101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5541

 

Introduced , by Rep. Tony McCombie

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 48/10
110 ILCS 48/13-1 new
110 ILCS 48/35
110 ILCS 48/90
110 ILCS 48/13 rep.

    Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. Transfers the powers and duties under the Act from the Board of Higher Education to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Replaces the requirement that the Board of Higher Education must contract annually for an independent evaluation of program implementation with the requirement that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission monitor and evaluate the implementation of the program. Provides that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission may elect to contract for an independent evaluation with an outside entity.


LRB101 19091 CMG 68551 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5541LRB101 19091 CMG 68551 b

1    AN ACT concerning higher education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is
5amended by changing Sections 10, 35, and 90 and by adding
6Section 13-1 as follows:
 
7    (110 ILCS 48/10)
8    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
9    "Accredited teacher preparation program" means a
10regionally accredited, Illinois approved teacher education
11program authorized to prepare individuals to fulfill all of the
12requirements to receive an Illinois initial teaching
13certificate.
14    "Cohort" means a group of teacher education candidates who
15are enrolled in and share experiences in the same program and
16are linked by their desire to become Illinois teachers in
17hard-to-staff schools and by their need for the services and
18supports offered by the Initiative. A cohort may include a high
19school student enrolled in a dual credit course offered by a
20participating institution of higher education.
21    "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
22Commission.
23    "Community organization" means a nonprofit organization

 

 

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1that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and
2organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that
3will hold the school and the school district accountable for
4achieving high academic standards; in addition to
5organizations with a geographic focus, "community
6organization" includes general parent organizations,
7organizations of special education or bilingual education
8parents, and school employee unions.
9    "Developmental classes" means classes in basic skill
10areas, such as mathematics and language arts that are
11prerequisite to, but not counted towards, degree requirements
12of a teacher preparation program.
13    "Dual credit course" has the meaning given to that term
14under the Dual Credit Quality Act.
15    "Eligible school" means an early childhood program
16licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services in
17which no less than 40% of the children it serves are receiving
18subsidized care under the Department of Human Services' Child
19Care Assistance Program, a Head Start or Early Head Start
20Program, a Preschool for All Program, or a prevention
21initiative or a public elementary, middle, or secondary school
22in this State that serves a substantial percentage of
23low-income students and that is either hard to staff or has
24hard-to-staff teaching positions.
25    "Hard-to-staff school" means an early childhood program
26licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services in

 

 

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1which no less than 40% of the children it serves are receiving
2subsidized care under the Department of Human Services' Child
3Care Assistance Program, a Head Start or Early Head Start
4Program, a Preschool for All Program, or a prevention
5initiative or a public elementary, middle, or secondary school
6in this State that, based on data compiled by the State Board
7of Education in conjunction with the Board of Higher Education,
8serves a substantial percentage of low-income students, as
9defined by the Board of Higher Education.
10    "Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching
11category (such as special education, bilingual education,
12mathematics, or science) in which statewide data compiled by
13the State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board of
14Higher Education indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial
15teacher shortage or that has been identified as a critical need
16by the local school board.
17    "Initiative" means the Grow Your Own Teacher Education
18Initiative created under this Act.
19    "Para educator" means an individual with a history of
20demonstrated accomplishments in school staff positions (such
21as teacher assistants, school-community liaisons, school
22clerks, and security aides) in schools that meet the definition
23of a hard-to-staff school under this Section.
24    "Parent and community leader" means an individual who has
25or had a child enrolled in a school or schools that meet the
26definition of a hard-to-staff school under this Section and who

 

 

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1has a history of active involvement in the school or who has a
2history of working to improve schools serving a substantial
3percentage of low-income students, including membership in a
4community organization.
5    "Program" means a Grow Your Own Teacher preparation program
6established by a consortium under this Act.
7    "Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
8students" means schools that maintain any of grades
9pre-kindergarten through 8, in which at least 35% of the
10students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches
11and schools that maintain any of grades 9 through 12, in which
12at least 25% of the students are eligible to receive free or
13reduced price lunches.
14(Source: P.A. 101-122, eff. 7-26-19.)
 
15    (110 ILCS 48/13-1 new)
16    Sec. 13-1. Transfer of powers and duties to Illinois
17Student Assistance Commission. On July 1, 2020, all powers and
18duties of the Board of Higher Education under this Act are to
19be transferred to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.
20The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Student
21Assistance Commission shall assist in transferring these
22duties; however, no rules shall be adopted regarding candidate
23eligibility that are more restrictive than Section 20.
 
24    (110 ILCS 48/35)

 

 

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1    Sec. 35. Annual Independent program evaluation.
2    (a) Annually, at a time determined by the Commission in
3consultation with Grow Your Own Illinois (GYO-IL), GYO-IL shall
4submit a report to assist the Commission in monitoring
5GYO-IL's, and each of its participating consortia, performance
6and grant activities. The report shall describe the following:
7        (1) GYO-IL's anticipated expenditures for the next
8    fiscal year;
9        (2) the number of qualified students receiving grant
10    assistance at each institution of higher learning during
11    the previous fiscal year;
12        (3) the total monetary value of grant funds paid to
13    each institution of higher learning at which a qualified
14    student was enrolled during the previous fiscal year;
15        (4) the number of grant recipients who completed a
16    baccalaureate degree during the previous fiscal year;
17        (5) the number of grant recipients who fulfilled their
18    teaching obligation by completing 5 years of service in
19    hard-to-staff schools or hard-to-staff teaching positions
20    during the previous fiscal year;
21        (6) the number of grant recipients who failed to
22    fulfill their teaching obligation during the previous
23    fiscal year;
24        (7) the number of grant recipients granted a waiver or
25    deferral to waive the 5 years of service requirement
26    described in subsection (a) of Section 25 during the

 

 

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1    previous fiscal year; and
2        (8) other information that the Commission may
3    reasonably request.
4    (b) The Commission may elect to contract for an independent
5evaluation of program implementation with an outside entity if
6the Commission so chooses. The independent evaluation must
7consider and collect all of the information outlined in this
8Section.
9    (c) The Auditor General shall prepare an annual audit of
10the operations and finances of the Grow Your Own Illinois and
11each consortium that received any State funds in the previous
12fiscal year. This audit shall be provided to the Governor, the
13General Assembly, and the Commission.
14The Board of Higher Education shall contract for an independent
15evaluation of program implementation by each of its
16participating consortia and of the impact of each program,
17including the extent of candidate persistence in program
18enrollment, acceptance as an education major in a 4-year
19institution of higher education, completion of a bachelor's
20degree in teaching, obtaining a teaching position in a target
21school or similar school, subsequent effectiveness as a
22teacher, and persistence in teaching in a target school or
23similar school. The evaluation shall assess the Initiative's
24overall effectiveness and shall identify particular program
25strategies that are especially effective.
26(Source: P.A. 98-1036, eff. 1-1-15.)
 

 

 

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1    (110 ILCS 48/90)
2    Sec. 90. Rules. The Commission Board of Higher Education
3may adopt any rules necessary to carry out its responsibilities
4under this Act.
5(Source: P.A. 98-1036, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
6    (110 ILCS 48/13 rep.)
7    Section 10. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is
8amended by repealing Section 13.