093_HB0371
LRB093 06894 NHT 07040 b
1 AN ACT concerning teacher certification.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
5 Section 21-5b as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/21-5b)
7 Sec. 21-5b. Alternative certification. The State Board
8 of Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
9 Certification Board, shall establish and implement an
10 alternative certification program under which persons who
11 meet the requirements of and successfully complete the
12 program established by this Section shall be issued an
13 alternative teaching certificate for teaching in the schools.
14 The program shall be limited to not more than 260 new
15 participants not to exceed the number of unfilled positions
16 as reported to the State Board of Education during the prior
17 school year each year that the program is in effect. The
18 State Board of Education, in cooperation with a partnership
19 formed with a university that offers 4-year baccalaureate and
20 masters degree programs and that is a recognized institution
21 as defined in Section 21-21 and one or more not-for-profit
22 organizations in the State which support excellence in
23 teaching, shall within 30 days after submission by the
24 partnership approve a course of study developed by the
25 partnership that persons in the program must successfully
26 complete in order to satisfy one criterion for issuance of an
27 alternative certificate under this Section. The Alternative
28 Teacher Certification program course of study must include
29 the current content and skills contained in the university's
30 current courses for State certification which have been
31 approved by the State Board of Education, in consultation
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1 with the State Teacher Certification Board, as the
2 requirement for State teacher certification.
3 The alternative certification program established under
4 this Section shall be known as the Alternative Teacher
5 Certification program. The Alternative Teacher Certification
6 Program shall be offered by the submitting partnership and
7 may be offered in conjunction with one or more not-for-profit
8 organizations in the State which support excellence in
9 teaching. The program shall be comprised of the following 3
10 phases: (a) the first phase is the course of study offered on
11 an intensive basis in education theory, instructional
12 methods, and practice teaching; (b) the second phase is the
13 person's assignment to a full-time teaching position for one
14 school year; and (c) the third phase is a comprehensive
15 assessment of the person's teaching performance by school
16 officials and the partnership participants and a
17 recommendation by the partner institution of higher education
18 to the State Board of Education that the person be issued a
19 standard alternative teaching certificate. Successful
20 completion of the Alternative Teacher Certification program
21 shall be deemed to satisfy any other practice or student
22 teaching and subject matter requirements established by law.
23 A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
24 one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
25 shall be issued under this Section 21-5b to persons who at
26 the time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
27 certificate under this Section:
28 (1) have graduated from an accredited college or
29 university with a bachelor's degree;
30 (2) have successfully completed the first phase of
31 the Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided
32 in this Section;
33 (3) have passed the tests of basic skills and
34 subject matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a; and
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1 (4) have been employed for a period of at least 5
2 years in an area requiring application of the
3 individual's education; however, this requirement does
4 not apply with respect to a provisional alternative
5 teaching certificate for teaching in schools situated in
6 a school district that is located in a city having a
7 population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
8 A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
9 under this Section shall be treated as a regularly certified
10 teacher for purposes of compensation, benefits, and other
11 terms and conditions of employment afforded teachers in the
12 school who are members of a bargaining unit represented by an
13 exclusive bargaining representative, if any.
14 Until February 15, 2000, a standard alternative teaching
15 certificate, valid for 4 years for teaching in the schools
16 and renewable as provided in Section 21-14, shall be issued
17 under this Section 21-5b to persons who first complete the
18 requirements for the provisional alternative teaching
19 certificate and who at the time of applying for a standard
20 alternative teaching certificate under this Section have
21 successfully completed the second and third phases of the
22 Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in this
23 Section. Alternatively, beginning February 15, 2000, at the
24 end of the 4-year validity period, persons who were issued a
25 standard alternative teaching certificate shall be eligible,
26 on the same basis as holders of an Initial Teaching
27 Certificate issued under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of
28 this Code, to apply for a Standard Teaching Certificate,
29 provided they meet the requirements of subsection (c) of
30 Section 21-2 of this Code and further provided that a person
31 who does not apply for and receive a Standard Teaching
32 Certificate shall be able to teach only in schools situated
33 in a school district that is located in a city having a
34 population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
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1 Beginning February 15, 2000, persons who have completed
2 the requirements for a standard alternative teaching
3 certificate under this Section shall be issued an Initial
4 Alternative Teaching Certificate valid for 4 years of
5 teaching and not renewable. At the end of the 4-year
6 validity period, these persons shall be eligible, on the same
7 basis as holders of an Initial Teaching Certificate issued
8 under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of this Code, to apply
9 for a Standard Teaching Certificate, provided they meet the
10 requirements of subsection (c) of Section 21-2.
11 This alternative certification program shall be
12 implemented so that the first provisional alternative
13 teaching certificates issued under this Section are effective
14 upon the commencement of the 1997-1998 academic year and the
15 first standard alternative teaching certificates issued under
16 this Section are effective upon the commencement of the
17 1998-1999 academic year.
18 The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the
19 partnership establishing the Alternative Teacher
20 Certification program, shall adopt rules and regulations that
21 are consistent with this Section and that the State Board of
22 Education deems necessary to establish and implement the
23 program.
24 (Source: P.A. 91-609, eff. 1-1-00.)
25 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
26 July 1, 2003.