Public Act 102-0301
 
SB0808 EnrolledLRB102 04616 CMG 14635 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  






 
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 
21B-30 as follows:
 

    (105 ILCS 5/21B-30)

 
  
    Sec. 21B-30. Educator testing.
    (a)  (Blank).
    (b)  The State Board of Education, in consultation with the 
State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall design 
and implement a system of examinations, which shall be 
required prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These 
examinations and indicators must be based on national and 
State professional teaching standards, as determined by the 
State Board of Education, in consultation with the State 
Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The State Board of 
Education may adopt such rules as may be necessary to 
implement and administer this Section.
    (c) (Blank).
    (c-5) The State Board must adopt rules to implement a 
paraprofessional competency test.  This test would allow an 
applicant seeking an Educator License with Stipulations with a 
paraprofessional educator endorsement to obtain the 
endorsement if he or she passes the test and meets the other 
requirements of subparagraph (J) of paragraph (2) of Section 
21B-20 other than the higher education requirements. 
    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be 
required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area 
of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There 
shall be no exception to this requirement.  No candidate shall 
be allowed to student teach or serve as the teacher of record 
until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
    (e) (Blank).
    (f) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, 
beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing 
teacher preparation programs in this State and all candidates 
subject to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required to pass a 
teacher performance assessment approved by the State Board of 
Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation 
and Licensure Board. A candidate may not be required to submit 
test materials by video submission. Subject to appropriation, 
an individual who holds a Professional Educator License and  is 
employed for a minimum of one school year by a school district 
designated as Tier 1 under Section 18-8.15 may, after  
application to the State Board, receive from the State Board a 
refund for any costs associated with completing the teacher 
performance assessment under this subsection. 
    (g) The content area knowledge test and the teacher 
performance assessment shall be the tests that from time to 
time are designated by the State Board of Education, in 
consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure 
Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing 
organization or tests designed by the State Board of 
Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation 
and Licensure Board. The test of content area knowledge shall 
assess content knowledge in a specific subject field. The 
tests must be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no 
person taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis 
of race, color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to 
the person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The 
score required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State 
Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator 
Preparation and Licensure Board. The tests shall be 
administered not fewer than 3 times a year at such time and 
place as may be designated by the State Board of Education, in 
consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure 
Board. 
    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess 
the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of 
applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under 
subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this 
Code in the English language and in the language of the 
transitional bilingual education program requested by the 
applicant. 
    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the 
provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school 
district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the 
testing requirements under this Section shall include without 
limitation provisions governing test selection, test 
validation and determination of a passing score, 
administration of the tests, frequency of administration, 
applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the 
years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special 
accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop 
such rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to 
year in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.

(Source: P.A. 100-596, eff. 7-1-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 
100-932, eff. 8-17-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-220, eff. 
8-7-19; 101-594, eff. 12-5-19.)
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.