August 24, 2018

To the Honorable Members of

The Illinois House of Representatives,

100th General Assembly:

Today I veto House Bill 4882, which would expand the Grow Your Own Teacher preparation program.

Illinois is facing an acute teacher shortage. Our administration has undertaken numerous steps to address the shortage, including signing HB5627 which changes teacher licensure requirements to make it easier for out-of-state, retired, and substitute teachers to become certified to teach in Illinois. The administration has also signed HB4742, HB5196, HB5754 and SB2658, all of which aim to address the teacher shortage by removing existing licensure barriers.

We must be rigorous in ensuring all teacher preparation programs are grounded in evidence, so that our taxpayers’ dollars fund programs only of the highest quality. This administration is unwilling to experiment with the future of Illinois’ children by sacrificing teacher excellence.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 4882, entitled “AN ACT concerning education”, with the forgoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.

Sincerely,

Bruce Rauner

GOVERNOR