Rep. Marlow H. Colvin
Filed: 3/23/2004
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4688
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4688 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Grow
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5 | Our Own Teacher Education Act.
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6 | Section 5. Purpose. The Grow Our Own Teacher preparation
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7 | programs established under this Act shall comprise a major new
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8 | statewide initiative, known as the Grow Our Own Teacher
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9 | Education Initiative, to prepare highly skilled, committed
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10 | teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools and
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11 | hard-to-staff teaching positions and who will remain in these
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12 | schools for substantial periods of time. | ||||||
13 |
The Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative shall
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14 | effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders
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15 | and paraeducators to become effective teachers and
teacher | ||||||
16 | leaders statewide in hard-to-staff schools and
hard-to-staff | ||||||
17 | teaching positions in schools
serving a substantial percentage | ||||||
18 | of low-income students.
Further, the Initiative shall increase | ||||||
19 | the diversity of
teachers, including diversity based on race, | ||||||
20 | ethnicity, and
disability.
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21 | The Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative shall ensure
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22 | educational rigor by effectively preparing students in
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23 | accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching, through
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24 | which graduates shall meet the requirements to secure an
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1 | Illinois standard teaching certificate.
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2 | The goal of the Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative | ||||||
3 | is to add 1,000 teachers to low-income and other hard-to-staff | ||||||
4 | Illinois schools by 2016 with an average retention period of 7 | ||||||
5 | years, as opposed to the current rate of 2.5 years for new | ||||||
6 | teachers in such areas.
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7 | Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
8 |
"Accredited teacher preparation program" means a State or
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9 | regionally accredited higher education program authorized to
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10 | prepare individuals to fulfill all of the requirements to
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11 | receive an Illinois standard teaching certificate. | ||||||
12 |
"Hard-to-staff school" means an elementary or secondary
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13 | school that, based on data compiled by the State Board of | ||||||
14 | Education,
ranks in the upper third of schools in this State on
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15 | a combined index measuring the percentage of the school's
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16 | teachers who are not fully certified and the percentage of the
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17 | school's teachers who leave their positions annually. | ||||||
18 |
"Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching
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19 | category (such as special education, mathematics, or science)
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20 | in which statewide data compiled by the State Board of | ||||||
21 | Education
indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial
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22 | teacher shortage or that has been identified as a critical need | ||||||
23 | by the local school board.
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24 | "Initiative" means the Grow Our Own Teacher Education
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25 | Initiative created under this Act.
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26 | "Paraeducators" means individuals with a history of
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27 | demonstrated accomplishments in school staff positions (such
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28 | as teacher assistants, school-community liaisons, school
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29 | clerks, and security aides) in schools serving a substantial
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30 | percentage of low-income students.
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31 | "Parent and community leaders" means individuals with a
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32 | significant history of involvement in improving schools | ||||||
33 | serving a
substantial percentage of low-income students, |
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1 | including membership in a community organization. | ||||||
2 |
"Community organization" means a nonprofit organization | ||||||
3 | that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and | ||||||
4 | organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that | ||||||
5 | will hold the school and the school district accountable for | ||||||
6 | achieving high academic standards; in addition to | ||||||
7 | organizations with a geographic focus, "community | ||||||
8 | organization" includes general parent organizations, | ||||||
9 | organizations of special education or bilingual education | ||||||
10 | parents, and school employee unions.
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11 | "Program" means a Grow Our Own Teacher preparation program
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12 | established by a consortium under this Act.
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13 | "Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
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14 | students" means schools whose percentage of students receiving | ||||||
15 | free or reduced-price lunches is at or above the | ||||||
16 | district-average percentage. | ||||||
17 |
"State Board" means the State Board of Education.
