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92_SB1984
LRB9216032NTpk
1 AN ACT concerning teacher quality.
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 21-1 as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/21-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-1)
7 Sec. 21-1. Teacher qualifications Qualification of
8 teachers. No one may be certified to teach or supervise in
9 the public schools of this State who is not of good
10 character, good health, a citizen of the United States or
11 legally present and authorized for employment, and at least
12 19 years of age. If the holder of a certificate under this
13 Section is not a citizen of the United States 6 years after
14 the date of the issuance of the original certificate, any
15 certificate held by such person on that date shall be
16 cancelled by the board of education and no other certificate
17 to teach shall be issued to such person until such person is
18 a citizen of the United States.
19 Citizenship is not required for the issuance of a
20 temporary part-time certificate to participants in approved
21 training programs for exchange students as described in
22 Section 21-10.2. A certificate issued under this plan shall
23 expire on June 30 following the date of issue. One renewal
24 for one year is authorized if the holder remains as an
25 official participant in an approved exchange program.
26 In determining good character under this Section, any
27 felony conviction of the applicant may be taken into
28 consideration, but such a conviction shall not operate as a
29 bar to registration.
30 No person otherwise qualified shall be denied the right
31 to be certified, to receive training for the purpose of
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1 becoming a teacher or to engage in practice teaching in any
2 school because of a physical disability including but not
3 limited to visual and hearing disabilities; nor shall any
4 school district refuse to employ a teacher on such grounds,
5 provided that the person is able to carry out the duties of
6 the position for which he applies.
7 No person may be granted or continue to hold a teaching
8 certificate who has knowingly altered or misrepresented his
9 or her teaching qualifications in order to acquire the
10 certificate. Any other certificate held by such person may
11 be suspended or revoked by the State Teacher Certification
12 Board, depending upon the severity of the alteration or
13 misrepresentation.
14 No one may teach or supervise in the public schools nor
15 receive for teaching or supervising any part of any public
16 school fund, who does not hold a certificate of qualification
17 granted by the State Board of Education or by the State
18 Teacher Certification Board and a regional superintendent of
19 schools as hereinafter provided, or by the board of education
20 of a city having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants
21 except as provided in Section 34-6 and in Section 10-22.34 or
22 Section 10-22.34b. However, the provisions of this Article do
23 not apply to a member of the armed forces who is employed as
24 a teacher of subjects in the Reserve Officer's Training Corps
25 of any school. Sections 21-2 through 21-24 do not apply to
26 cities having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants,
27 until July 1, 1988.
28 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the
29 board of education of any school district may grant to a
30 teacher of the district a leave of absence with full pay for
31 a period of not more than one year to permit such teacher to
32 teach in a foreign state under the provisions of the Exchange
33 Teacher Program established under Public Law 584, 79th
34 Congress, and Public Law 402, 80th Congress, as amended. The
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1 school board granting such leave of absence may employ with
2 or without pay a national of the foreign state wherein the
3 teacher on leave of absence will teach, if the national is
4 qualified to teach in that foreign state, and if that
5 national will teach in a grade level similar to the one which
6 was taught in such foreign state. The State Board of
7 Education shall promulgate and enforce such reasonable rules
8 as may be necessary to effectuate this paragraph.
9 (Source: P.A. 88-189; 89-159, eff. 1-1-96; 89-397, eff.
10 8-20-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)