Public Act 095-0592
 		





HB1647 Enrolled
LRB095 07887 NHT 28048 b






    AN ACT concerning education.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:

 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended  by changing Section 
21-25 as follows:
 



    (105 ILCS 5/21-25)  (from Ch. 122, par. 21-25)



    Sec. 21-25. School service personnel certificate. 

    (a) For purposes of this Section, "school service 
personnel" means persons employed and performing appropriate 
services in an Illinois public or State-operated elementary 
school, secondary school, or cooperative or joint agreement 
with a governing body or board of control or a charter school 
operating in compliance with the Charter Schools Law in a 
position requiring a school service personnel certificate.
    Subject to the provisions of Section 21-1a, a school 
service
personnel certificate shall be issued to those 
applicants of good
character, good health, a citizen of the 
United States and at least 19
years of age who have a 
Bachelor's degree with not fewer than 120
semester hours from a 
regionally accredited institution of higher learning and
who 
meets the requirements established by the State Superintendent 
of
Education in consultation with the State Teacher 
Certification Board.  A
school service personnel certificate 
with a school nurse endorsement may be
issued to a person who 
holds a bachelor of science degree from an institution
of 
higher learning accredited by the North Central Association or 
other
comparable regional accrediting association.
 Persons 
seeking any other endorsement on the school service personnel

certificate shall be recommended for the endorsement by a 
recognized teacher
education institution as having completed a 
program of preparation approved by
the State Superintendent of 
Education in consultation with the State Teacher
Certification 
Board.

    (b) Until August 30, 2002, a school service personnel 
certificate endorsed
for school social work may be issued to a 
student who has completed a school
social work program that has 
not been approved by the State Superintendent of
Education, 
provided that each of the following conditions is met:


        (1) The program was offered by a recognized, public 
    teacher education
institution that first enrolled students 
    in its master's degree program in
social work in 1998;


        (2) The student applying for the school service 
    personnel certificate was
enrolled in the institution's 
    master's degree program in social work on or
after May 11, 
    1998;


        (3) The State Superintendent verifies that the student 
    has completed
coursework that is substantially similar to 
    that required in approved school
social work programs, 
    including (i) not fewer than 600 clock hours of a

    supervised internship in a school setting or (ii) if the 
    student has completed
part of a supervised internship in a 
    school setting prior to the effective date
of this 
    amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly and receives 
    the prior
approval of the State Superintendent, not fewer 
    than 300 additional clock hours
of supervised work in a 
    public school setting under the supervision of a
certified 
    school social worker who certifies that the supervised work 
    was
completed in a satisfactory manner; and


        (4) The student has passed a test of basic skills and 
    the test of subject
matter knowledge required by Section 
    21-1a.

    This subsection (b) does not apply after August 29, 2002.

    (c) A school service personnel certificate shall be 
endorsed
with the area of Service as
determined by the State 
Superintendent of Education in consultation with
the State 
Teacher Certification Board.

    The holder of such certificate shall be entitled to all of 
the rights
and privileges granted holders of a valid teaching 
certificate, including
teacher benefits, compensation and 
working conditions.

    When the holder of such certificate has earned a master's 
degree,
including 8 semester hours of graduate professional 
education from a
recognized institution of higher learning, and 
has at least 2 years of
successful school experience while 
holding such certificate, the
certificate may be endorsed for 
supervision.

    (d) Persons who have successfully achieved National Board 
certification through the National Board for Professional 
Teaching Standards shall be issued a Master School Service 
Personnel Certificate, valid for 10 years and renewable 
thereafter every 10 years through compliance with requirements 
set forth by the State Board of Education, in consultation with 
the State Teacher Certification Board.  However, each holder of 
a Master School Service Personnel Certificate shall be eligible 
for a corresponding position in this State in the areas for 
which he or she holds a Master Certificate without satisfying 
any other requirements of this Code, except for those 
requirements pertaining to criminal background checks.

