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| Public Act 098-0038 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | ||||
21-5b and 21-5c as follows: | ||||
(105 ILCS 5/21-5b) | ||||
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2015) | ||||
Sec. 21-5b. Alternative certification. The State Board of | ||||
Education, in
consultation with the State Teacher | ||||
Certification Board, shall
establish and implement an | ||||
alternative certification program under which
persons who meet | ||||
the requirements of and successfully complete the program
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established by this Section shall be issued an alternative | ||||
teaching certificate
for teaching in the schools. The program | ||||
shall be
limited to not more than 260 new participants during | ||||
each year that the program
is in effect. The State Board of | ||||
Education, in cooperation with one or more not-for-profit | ||||
organizations in the State that support excellence in teaching, | ||||
which may be in partnership
with a university that offers | ||||
4-year baccalaureate and masters degree
programs and that is a | ||||
recognized institution as defined in Section 21B-105 of this | ||||
Code, may within
30 days after submission by the program | ||||
sponsor approve
a course of study developed by the program | ||||
sponsor that persons
in the program must successfully complete | ||
in order to satisfy one
criterion for issuance of an | ||
alternative certificate under this Section.
The Alternative | ||
Teacher Certification program course of study must include | ||
content and skills which have been approved by the State Board | ||
of Education,
in consultation with the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board, as meeting the requirement
for State | ||
teacher certification. | ||
The alternative certification program established under | ||
this Section shall be
known as the Alternative Teacher | ||
Certification program. The Alternative
Teacher Certification | ||
Program shall be offered by the submitting partnership,
and | ||
such partnership may be offered by one or more not-for-profit
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organizations in the State which support excellence in | ||
teaching. The program
shall be
comprised of the following 3 | ||
phases: (a) the first phase is the
course of study offered on | ||
an intensive basis in education theory,
instructional methods, | ||
and
practice
teaching; (b) the second phase is the person's | ||
assignment to a full-time
teaching position for one school | ||
year; and (c) the third phase is a
comprehensive assessment of | ||
the person's teaching performance by school
officials and the | ||
partnership participants
and a recommendation by the program | ||
sponsor to the
State Board of Education that the person be | ||
issued a standard alternative
teaching certificate. Successful | ||
completion of the Alternative Teacher
Certification program | ||
shall be deemed to satisfy any other
practice or student | ||
teaching and subject matter requirements established by
law. | ||
A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for | ||
one year of
teaching
in the common schools and not renewable, | ||
shall be issued under this Section
21-5b to persons who at the | ||
time of applying for the provisional alternative
teaching | ||
certificate under this Section: | ||
(1) have graduated from an accredited college or | ||
university with a
bachelor's degree; | ||
(2) have successfully completed the first phase of the | ||
Alternative Teacher
Certification program as provided in | ||
this Section; | ||
(3) have passed the tests of basic skills and subject | ||
matter knowledge
required by Section
21-1a; and | ||
(4) (i) have been employed for a period of at least 5 | ||
years in an area
requiring application of the individual's | ||
education or (ii) have attained at least a cumulative grade | ||
average of a "B" if the individual is assigned either to a | ||
school district that has not met the annual measurable | ||
objective for highly qualified teachers required by the | ||
Illinois Revised Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) Plan or to | ||
a school district whose data filed with the State Board of | ||
Education indicates that the district's poor and minority | ||
students are taught by teachers who are not highly | ||
qualified at a higher rate than other students; however, | ||
this item (4)
does not apply with respect to a provisional | ||
alternative teaching certificate
for
teaching in schools | ||
situated in a school district that is located in a city
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having a
population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants. | ||
Assignment may be made under clause (ii) of this item (4) | ||
only if the district superintendent and the exclusive | ||
bargaining representative of the district's teachers, if | ||
any, jointly agree to permit the assignment.
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A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate | ||
under this Section
shall be treated as a regularly certified | ||
teacher for purposes of compensation,
benefits, and other terms | ||
and conditions of employment afforded teachers in the
school | ||
who are members of a bargaining unit represented by an | ||
exclusive
bargaining representative, if any. | ||
Until February 15, 2000, a standard alternative teaching | ||
certificate,
valid for 4 years for teaching
in the schools and | ||
renewable as provided in
Section 21-14, shall be
issued under | ||
this Section 21-5b to persons who first complete the | ||
requirements
for the provisional alternative teaching | ||
certificate
and who at the time of applying for a standard | ||
alternative teaching certificate
under this Section have | ||
successfully completed the second and third phases of
the | ||
Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in this | ||
Section.
