Section 25.130  Interventions by the State Board of Education and State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board

The provisions of this Section shall apply when the State Superintendent receives information through any of the reports required under this Subpart C, or by other means indicating that any recognized EPP or approved educator preparation program may not be addressing any applicable standard or may otherwise be failing to offer candidates any of the learning opportunities that are necessary to their preparation as professional educators. 

a)         The State Superintendent or designee shall inform the affected EPP of the areas of concern and invite the EPP's representatives to appear on a date specified by SEPLB to discuss the concerns identified.  At the meeting, State Board staff shall provide evidence of the concerns identified and a recommendation for how SEPLB should proceed.

b)         If SEPLB determines, either after the EPP's appearance or in advance of the appearance, that the concerns raised were unfounded or that the issues have been remedied, SEPLB shall recommend to the State Superintendent that no further action is needed with regard to the matter, and the State Superintendent or designee shall notify the institution accordingly.

c)         If the institution does not respond to or declines the invitation to appear before SEPLB, or if SEPLB concludes that the institution, after its appearance, has not satisfied the concerns raised, SEPLB shall recommend to the State Superintendent or designee that the EPP and one or more of its programs be placed on probation.  For the purposes of this subsection, "probation" is the period of time in which no new candidates shall be enrolled in the EPP or any of its programs, regardless of whether an individual program has received "probation" status.  The State Superintendent shall notify the institution of the probation status of the EPP and one or more of its programs.

1)         An EPP and one or more of its programs placed on probation shall submit the applicable report required under subsection (c)(1)(A) or (c)(1)(B) (in a format to be specified by the State Superintendent) to the State Superintendent or designee, who shall forward the report to SEPLB for consideration.  The required report shall be submitted within one year after the date on which the EPP was scheduled to appear before SEPLB pursuant to subsection (a).  If no report is received within this year, then the approval of the program or recognition of the EPP and approval of all of its programs shall be revoked. 

A)        In the case of one or more individual programs being placed on probation, each program about which concerns have been identified shall submit to SEPLB a program report that details the areas of concern identified by SEPLB and procedures the program will take to remedy the concerns.

B)        In the case of both an EPP and one or more of its programs being placed on probation, the EPP shall submit both the report requested in subsection (c)(1)(A) and a report that details the identified concerns and the solutions that have been put into place to remedy those concerns.

2)         SEPLB, after considering the report submitted by the program or EPP and the actions the program or EPP has taken in response to the concerns identified, shall:

A)        determine that the concerns have been remedied and recommend to the State Superintendent that the program or EPP and any of its programs for which concerns have been identified be removed from probation and that no further action is needed with regard to the matter, and the State Superintendent or designee shall notify the institution accordingly; or

B)        determine that the concerns have been acted upon but have not been remedied and recommend to the State Superintendent that the probation period be extended for not more than an additional 12 months, beginning on the date on which SEPLB met to consider the applicable reports submitted under subsection (c), and:

i)          Within the 12-month extension period, the program, or the EPP and any of its programs for which concerns have been identified, shall resubmit the program proposal required under Section 25.120 or a report (in the case of a program or EPP, respectively), and reappear before SEPLB;

ii)         If, at the time that the program or EPP reappears before SEPLB or at the end of the 12-month extension period, the program or the EPP and any of its programs for which concerns have been identified have not sufficiently addressed the concerns, SEPLB shall recommend to the State Superintendent that approval of the program or recognition of the EPP and approval of all of its programs be revoked pursuant to subsection (c)(2)(C); and

iii)        The State Superintendent shall notify the program or the EPP and each of its programs of any action taken pursuant to this subsection (c)(2)(B); or

C)        determine that the concerns have not been acted upon and that the program proposal or actions taken as identified in the report indicate that the standards are not being met or that the program or EPP may be failing otherwise to offer candidates any of the learning opportunities that are necessary to their preparation as professional educators and that these concerns cannot be remedied before the end of the 12-month extension period. In each case, SEPLB shall recommend to the State Superintendent that the State Board revoke approval of the program or recognition of the EPP and approval of all of its programs.  The actions to be taken upon the recommendation of SEPLB to the State Superintendent shall be as described in Section 25.160.  Discontinuation of a program pursuant to revocation of its approval or revocation of recognition, in the case of an EPP, shall be subject to the requirements of Section 25.165(b).

3)         The State Superintendent may accept, modify, or reject any of the recommendations of SEPLB issued in accordance with this subsection (c).  In cases in which the State Superintendent's modification or rejection results in an action that has negative consequences for the program or the EPP and one or more of its programs, then the actions to be taken shall be as described in Section 25.160.

(Source:  Amended at 45 Ill. Reg. 7269, effective June 3, 2021)