Public Act 096-0144
 		





HB0392 Enrolled
LRB096 07692 NHT 17793 b






    AN ACT concerning education.

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


 
    Section 5. The Grow
  Your Own Teacher Education Act is 
amended  by changing Sections 5, 10, 20, and 25 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 48/5)

    Sec. 5. Purpose.  The Grow Your Own Teacher preparation
  
programs established under this Act shall comprise a major new
  
statewide initiative, known as the Grow Your Own Teacher
  
Education Initiative, to prepare highly skilled, committed
  
teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools and
  
hard-to-staff teaching positions and who will remain in these
  
schools for substantial periods of time.
    
      The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall
  
effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders
  
and paraeducators to become effective teachers statewide in 
hard-to-staff schools serving a substantial percentage of 
low-income students and
  hard-to-staff teaching positions in 
schools
  serving a substantial percentage of low-income 
students.
  Further, the Initiative shall increase the diversity 
of
  teachers, including diversity based on race and , ethnicity, 
and
  disability.
      
    The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall ensure
  
educational rigor by effectively preparing candidates in
  
accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching, through
  
which graduates shall meet the requirements to secure an
  
Illinois initial teaching certificate.
  
    The goal of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative 
is to add 1,000 teachers to low-income, hard-to-staff Illinois 
schools by 2016 with an average retention period of 7 years, as 
opposed to the current rate of 2.5 years for new teachers in 
such areas.


(Source: P.A. 94-979, eff. 6-30-06; 95-476, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (110 ILCS 48/10)

    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Accredited teacher preparation program" means a State or
  
regionally accredited, Illinois approved teacher education 
higher education program authorized to
  prepare individuals to 
fulfill all of the requirements to
  receive an Illinois initial 
teaching certificate.
    "Cohort" means a group of teacher education candidates who 
are enrolled in and share experiences in the same program and 
are linked by their desire to become Illinois teachers in 
hard-to-staff schools and by their need for the services and 
supports offered by the Initiative.
    "Community organization" means a nonprofit organization 
that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and 
organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that 
will hold the school and the school district accountable for 
achieving high academic standards; in addition to 
organizations with a geographic focus, "community 
organization" includes general parent organizations, 
organizations of special education or bilingual education 
parents, and school employee unions. 
    "Developmental classes" means classes in basic skill 
areas, such as mathematics and language arts that are 
prerequisite to, but not counted towards, degree requirements 
of a teacher preparation program.

    "Eligible school" means a public elementary, middle, or 
secondary school in this State that serves a substantial 
percentage of low-income students and that is either hard to 
staff or has hard-to-staff teaching positions.

    "Hard-to-staff school" means a public elementary, middle, 
or secondary school in this State that, based on data compiled 
by the State Board of Education, serves a substantial 
percentage of low-income students, as defined by the State 
Board
  ranks in the upper third among public schools of its type 
(elementary, middle, or secondary) in terms of rate of 
attrition of its teachers.
    "Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching
  
category (such as special education, bilingual education, 
mathematics, or science)
  in which statewide data compiled by 
the State Board of Education
  indicates a multi-year pattern of 
substantial
  teacher shortage or that has been identified as a 
critical need by the local school board.
      
    "Initiative" means the Grow Your Own Teacher Education
  
Initiative created under this Act.

    "Paraeducator" "Paraeducators" means an individual 
individuals with a history of
  demonstrated accomplishments in 
school staff positions (such
  as teacher assistants, 
school-community liaisons, school
  clerks, and security aides) 
in schools that meet the definition of a hard-to-staff school 
under this Section serving a substantial
  percentage of 
low-income students.
      
    "Parent and community leader leaders" means an individual 
who has or had a child enrolled in a school or schools that 
meet the definition of a hard-to-staff school under this 
Section and who has a history of active involvement in the 
school or who has individuals with a history of working to 
improve schools serving a
  substantial percentage of low-income 
students, including membership in a community organization.
    "Community organization" means a nonprofit organization 
that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and 
organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that 
will hold the school and the school district accountable for 
achieving high academic standards; in addition to 
organizations with a geographic focus, "community 
organization" includes general parent organizations, 
organizations of special education or bilingual education 
parents, and school employee unions.