Alternatively, beginning February 15, 2000, at the end | ||
of the 4-year
validity
period,
persons who were issued a | ||
standard alternative teaching certificate shall be
eligible, | ||
on
the same basis as holders of an Initial Teaching Certificate | ||
issued under
subsection (b) of
Section 21-2 of this Code, to | ||
apply for a Standard Teaching Certificate,
provided they
meet | ||
the requirements of
subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code | ||
and further provided that a
person who
does not
apply for and | ||
receive a Standard Teaching Certificate shall be able to teach
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only in
schools situated in a school district that is located | ||
in a city having a
population in excess
of 500,000 inhabitants. | ||
Beginning February 15, 2000, persons who have completed the | ||
requirements for
a
standard alternative teaching certificate | ||
under this Section shall be issued an
Initial
Alternative | ||
Teaching Certificate valid for 4 years of teaching and not
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renewable. At the end of the 4-year validity period, these | ||
persons shall be
eligible, on the same
basis as
holders of an | ||
Initial Teaching Certificate issued under subsection (b) of
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Section 21-2 of
this Code, to apply for a Standard Teaching | ||
Certificate, provided they meet the
requirements of subsection | ||
(c) of Section 21-2. | ||
Such alternative certification program shall be | ||
implemented so that the first
provisional alternative teaching | ||
certificates issued under this Section are
effective upon the | ||
commencement of the 1997-1998 academic year and the first
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standard alternative teaching certificates issued under this | ||
Section are
effective upon the commencement of the 1998-1999 | ||
academic year. | ||
The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the | ||
partnership or partnerships
establishing such Alternative | ||
Teacher Certification programs, shall adopt rules
and | ||
regulations that are consistent with this Section and that the | ||
State Board
of Education deems necessary to establish and | ||
implement the program. | ||
No one may be admitted to an alternative certification | ||
program under this Section after September 1, 2013, and those | ||
candidates who are admitted on or before September 1, 2013 must | ||
complete the program before January 1, 2015, except that | ||
candidates admitted to an alternative certification program at | ||
Governors State University and participants in the Teacher | ||
Quality Partnership Grant program must be admitted on or before | ||
March 31, 2014, complete their coursework on or before August | ||
31, 2015, and be entitled to certification on or before | ||
September 31, 2015. The alternative certification program at | ||
Governors State University shall provide the State Board of | ||
Education with the names of the candidates who will be eligible | ||
for certification under this exception. | ||
This Section is repealed on January 1, 2016 2015. | ||
(Source: P.A. 96-862, eff. 1-15-10; 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; | ||
97-702, eff. 6-25-12.) | ||
(105 ILCS 5/21-5c) | ||
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2015) | ||
Sec. 21-5c. Alternative route to teacher certification. | ||
The State Board
of Education, in consultation with the State | ||
Teacher Certification Board, shall
establish and implement one | ||
or more alternative route to teacher certification programs
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under which persons who meet the requirements of and | ||
successfully complete the programs
established by this Section | ||
shall be issued an initial teaching
certificate for teaching in | ||
schools in this State.
The State Board of Education may
approve | ||
a course of study
that persons in such programs must | ||
successfully complete in order to
satisfy one criterion for | ||
issuance of a certificate under this Section. The
Alternative | ||
Route to Teacher Certification programs course of study must | ||
include
content and skills which have been approved by the | ||
State Board of
Education, in consultation with the State | ||
Teacher Certification Board, as meeting the
requirement for | ||
State teacher certification. | ||
Programs established under this Section shall be
known as | ||
Alternative Route to Teacher Certification programs. The | ||
programs
may be offered by a university that offers 4-year | ||
baccalaureate and masters degree programs and that is a | ||
recognized institution as defined in Section 21B-105 of this | ||
Code, by one or more not-for-profit
organizations in the State, | ||
or a combination thereof. The programs shall be comprised of | ||
the following 3
phases: (a) a
course of study offered on an | ||
intensive basis in education theory,
instructional methods, | ||
and
practice teaching; (b) the person's assignment to a | ||
full-time
teaching position for one school year, including the | ||
designation of a
mentor teacher to advise and assist the person | ||
with that
teaching assignment; and (c) a comprehensive | ||
assessment of the person's
teaching performance by school | ||
officials and program participants
and a recommendation by the | ||
program sponsor to the
State Board of Education that the person | ||
be issued an initial
teaching certificate. Successful | ||
completion of Alternative Route to
Teacher
Certification | ||
programs shall be deemed to satisfy any other
practice or | ||
student teaching and subject matter requirements established | ||
by
law. | ||
A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for | ||
one year of
teaching
in the common schools and not renewable, | ||
shall be issued under this Section
21-5c to persons who at the | ||
time of applying for the provisional alternative
teaching | ||
certificate under this Section: | ||
(1) have graduated from an accredited college or | ||
university with a
bachelor's degree; | ||
(2) have been employed for a period of at least 5 years | ||
in an area
requiring application of the individual's | ||
education; | ||
(3) have successfully completed the first phase of the | ||
Alternative Teacher
Certification program as provided in | ||
this Section; and | ||
(4) have passed the tests of basic skills and subject | ||
matter knowledge
required by Section 21-1a. | ||
An initial teaching certificate, valid for teaching
in the | ||
common schools,
shall be
issued under Section 21-3 or 21-5 to | ||
persons who first complete the
requirements
for the provisional | ||
alternative teaching certificate
and who at the time of | ||
applying for an initial teaching certificate
have successfully | ||
completed the second and third phases of
the Alternative Route | ||
to Teacher Certification program as provided in this
Section. | ||
A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate | ||
or an initial
teaching certificate earned under this Section
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shall be treated as a regularly certified teacher for purposes | ||
of compensation,
benefits, and other terms and conditions of | ||
employment afforded teachers in the
school who are members of a | ||
bargaining unit represented by an exclusive
bargaining | ||
representative, if any. | ||
The State Board of Education may adopt rules
and | ||
regulations that are consistent with this Section and that the | ||
State Board
deems necessary to establish and implement the | ||
program. | ||
No one may be admitted to an alternative certification | ||
program under this Section after September 1, 2013, and those | ||
candidates who are admitted on or before September 1, 2013 must | ||
complete the program before January 1, 2015, except that | ||
candidates admitted to an alternative certification program at | ||
Governors State University and participants in the Teacher | ||
Quality Partnership Grant program must be admitted on or before | ||
March 31, 2014, complete their coursework on or before August | ||
31, 2015, and be entitled to certification on or before | ||
September 31, 2015. The alternative certification program at | ||
Governors State University shall provide the State Board of | ||
Education with the names of the candidates who will be eligible | ||
for certification under this exception. | ||
This Section is repealed on January 1, 2016 2015. | ||
(Source: P.A. 96-862, eff. 1-15-10; 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; | ||
97-702, eff. 6-25-12.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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