[ Search ] [ PDF text ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
92_SB0973
LRB9203657NTsb
1 AN ACT concerning education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
5 Section 21-5b as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/21-5b)
7 Sec. 21-5b. Alternative certification. The State Board
8 of Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
9 Certification Board, shall establish and implement an
10 alternative certification program under which persons who
11 meet the requirements of and successfully complete the
12 program established by this Section shall be issued an
13 alternative teaching certificate for teaching in the schools.
14 The program shall be limited to not more than 500 260 new
15 participants during each year that the program is in effect.
16 The State Board of Education, in cooperation with a
17 partnership formed with a university that offers 4-year
18 baccalaureate and masters degree programs and that is a
19 recognized institution as defined in Section 21-21 and one or
20 more not-for-profit organizations in the State which support
21 excellence in teaching, shall within 30 days after submission
22 by the partnership approve a course of study developed by the
23 partnership that persons in the program must successfully
24 complete in order to satisfy one criterion for issuance of an
25 alternative certificate under this Section. The Alternative
26 Teacher Certification program course of study must include
27 the current content and skills contained in the university's
28 current courses for State certification which have been
29 approved by the State Board of Education, in consultation
30 with the State Teacher Certification Board, as the
31 requirement for State teacher certification.
-2- LRB9203657NTsb
1 The alternative certification program established under
2 this Section shall be known as the Alternative Teacher
3 Certification program. The Alternative Teacher Certification
4 Program shall be offered by the submitting partnership and
5 may be offered in conjunction with one or more not-for-profit
6 organizations in the State which support excellence in
7 teaching. The program shall be comprised of the following 3
8 phases: (a) the first phase is the course of study offered on
9 an intensive basis in education theory, instructional
10 methods, and practice teaching; (b) the second phase is the
11 person's assignment to a full-time teaching position for one
12 school year; and (c) the third phase is a comprehensive
13 assessment of the person's teaching performance by school
14 officials and the partnership participants and a
15 recommendation by the partner institution of higher education
16 to the State Board of Education that the person be issued a
17 standard alternative teaching certificate. Successful
18 completion of the Alternative Teacher Certification program
19 shall be deemed to satisfy any other practice or student
20 teaching and subject matter requirements established by law.
21 A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
22 one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
23 shall be issued under this Section 21-5b to persons who at
24 the time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
25 certificate under this Section:
26 (1) have graduated from an accredited college or
27 university with a bachelor's degree;
28 (2) have successfully completed the first phase of
29 the Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided
30 in this Section;
31 (3) have passed the tests of basic skills and
32 subject matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a; and
33 (4) have been employed for a period of at least 5
34 years in an area requiring application of the
-3- LRB9203657NTsb
1 individual's education; however, this requirement does
2 not apply with respect to a provisional alternative
3 teaching certificate for teaching in schools situated in
4 a school district that is located in a city having a
5 population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
6 A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
7 under this Section shall be treated as a regularly certified
8 teacher for purposes of compensation, benefits, and other
9 terms and conditions of employment afforded teachers in the
10 school who are members of a bargaining unit represented by an
11 exclusive bargaining representative, if any.
12 Until February 15, 2000, a standard alternative teaching
13 certificate, valid for 4 years for teaching in the schools
14 and renewable as provided in Section 21-14, shall be issued
15 under this Section 21-5b to persons who first complete the
16 requirements for the provisional alternative teaching
17 certificate and who at the time of applying for a standard
18 alternative teaching certificate under this Section have
19 successfully completed the second and third phases of the
20 Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in this
21 Section. Alternatively, beginning February 15, 2000, at the
22 end of the 4-year validity period, persons who were issued a
23 standard alternative teaching certificate shall be eligible,
24 on the same basis as holders of an Initial Teaching
25 Certificate issued under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of
26 this Code, to apply for a Standard Teaching Certificate,
27 provided they meet the requirements of subsection (c) of
28 Section 21-2 of this Code and further provided that a person
29 who does not apply for and receive a Standard Teaching
30 Certificate shall be able to teach only in schools situated
31 in a school district that is located in a city having a
32 population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
33 Beginning February 15, 2000, persons who have completed
34 the requirements for a standard alternative teaching
-4- LRB9203657NTsb
1 certificate under this Section shall be issued an Initial
2 Alternative Teaching Certificate valid for 4 years of
3 teaching and not renewable. At the end of the 4-year
4 validity period, these persons shall be eligible, on the same
5 basis as holders of an Initial Teaching Certificate issued
6 under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of this Code, to apply
7 for a Standard Teaching Certificate, provided they meet the
8 requirements of subsection (c) of Section 21-2.
9 This alternative certification program shall be
10 implemented so that the first provisional alternative
11 teaching certificates issued under this Section are effective
12 upon the commencement of the 1997-1998 academic year and the
13 first standard alternative teaching certificates issued under
14 this Section are effective upon the commencement of the
15 1998-1999 academic year.
16 The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the
17 partnership establishing the Alternative Teacher
18 Certification program, shall adopt rules and regulations that
19 are consistent with this Section and that the State Board of
20 Education deems necessary to establish and implement the
21 program.
22 (Source: P.A. 91-609, eff. 1-1-00.)