    (e)  School service personnel certificates are renewable 
every 5 years and may be renewed as provided in this Section. 
Requests for renewals must be submitted, in a format prescribed 
by the State Board of Education, to the regional office of 
education responsible for the school where the holder is 
employed.
    Upon completion of at least 80 hours of continuing 
professional development as provided in this subsection (e), a 
person who holds a valid school service personnel certificate 
shall have his or her certificate renewed for a period of 5 
years.  A person who (i) holds an active license issued by the 
State as a clinical professional counselor, a professional 
counselor, a clinical social worker, a social worker, or a 
speech-language pathologist; (ii)  holds national certification 
as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist from the National 
School Psychology Certification Board; (iii) is nationally 
certified as a National Certified School Nurse from the 
National Board for Certification of School Nurses; (iv)  is 
nationally certified as a National Certified Counselor or 
National Certified School Counselor from the National Board for 
Certified Counselors; or (v)  holds a Certificate of Clinical 
Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing 
Association
shall be deemed to have satisfied the continuing 
professional development requirements established by the State 
Board of Education and the State Teacher Certification Board to 
renew a school service personnel certificate.
    School service personnel certificates may be renewed by the 
State Teacher Certification Board based upon proof of 
continuing professional development. The State Board of 
Education shall (i) establish a procedure for renewing school 
service personnel certificates, which shall include without 
limitation annual timelines for the renewal process and the 
components set forth in this Section; (ii) approve or 
disapprove the providers of continuing professional 
development activities; and (iii) provide, on a timely basis to 
all school service personnel certificate holders, regional 
superintendents of schools, school districts, and others with 
an interest in continuing professional development, 
information about the standards and requirements established 
pursuant to this subsection (e).
    Any school service personnel certificate held by an 
individual employed and performing services in an Illinois 
public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school, 
or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or 
board of control in a certificated school service personnel 
position or in a charter school in compliance with the Charter 
Schools Law must be maintained Valid and Active through 
certificate renewal activities specified in the certificate 
renewal procedure established pursuant to this Section, 
provided that a holder of a Valid and Active certificate who is 
only employed on either a part-time basis or day-to-day basis 
as a substitute shall pay only the required registration fee to 
renew his or her certificate and maintain it as Valid and 
Active. All other school service personnel certificates held 
may be maintained as Valid and Exempt through the registration 
process provided for in the certificate renewal procedure 
established pursuant to Section 21-14 of this Code. A Valid and 
Exempt certificate must be immediately activated, through 
procedures developed by the State Board of Education upon the 
certificate holder becoming employed and performing services 
in an Illinois public or State-operated elementary school, 
secondary school, or cooperative or joint agreement with a 
governing body or board of control in a certificated school 
service personnel position or in a charter school operating in 
compliance with the Charter Schools Law. A holder of a Valid 
and Exempt certificate may activate his or her certificate 
through procedures provided for in the certificate renewal 
procedure established pursuant to this Section.
    A school service personnel certificate that has been 
maintained as Valid and Active for the 5 years of the 
certificate's validity shall be renewed as Valid and Active 
upon the certificate holder (i) completing the National Board 
for Professional Teaching Standards process in an area of 
concentration comparable to the holder's school service 
personnel certificate of endorsement or (ii) earning 80 
continuing professional development units as described in this 
Section. If, however, the certificate holder has maintained the 
certificate as Valid and Exempt for a portion of the 5-year 
period of validity, the number of continuing professional 
development units needed to renew the certificate as Valid and 
Active must be proportionately reduced by the amount of time 
the certificate was Valid and Exempt. If a certificate holder 
is employed and performs services requiring the holder's school 
service personnel certificate on a part-time basis for all or a 
portion of the certificate's 5-year period of validity, the 
number of continuing professional development units needed to 
renew the certificate as Valid and Active shall be reduced by 
50% for the amount of time the certificate holder has been 
employed and performing such services on a part-time basis. 
"Part-time" means less than 50% of the school day or school 
term.
    Beginning July 1, 2008, in order to satisfy the 
requirements for continuing professional development provided 
for in this Section, each Valid and Active school service 
personnel certificate holder shall complete professional 
development activities that address the certificate or those 
certificates that are required of his or her certificated 
position, if the certificate holder is employed and performing 
services in an Illinois public or State operated elementary 
school, secondary school, or cooperative or joint agreement 
with a governing body or board of control, or that certificate 
or those certificates most closely related to his or her 
teaching position, if the certificate holder is employed in a 
charter school. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection 
(e), the certificate holder's activities must address and must 
reflect the following continuing professional development 
purposes:
        (1) Advance both the certificate holder's knowledge

