Public Act 098-0581
 
SB2199 EnrolledLRB098 06402 NHT 36444 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 Sections
21B-30 and 21B-35 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, unless the endorsement the individual
is seeking does not require passage of the test.
    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 or , 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.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/21B-35)
    Sec. 21B-35. Minimum requirements for educators trained in
other states or countries.
    (a) All out-of-state applicants applying for a
Professional Educator License must meet all of the following
requirements:
        (1) Have completed a comparable state-approved
    education program, as defined by the State Superintendent
    of Education.
        (2) Have a degree from a regionally accredited
    institution of higher education and the degreed major or a
    constructed major must directly correspond to the license
    or endorsement sought.
        (3) Except for school service personnel prepared by
    out-of-state programs, have Have completed a minimum of one
    course in the methods of instruction of the exceptional
    child. School service personnel prepared by out-of-state
    programs shall meet the same requirements concerning
    courses in the methods of instruction of the exceptional
    child as in-State candidates in school service personnel
    areas, as defined by rules.
        (4) Except for school service personnel prepared by
    out-of-state programs, have Have completed a minimum of 6
    semester hours of coursework in methods of reading and
    reading in the content area. School service personnel
    prepared by out-of-state programs shall meet the same
    requirements concerning coursework in methods of reading
    and reading in the content area as in-State candidates in
    school service personnel areas, as defined by rules.
        (5) Except for school service personnel prepared by
    out-of-state programs, have Have completed a minimum of one
    course in instructional strategies for English language
    learners. School service personnel prepared by
    out-of-state programs shall meet the same requirements
    concerning courses in instructional strategies for English
    language learners as in-State candidates in school service
    personnel areas, as defined by rules.
        (6) Have successfully met all Illinois examination
    requirements.
        (7) Have completed student teaching or an equivalent
    experience.
    If one or more of the criteria in subsection (a) of this
Section are not met, then out-of-state applicants who hold a
valid, comparable certificate from another state and have
passed a test of basic skills and content area test, as
required by Section 21B-20 of this Code, may qualify for a
provisional educator endorsement on an Educator License with
Stipulations, in accordance with Section 21B-20 of this Code,
with the exception that an individual shall not serve as a
principal or assistant principal while holding the provisional
educator endorsement.
    (b) In order to receive a Professional Educator License,
applicants trained in another country must meet all of the
following requirements:
        (1) Have completed a comparable education program in
    another country.
        (2) Have had transcripts evaluated by an evaluation
    service approved by the State Superintendent of Education.
        (3) Hold a degreed major that must directly correspond
    to the license or endorsement sought.
        (4) Have completed a minimum of one course in the
    methods of instruction of the exceptional child.
        (5) Have completed a minimum of 6 semester hours of
    coursework in methods of reading and reading in the content
    area.
        (6) Have completed a minimum of one course in
    instructional strategies for English language learners.
        (7) Have successfully met all State licensure
    examination requirements.
        (8) Have completed student teaching or an equivalent
    experience.
    If one or more of these criteria are not met, then an
applicant trained in another country who has passed a test of
basic skills and content area test, as required by Section
21B-20 of this Code, may qualify for a provisional educator
endorsement on an Educator License with Stipulations, with the
exception that an individual shall not serve as a principal or
assistant principal while holding the provisional educator
endorsement.
    (c) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, may adopt such
rules as may be necessary to implement this Section.
(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.