Section 254.820  Minimum Qualifications for Personnel of Postsecondary and Other Institutions

a)         All professional personnel with administrative, supervisory, teaching, or guidance and counseling assignments in programs of vocational education funded by the State Board of Education in educational agencies or institutions other than the public schools of Illinois shall possess the minimum qualifications set forth herein for the particular assignment as follows:

1)         for vocational education administrative and supervisory personnel – one year (2,000 hours) of employment outside of education in an occupation other than teaching or counseling, and two years experience in vocational education as an administrator, supervisor, or teacher, or comparable experience in education, business, or industry;

2)         for vocational guidance coordinators – one year (2,000 hours) of employment outside of education in an occupation other than teaching or counseling;

3)         for vocational instructional personnel – one year (2,000 hours) of employment in an occupation directly related to the occupation or occupational field for which the instructional program is designed; supplemented with an additional 250 hours of work experience every five years in a related occupation in business or industry or through participation in one or more of the following activities:

A)        attending industry training seminars,

B)        teaching, or assisting in the teaching of, vocational courses on the premises of and in cooperation with appropriate businesses or industries,

C)        attending skill training workshops or professional organization workshops that contain experiential components, or

D)        participation in a directed occupational experience, which includes a combination of participation in a university credit-generating course and experiential activities/job training equal to one-half of the required 250 hours; and

4)         for cooperative vocational education teacher-coordinators –  

A)        one year (2,000 hours) of employment in an occupation directly related to the occupation occupations for which the program of cooperative vocational education is designed, and

B)        six semester hours of formal coursework in the area of organization and administration of cooperative vocational education, including techniques of coordinating on-the-job experiences and individualized instructional methodology.

b)         Individual exceptions to the minimum requirements for related employment experience set forth herein for personnel of postsecondary and other educational institutions will be granted only upon a determination by the State Board of Education in each instance, based upon information contained in the local plan for vocational education that:

1)         an adequate plan has been developed to remedy the particular deficiency within a four year period through additional employment experience or through a combination of additional employment and a directed occupational experience; and

2)         substantial progress toward eliminating the deficiency is evidenced in succeeding years of the four year period.

(Source:  Amended at 12 Ill. Reg. 2282, effective January 15, 1988)