    and skills consistent with the Illinois Standards for the 
    service area in which the certificate is endorsed in order 
    to keep the certificate holder current in that area.
        (2) Develop the certificate holder's knowledge and 
    skills in areas determined by the State Board of Education 
    to be critical for all school service personnel.
        (3) Address the knowledge, skills, and goals of the 
    certificate holder's local school improvement plan, if the 
    certificate holder is employed in an Illinois public or 
    State-operated elementary school, secondary school, or 
    cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or 
    board of control.
        (4) Address the needs of serving students with 
    disabilities, including adapting and modifying clinical or 
    professional practices to meet the needs of students with 
    disabilities and serving such students in the least 
    restrictive environment.
    The coursework or continuing professional development 
units ("CPDU") required under this subsection (e) must total 80 
CPDUs or the equivalent and must address 3 of the 4 purposes 
described in items (1) through (4) of this subsection (e).  
Holders of school service personnel certificates may fulfill 
this obligation with any combination of semester hours or CPDUs 
as follows:
        (A)  Collaboration and partnership activities related 
    to improving the school service personnel certificate 
    holder's knowledge and skills, including (i) participating 
    on collaborative planning and professional improvement 
    teams and committees; (ii) peer review and coaching; (iii) 
    mentoring in a formal mentoring program, including service 
    as a consulting teacher participating in a remediation 
    process formulated under Section 24A-5 of this Code; (iv) 
    participating in site-based management or decision-making 
    teams, relevant committees, boards, or task forces 
    directly related to school improvement plans; (v) 
    coordinating community resources in schools, if the 
    project is a specific goal of the school improvement plan; 
    (vi) facilitating parent education programs for a school, 
    school district, or regional office of education directly 
    related to student achievement or school improvement 
    plans; (vii) participating in business, school, or 
    community partnerships directly related to student 
    achievement or school improvement plans; or (viii) 
    supervising a student teacher (student services personnel) 
    or teacher education candidate in clinical supervision, 
    provided that the supervision may be counted only once 
    during the course of 5 years.
        (B)  Coursework from a regionally accredited 
    institution of higher learning related to one of the 
    purposes listed in items (1) through (4) of this subsection 
    (e), which shall apply at the rate of 15 continuing 
    professional development units per semester hour of credit 
    earned during the previous 5-year period when the status of 
    the holder's school service personnel certificate was 
    Valid and Active.  Proportionate reductions shall apply 
    when the holder's status was Valid and Active for less than 
    the 5-year period preceding the renewal.
        (C) Teaching college or university courses in areas 
    relevant to the certificate area being renewed, provided 
    that the teaching may be counted only once during the 
    course of 5 years.
        (D)  Conferences, workshops, institutes, seminars, or 
    symposiums designed to improve the certificate holder's 
    knowledge and skills in the service area and applicable to 
    the purposes listed in items (1) through (4) of this 
    subsection (e).  One CPDU shall be awarded for each hour of 
    attendance.  No one shall receive credit for conferences, 
    workshops, institutes, seminars, or symposiums that are 
    designed for entertainment, promotional, or commercial 
    purposes or that are solely inspirational or motivational.  
    The State Superintendent of Education and regional 
    superintendents of schools are authorized to review the 
    activities and events provided or to be provided under this 
    subdivision (D) and to investigate complaints regarding 
    those activities and events.  Either the State 
    Superintendent of Education or a regional superintendent 
    of schools may recommend that the State Board of Education 
    disapprove those activities and events considered to be 
    inconsistent with this subdivision (D).
        (E) Completing non-university credit directly related 
    to student achievement, school improvement plans, or State 
    priorities.
        (F) Participating in or presenting at workshops, 
    seminars, conferences, institutes, or symposiums.
        (G) Training as external reviewers for quality 
    assurance.
        (H) Training as reviewers of university teacher 
    preparation programs.
        (I) Other educational experiences related to improving 
    the school service personnel's knowledge and skills as a 
    teacher, including (i) participating in action research 
    and inquiry projects; (ii) traveling related to one's 
    assignment and directly related to school service 
    personnel achievement or school improvement plans and 
    approved by the regional superintendent of schools or his 
    or her designee at least 30 days prior to the travel 
    experience, provided that the traveling shall not include 
    time spent commuting to destinations where the learning 
    experience will occur; (iii) participating in study groups 
    related to student achievement or school improvement 
    plans;  (iv) serving on a statewide education-related 
    committee, including without limitation the State Teacher 
    Certification Board, State Board of Education strategic 
    agenda teams, or the State Advisory Council on Education of 
    Children with Disabilities; (v) participating in 
    work/learn programs or internships; or (vi) developing a 
    portfolio of student and teacher work.
        (J) Professional leadership experiences related to 
    improving the teacher's knowledge and skills as a teacher, 
    including (i) participating in curriculum development or 
    assessment activities at the school, school district, 
    regional office of education, State, or national level; 
    (ii) participating in team or department leadership in a 
    school or school district; (iii) participating on external 
    or internal school or school district review teams; (iv) 
    publishing educational articles, columns, or books 
    relevant to the certificate area being renewed; or (v) 
    participating in non-strike-related professional 
    association or labor organization service or activities 
    related to professional development.

(Source: P.A. 94-105, eff. 7-1-05.)

 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 
2008.