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18 | Section 15. Creation of Initiative. The Grow Our Own | ||||||
19 | Teacher Education Initiative is created. The State Board shall | ||||||
20 | administer the Initiative as a grant competition to fund | ||||||
21 | consortia that will carry out Grow Our Own Teacher preparation | ||||||
22 | programs. | ||||||
23 | Section 20. Selection of grantees. The State Board shall | ||||||
24 | award grants to up to 10 qualified consortia that reflect the | ||||||
25 | distribution and diversity of target hard-to-staff schools | ||||||
26 | across this State. In awarding grants, the State Board shall | ||||||
27 | select programs that successfully address Initiative criteria | ||||||
28 | and that reflect a diversity of strategies in terms of serving | ||||||
29 | urban areas, serving rural areas, the nature of the | ||||||
30 | participating institutions of higher education, whether | ||||||
31 | participants will be trained at the baccalaureate or master's | ||||||
32 | level, and the nature of hard-to-staff teaching positions on |
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1 | which a program is focused.
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2 | The State Board shall select consortia that meet the | ||||||
3 | following requirements:
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4 | (1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one | ||||||
5 | 4-year institution of higher education with an accredited | ||||||
6 | teacher preparation program, at least one school district | ||||||
7 | or group of schools, and one or more community | ||||||
8 | organizations. The consortium may also include a 2-year | ||||||
9 | institution of higher education or a school employee union | ||||||
10 | or both.
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11 | (2) The 4-year institution of higher education | ||||||
12 | participating in the consortium shall have past, | ||||||
13 | demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary | ||||||
14 | or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of | ||||||
15 | low-income students. | ||||||
16 | (3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined set | ||||||
17 | of target schools serving a substantial percentage of | ||||||
18 | low-income students that will be the primary focus of the | ||||||
19 | program. The consortium shall articulate the steps that it | ||||||
20 | will carry out in preparing teachers for its target | ||||||
21 | hard-to-staff schools and in preparing teachers for one or | ||||||
22 | more hard-to-staff teaching positions in its target | ||||||
23 | schools. | ||||||
24 | (4) Student participants in a program under the | ||||||
25 | Initiative must hold a high school diploma or its | ||||||
26 | equivalent and must meet either the definition of "parent | ||||||
27 | and community leaders" or the definition of | ||||||
28 | "paraeducators" contained in Section 10 of this Act. | ||||||
29 | (5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures | ||||||
30 | for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare | ||||||
31 | highly competent teachers. Instruction shall include | ||||||
32 | on-going direct experience in target schools and analysis | ||||||
33 | of this experience. | ||||||
34 | (6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts |
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1 | of students who begin by moving through the program | ||||||
2 | together. The program shall be offered on a schedule that | ||||||
3 | enables students to work full time while participating in | ||||||
4 | the program and allows paraeducators to continue in their | ||||||
5 | current positions. The consortium shall guarantee that | ||||||
6 | support will be available to an admitted cohort through the | ||||||
7 | cohort's full period of training. At the beginning of the | ||||||
8 | Initiative, programs that are already operating and | ||||||
9 | existing cohorts of students under this model shall be | ||||||
10 | eligible for funding. | ||||||
11 | (7) The institutions of higher education participating | ||||||
12 | in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the | ||||||
13 | same amount of funds in implementing the program that these | ||||||
14 | institutions spend per student on similar educational | ||||||
15 | programs. Grants received by the consortium shall | ||||||
16 | supplement and not supplant these amounts. | ||||||
17 | (8) The State Board shall establish additional | ||||||
18 | criteria for review of proposals, including criteria that | ||||||
19 | address the following issues: | ||||||
20 | (A) Previous experience of the institutions of | ||||||
21 | higher education in preparing students for | ||||||
22 | hard-to-staff schools and positions and in working | ||||||
23 | with students with non-traditional backgrounds. | ||||||
24 | (B) The quality of the implementation plan, | ||||||