    "Program" means a Grow Your  Own Teacher preparation program
  
established by a consortium under this Act.
      
    "Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
  
students" means  schools that maintain any of grades 
pre-kindergarten through 8, in which at least 35% of the 
students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches 
and schools that maintain any of grades 9 through 12, in which 
at least 25% of the students are eligible to receive free or 
reduced price lunches.
    "State Board" means the State Board of Education.


(Source: P.A. 94-979, eff. 6-30-06; 95-476, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (110 ILCS 48/20)

    Sec. 20. Selection of grantees. The State Board shall award 
grants to qualified consortia that reflect the distribution and 
diversity of hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff positions 
across this State. In awarding grants, the State Board shall 
select programs that successfully address Initiative criteria 
and that reflect a diversity of strategies in terms of serving 
urban areas, serving rural areas, the nature of the 
participating institutions of higher education, and the nature 
of hard-to-staff schools and
hard-to-staff teaching positions 
on which a program is focused.
     
    The State Board shall select consortia that meet the 
following requirements:
          
        (1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one 
    4-year institution of higher education with an Illinois 
    approved accredited teacher preparation program, at least 
    one school district or group of schools, and one or more 
    community organizations. The consortium membership may 
    also include a 2-year institution of higher education, or a 
    school employee union, or a regional office of education or 
    both.
         
        (2) The 4-year institution of higher education 
    participating in the consortium shall have past, 
    demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary 
    or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of 
    low-income students.
        (3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined set 
    of eligible schools that will participate in the program. 
    The consortium shall articulate the steps that it will 
    carry out in preparing teachers for its participating


    schools and in preparing teachers for one or more 
    hard-to-staff teaching positions in those

schools.
        (4) A candidate in a program under the Initiative must 
    hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, and must meet 
    either the definition of "parent and community leader 
    leaders" or the definition of "paraeducator" 
    "paraeducators" contained in Section 10 of this Act, must 
    not have attended college right after high school or must 
    have experienced an interruption in his or her college 
    education, and does not hold a bachelor's degree.
        (5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures 
    for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare 
    highly competent teachers. Professional preparation shall 
    include on-going direct experience in target schools and 
    evaluation of this experience.
        (6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts 
    of candidates, as defined in Section 10 of this Act, who 
    begin by moving through the program together. The program 
    shall be offered on a schedule that enables candidates to 
    work full time while participating in the program and 
    allows paraeducators to continue in their current 
    positions. In any fiscal year in which an appropriation for 
    the Initiative is made, the

consortium shall guarantee that 
    support will be available to an admitted cohort for the 
    cohort's education training for that fiscal year. At the 
    beginning of the Initiative, programs that are already 
    operating and existing cohorts of candidates under this 
    model shall be eligible for funding.
        (7) The institutions of higher education participating 
    in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the 
    same amount of funds in implementing the program that these 
    institutions spend per student on similar educational 
    programs. Grants received by the consortium shall 
    supplement and not supplant these amounts.
        (8) The State Board shall establish additional 
    criteria for review of proposals, including criteria that 
    address the following issues:
            (A) Previous experience of the institutions of 
        higher education in preparing candidates for 
        hard-to-staff schools and positions and in working 
        with students with non-traditional backgrounds.
            (B) The quality of the implementation plan, 
        including strategies for overcoming institutional 
        barriers to the progress of non-traditional 
        candidates.
            (C) If a community college is a participant, the 
        nature and extent of existing articulation agreements 
        and guarantees between the community college and the 
        4-year institution of higher education.
            (D) The number of candidates to be educated trained 
        in the planned cohort or cohorts and the capacity of 
        the consortium for adding cohorts in future cycles.
            (E) Experience of the community organization or 
        organizations in organizing parents and community 
        leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong 
        relational school culture.
            (F) The qualifications of the person or persons 
        designated by the 4-year institution of higher 
        education to be responsible for cohort support and the 
        development of a shared learning and social 
        environment among candidates.
            (G) The consortium's plan for collective 
        consortium decision-making, involving all consortium 
        members, including mechanisms for community and 
        candidate input.
            (H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of the 
        program on the quality of education in the eligible 
        schools.
            (I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs of 
        the eligible schools and positions, and the use in 
        curriculum and instructional planning of principles 
        for effective education for adults.
            (J) The availability of classes under the program 
        in places and times accessible to the candidates.
            (K) Provision of a level of performance to be 
        maintained by candidates as a condition of continuing 
        in the program.
            (L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher 
        education to ensure that candidates take advantage of 
        existing financial aid resources before using the loan 
        funds described in Section 25 of this Act.
            (M) The availability of supportive services, 
        including, but not limited to, counseling, tutoring, 
        transportation, technology and technology support, and 
        child care.
            (N) A plan for continued participation of 
        graduates of the program in a program of support for at 
        least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings.
            (O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation 
        of candidates' teaching skills that ensures that 
        graduates of the program are as prepared for teaching 
        as other individuals completing the institution of 
        higher education's preparation program for the 
        certificate sought.
            (P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides 
        reports at least yearly on the progress of candidates 
        towards graduation and the impact of the program on the 
        target schools and their communities.
            (Q) Contributions from schools, school districts, 
        and other consortia members to the program, including 
        stipends for candidates during their student teaching.
            (R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the 
        program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced 
        requirements for external funding, in subsequent 
        cycles.

