate adequate speaking, reading, and writing, including grammar, skills in a non-English language in which transitional bilingual education is offered in Illinois. This requirement may be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

A)        The applicant presents evidence of having graduated from a teacher preparation institution or an institution of higher education in which the medium of instruction was in a non-English language in which transitional bilingual education is offered in Illinois and for which licensure is sought.

B)        The applicant successfully completes the required test (see Section 25.710) in the non-English language in which transitional bilingual education is offered in Illinois and for which licensure is sought.  If no test for transitional bilingual education in the target language is listed in Section 25.710, the required test shall be another test approved by the State Superintendent. The selection, development, and administration of each test not listed in Section 25.710 shall conform to the requirements of Section 25.715 to the extent feasible in light of the rate of incidence of the target language in Illinois.

C)        The applicant holds an Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy or has obtained working fluency or higher on the Global Seal of Biliteracy in the language that coincides with the endorsement sought on the license.

2)         The applicant must demonstrate adequate speaking, reading, and writing, including grammar skills, in English. This requirement may be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

A)        The applicant presents evidence of having graduated from an institution of higher education in which the medium of instruction was English.

B)        The applicant successfully completes the English Language Proficiency Test (see Section 25.710).

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 7729, effective May 9, 2024)