Sen. Tom Bennett

Filed: 3/8/2023

 

 


 

 


 
10300SB1488sam001LRB103 27722 RJT 57802 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1488

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1488 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
521B-30 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/21B-30)
7    Sec. 21B-30. Educator testing.
8    (a) (Blank).
9    (b) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
10State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall design
11and implement a system of examinations, which shall be
12required prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These
13examinations and indicators must be based on national and
14State professional teaching standards, as determined by the
15State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
16Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The State Board of

 

 

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1Education may adopt such rules as may be necessary to
2implement and administer this Section.
3    (c) (Blank).
4    (c-5) The State Board must adopt rules to implement a
5paraprofessional competency test. This test would allow an
6applicant seeking an Educator License with Stipulations with a
7paraprofessional educator endorsement to obtain the
8endorsement if he or she passes the test and meets the other
9requirements of subparagraph (J) of paragraph (2) of Section
1021B-20 other than the higher education requirements.
11    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
12required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
13of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
14shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
15be allowed to student teach or serve as the teacher of record
16until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
17    (e) (Blank).
18    (f) Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
19beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing
20teacher preparation programs in this State and all candidates
21subject to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required to pass an
22evidence-based a teacher performance assessment approved by
23the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
24Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. Each teacher
25preparation program in this State may use any evidence-based
26assessment of teacher effectiveness that aligns to current

 

 

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1State teaching standards in order for a candidate to meet the
2requirements of this subsection (f). A candidate may not be
3required to submit test materials by video submission. Subject
4to appropriation, an individual who holds a Professional
5Educator License and is employed for a minimum of one school
6year by a school district designated as Tier 1 under Section
718-8.15 may, after application to the State Board, receive
8from the State Board a refund for any costs associated with
9completing the teacher performance assessment under this
10subsection.
11    (g) The content area knowledge test and the teacher
12performance assessment shall be the tests that from time to
13time are designated by the State Board of Education, in
14consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
15Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing
16organization or tests designed by the State Board of
17Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
18and Licensure Board. The test of content area knowledge shall
19assess content knowledge in a specific subject field. The
20tests must be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no
21person taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis
22of race, color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to
23the person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The
24score required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State
25Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
26Preparation and Licensure Board. The tests shall be

 

 

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1administered not fewer than 3 times a year at such time and
2place as may be designated by the State Board of Education, in
3consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
4Board.
5    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
6the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
7applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
8subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this
9Code in the English language and in the language of the
10transitional bilingual education program requested by the
11applicant.
12    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
13provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
14district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
15    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
16testing requirements under this Section shall include without
17limitation provisions governing test selection, test
18validation and determination of a passing score,
19administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
20applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
21years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
22accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop
23such rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to
24year in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
25(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-220, eff. 8-7-19;
26101-594, eff. 12-5-19; 102-301, eff. 8-26-21.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
22023.".