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92_SB1954
LRB9215891NTpkA
1 AN ACT relating to 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 21-1a as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/21-1a) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-1a)
7 Sec. 21-1a. Tests required for certification.
8 (a) After July 1, 1988, in addition to all other
9 requirements, early childhood, elementary, special, high
10 school, school service personnel, or, except as provided in
11 Section 34-6, administrative certificates shall be issued to
12 persons who have satisfactorily passed a test of basic skills
13 and subject matter knowledge. The tests of basic skills and
14 subject matter knowledge shall be the tests which from time
15 to time are designated by the State Board of Education in
16 consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board and
17 may be tests prepared by an educational testing organization
18 or tests designed by the State Board of Education in
19 consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board. The
20 areas to be covered by the test of basic skills shall include
21 the basic skills of reading, writing, grammar and
22 mathematics. The test of subject matter knowledge shall
23 assess content knowledge in the specific subject field. The
24 tests shall be designed to be racially neutral to assure that
25 no person in taking the tests is thereby discriminated
26 against on the basis of race, color, national origin or other
27 factors unrelated to the person's ability to perform as a
28 certificated employee. The score required to pass the tests
29 of basic skills and subject matter knowledge shall be fixed
30 by the State Board of Education in consultation with the
31 State Teacher Certification Board. The tests shall be held
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1 not fewer than 3 times a year at such time and place as may
2 be designated by the State Board of Education in consultation
3 with the State Teacher Certification Board.
4 (b) Except as provided in Section 34-6, the provisions
5 of subsection (a) of this Section shall apply equally in any
6 school district subject to Article 34, provided that the
7 State Board of Education shall determine which certificates
8 issued under Sections 34-8.1 and 34-83 prior to July 1, 1988
9 are comparable to any early childhood certificate, elementary
10 school certificate, special certificate, high school
11 certificate, school service personnel certificate or
12 administrative certificate issued under this Article as of
13 July 1, 1988.
14 (c) A person who holds an early childhood, elementary,
15 special, high school or school service personnel certificate
16 issued under this Article on or at any time before July 1,
17 1988, including a person who has been issued any such
18 certificate pursuant to Section 21-11.1 or in exchange for a
19 comparable certificate theretofore issued under Section
20 34-8.1 or Section 34-83, shall not be required to take or
21 pass the tests in order to thereafter have such certificate
22 renewed.
23 (d) The State Board of Education in consultation with
24 the State Teacher Certification Board shall conduct a pilot
25 administration of the tests by administering the test to
26 students completing teacher education programs in the 1986-87
27 school year for the purpose of determining the effect and
28 impact of testing candidates for certification.
29 (e) The rules and regulations developed to implement the
30 required test of basic skills and subject matter knowledge
31 shall include the requirements of subsections (a), (b), and
32 (c) and shall include specific regulations to govern test
33 selection; test validation and determination of a passing
34 score; administration of the tests; frequency of
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1 administration; applicant fees; frequency of applicants'
2 taking the tests (which for a given test a teacher
3 certification applicant may not attempt passage more than 5
4 times, unless, on a case-by-case basis, the State Board of
5 Education determines that an applicant has proven that he or
6 she has enhanced his or her ability to pass the test by
7 having taken more higher education classes or professional
8 development classes or by having completed other criteria as
9 set by the State Board of Education, in which case the
10 applicant may attempt passage of the test one more time); the
11 years for which a score is valid; and, waiving certain
12 additional tests for additional certificates to individuals
13 who have satisfactorily passed the test of basic skills and
14 subject matter knowledge as required in subsection (a). The
15 State Board of Education shall provide, by rule, specific
16 policies that assure uniformity in the difficulty level of
17 each form of the basic skills test and each subject matter
18 knowledge test from test-to-test and year-to-year. The State
19 Board of Education shall also set a passing score for the
20 tests.
21 (f) The State Teacher Certification Board may issue a
22 nonrenewable temporary certificate between July 1, 1988 and
23 August 31, 1988 to individuals who have taken the tests of
24 basic skills and subject matter knowledge prescribed by this
25 Section but have not received such test scores by August 31,
26 1988. Such temporary certificates shall expire on December
27 31, 1988.
28 (g) Beginning February 15, 2000, the State Board of
29 Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
30 Certification Board, shall implement and administer a new
31 system of certification for teachers in the State of
32 Illinois. The State Board of Education, in consultation with
33 the State Teacher Certification Board, shall design and
34 implement a system of examinations and various other criteria
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1 which shall be required prior to the issuance of Initial
2 Teaching Certificates and Standard Teaching Certificates.
3 These examinations and indicators shall be based on national
4 and State professional teaching standards, as determined by
5 the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
6 Teacher Certification Board. The State Board of Education may
7 adopt any and all regulations necessary to implement and
8 administer this Section.
9 (h) The State Board of Education shall report to the
10 Illinois General Assembly and the Governor with
11 recommendations for further changes and improvements to the
12 teacher certification system no later than July 1, 1999 and
13 on an annual basis until July 1, 2001.
14 (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 90-811, eff. 1-26-99;
15 91-102, eff. 7-12-99.)
16 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
17 June 30, 2002.