            (S) The inclusion in the planned program of 
        strategies derived from community organizing that will 
        help candidates develop tools for working with parents 
        and other community members.

(Source: P.A. 94-979, eff. 6-30-06; 95-476, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (110 ILCS 48/25)

    Sec. 25. Expenditures under the Initiative. 
    (a) Every program under the Initiative shall implement a 
program of forgivable loans to cover any portion of tuition, 
books, and fees and direct expenses of candidates under the 
program in excess of the candidates' grants-in-aid and other 
forgivable loans received. All students admitted to a cohort 
shall be eligible for a forgivable student loan such loans. 
Loans shall be fully forgiven if a graduate completes 5 years 
of service in hard-to-staff schools

or hard-to-staff teaching 
positions, with partial forgiveness for shorter periods of 
service. The State Board shall establish standards for the 
approval of requests for waivers or deferrals from individuals 
to waive of this obligation for individual candidates.  The 
State Board shall also define standards for the fiscal 
management of these loan funds. 
    (b) The State Board shall award grants Grants under the 
Initiative shall be awarded in such a way as to provide the 
required support for a cohort of candidates for any fiscal year 
in which an appropriation for the Initiative is made. Program 
budgets must show expenditures and needed funds for the entire 
period that candidates are expected to be enrolled.
    (c) No funds under the Initiative may be used to supplant 
the average per-capita expenditures by the institution of 
higher education for candidates.
    (d) Where necessary, program budgets shall include the 
costs of child care and other indirect expenses, such as 
transportation, tutoring, technology, and technology support, 
that are necessary to permit candidates to maintain their class 
schedules. Grant funds may be used by any member of a 
consortium to offset such costs, and the services may be , 
whether the needed services are provided by the community 
organization or organizations, by any other are provided by  
another member of the consortium, or by independent contractors 
are independently contracted for.
    (e) The institution of higher education may expend grant 
funds to cover the additional costs of offering classes in 
community settings and for tutoring services.
    (f) The community organization or organizations may 
receive a portion of the grant money for the expenses of 
recruitment, community orientation, and counseling of 
potential candidates, for providing space in the community, and 
for working with school personnel to facilitate individual work 
experiences and support of candidates.
    (g) The school district or school employee union or both 
may receive a portion of the grant money for expenses of 
supporting the work experiences of candidates and providing 
mentors for graduates.
Notwithstanding the provisions of 
Section 10-20.15 of the School Code, school districts may also 
use these or other applicable public funds to pay participants 
in programs under the Initiative for student teaching required 
by an accredited teacher preparation program.
    (h) One or more members member of the consortium may expend 
funds to cover the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator.
    (i) Grant funds may also be expended to pay directly for 
required developmental classes for candidates beginning a 
program.


(Source: P.A. 94-979, eff. 6-30-06; 95-476, eff. 1-1-08.)
 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.