Section 25.805  Professional Development Options

a)         Activities

1)         Professional development activities, offered through an Illinois-approved professional development provider, shall generate credit for purposes of renewal of a PEL endorsed in a teaching, administrative, or school support personnel field or an educator license with stipulations endorsed for chief school business official or CTE only if they address one or more of the criteria identified in Section 21B-45(d) of the Code.

2)         One professional development hour shall be awarded for each clock hour of activity attendance, unless otherwise specified in rule.

b)         National and State Certifications

1)         A licensee who holds a school support personnel endorsement who is employed and performing services on the endorsement in an Illinois public school and who holds the applicable national certifications specified in this subsection (b)(1) shall be deemed to have satisfied 120 hours of professional development. (See Section 21B-45(l) of the Code.)

A)        Nationally Certified School Psychologist from the National School Psychologist Certification Board, 4340 East-West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD  20814; https://nasponline.org/standards-and-certification/national-certification;

B)        Nationally Certified School Nurse from the National Board for Certification of School Nurses, 1120 Route 73, Suite 200, Mt. Laurel, NJ  08054; https://www.nbcsn.org/ncsn/certification/certification-procedures;

C)        Nationally Certified Counselor from the National Board for Certified Counselors, 3 Terrace Way, Greensboro, NC  27403; https://www.nbcc.org/certification;

D)        Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD  20850-3289; https://www.asha.org/certification; or

E)        Certified School Social Work Specialist (C-SSWS) from the National Association of Social Workers, 750 First Street, NE, Suite 800, Washington, DC  20002; https://www.socialworkers.org/Careers/Credentials/Apply-for-NASW-Social-Work-Credentials/Certified-School-Social-Work-Specialist.

2)         A licensee who holds a school support personnel endorsement who is employed and performing services in Illinois public schools and who holds an active and current professional license issued by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation related to that school support personnel endorsement area or national certification board shall be deemed to have satisfied 120 hours of professional development.  (See Section 21B-45(l) of the Code.)  For purposes of this subsection (b), "related to" a school support personnel area shall be:

A)        for a school counselor, a license issued under the Professional Counselor and Clinical Professional Counselor Licensing and Practice Act [225 ILCS 107];

B)        for a marriage and family therapist, a license issued under the Marriage and Family Therapist Licensing Act [225 ILCS 55];

C)        for a school psychologist, a license issued under the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act [225 ILCS 15];

D)        for a school speech and language pathologist, a license issued under the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act [225 ILCS 110];

E)        for a school nurse, a license issued under the Nurse Practice Act [225 ILCS 65]; and

F)         for a school social worker, a license issued under the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act [225 ILCS 20].

3)         National Board for Professional Teaching Master Teacher Designation

Any licensee holding a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) master teacher designation shall complete a total of 60 clock hours of professional development per 5-year renewal cycle.  (Section 21B-45(e)(4) of the Code)

A)        If National Board certification is not valid at the time of renewal, the licensee shall complete all required professional development for the license cycle.

B)        Administrators who hold a master teacher designation are also subject to the requirements set forth in Section 25.800(d)(1).

C)        When an Illinois licensee successfully renews a National Board certification, the licensee's master teacher designation shall be automatically renewed. 

D)        The holder of an NBPTS master teacher designation whose certification through the NBPTS is not renewed shall have the designation expired.

c)         Higher Education Coursework

One semester hour of college coursework related to education from a regionally accredited institution shall equal 15 clock hours of professional development activities. One quarter hour shall equal 10 clock hours.

1)         Coursework may be completed through an Illinois institution of higher education that offers approved educator preparation programs and Illinois public community colleges.

2)         Any licensee using coursework to fulfill professional development hours must upload a copy of a transcript showing completion of the coursework to ELIS.

d)         Mandated Trainings

Trainings taken to satisfy mandated trainings in Sections 3-11 and 10-22.39 of the Code shall be credited toward the hours of professional development required for renewal.

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