Public Act 098-0361
 
HB0490 EnrolledLRB098 03321 NHT 33336 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) This Section applies beginning on July 1, 2012.
    (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. No score on a test required under this Section, other
than a test of basic skills, shall be more than 5 years old at
the time that an individual makes application for an educator
license or endorsement.
    (c) Applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or
an Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass
a test of basic skills before the license is issued, unless the
endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage
of the test. All applicants completing Illinois-approved,
teacher education or school service personnel preparation
programs shall be required to pass the State Board of
Education's recognized test of basic skills prior to starting
their student teaching or starting the final semester of their
internship, unless required earlier at the discretion of the
recognized, Illinois institution in which they are completing
their approved program. No candidate may be fully admitted into
an educator preparation program at a recognized Illinois
institution until he or she has passed a test of basic skills.
An individual who passes a test of basic skills does not need
to do so again for subsequent endorsements or other educator
licenses.
    (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, serve as the teacher of record, or
begin an internship or residency required for licensure until
he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
    (e) All applicants seeking a State license endorsed in a
teaching field shall pass the assessment of professional
teaching (APT). Passage of the APT is required for completion
of an approved Illinois educator preparation program.
    (f) Beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates
completing teacher preparation programs in this State are
required to pass an evidence-based assessment of teacher
effectiveness approved by the State Board of Education, in
consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
Board. All recognized institutions offering approved teacher
preparation programs must begin phasing in the approved teacher
performance assessment no later than July 1, 2013.
    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
the assessment of professional teaching 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 areas to be covered by a
test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and
mathematics. 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
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. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)