25 | including strategies for overcoming institutional | ||||||
26 | barriers to the progress of non-traditional students. | ||||||
27 | (C) If a community college is a participant, the | ||||||
28 | nature and extent of existing articulation agreements | ||||||
29 | and guarantees between the community college and the | ||||||
30 | 4-year institution of higher education. | ||||||
31 | (D) The number of participants to be trained in the | ||||||
32 | current cohort or cohorts and the capacity of the | ||||||
33 | consortium for adding cohorts in future cycles. | ||||||
34 | (E) Experience of the community organization or |
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1 | organizations in organizing parents and community | ||||||
2 | leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong | ||||||
3 | relational school culture. | ||||||
4 | (F) The qualifications of the person or persons | ||||||
5 | designated by the 4-year institution of higher | ||||||
6 | education to be responsible for cohort support and the | ||||||
7 | development of a shared learning and social | ||||||
8 | environment among participants. | ||||||
9 | (G) The consortium's plan for collective | ||||||
10 | consortium decision-making, including mechanisms for | ||||||
11 | community and participant input. | ||||||
12 | (H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of the | ||||||
13 | program on the quality of education in the target | ||||||
14 | schools. | ||||||
15 | (I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs of | ||||||
16 | targeted schools and positions, and the use in | ||||||
17 | curriculum and instructional planning of principles | ||||||
18 | for effective adult education. | ||||||
19 | (J) The availability of classes under the program | ||||||
20 | in places and times accessible to the participants. | ||||||
21 | (K) Provision of a level of performance to be | ||||||
22 | maintained by participants as a condition of | ||||||
23 | continuing in the program. | ||||||
24 | (L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher | ||||||
25 | education to ensure that students take advantage of | ||||||
26 | existing financial aid resources before using the loan | ||||||
27 | funds described in Section 25 of this Act. | ||||||
28 | (M) The availability of supportive services, | ||||||
29 | including counseling, tutoring, and child care. | ||||||
30 | (N) A plan for continued participation of | ||||||
31 | graduates of the program in a program of support for at | ||||||
32 | least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings. | ||||||
33 | (O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation | ||||||
34 | of participants' teaching skills that ensures that |
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1 | graduates of the program are as prepared for teaching | ||||||
2 | as those from the conventional teacher training | ||||||
3 | program of the 4-year institution of higher education. | ||||||
4 | (P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides | ||||||
5 | reports at least yearly on the progress of participants | ||||||
6 | towards graduation and the impact of the program on the | ||||||
7 | target schools and their communities. | ||||||
8 | (Q) Contributions from schools, school districts, | ||||||
9 | and other consortia members to the program, including | ||||||
10 | stipends for participants during their student | ||||||
11 | teaching. | ||||||
12 | (R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the | ||||||
13 | program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced | ||||||
14 | requirements for external funding in subsequent | ||||||
15 | cycles. | ||||||
16 | Section 25. Expenditures under the Initiative. | ||||||
17 | (a) Every program under the Initiative shall implement and | ||||||
18 | manage a program of forgivable loans to cover any portion of | ||||||
19 | tuition and direct expenses of students under the program in | ||||||
20 | excess of grants-in-aid and other forgivable loans received. | ||||||
21 | All students admitted to a cohort shall be eligible for such | ||||||
22 | loans. Loans shall be fully forgiven if a graduate completes 5 | ||||||
23 | years of service in a hard-to-staff school or hard-to-staff | ||||||
24 | teaching position. | ||||||
25 | (b) Grants under the Initiative shall be awarded in such a | ||||||
26 | way as to provide the required support for a cohort of students | ||||||
27 | for the cohort's entire training period. Program budgets must | ||||||
28 | show expenditures for the entire period that participants are | ||||||
29 | expected to be enrolled. | ||||||
30 | (c) No funds under the Initiative may be used to supplant | ||||||
31 | the average per-capita expenditures by the institution of | ||||||
32 | higher education for students in regular education degree | ||||||
33 | programs. |
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1 | (d) Where necessary, program budgets shall include the | ||||||
2 | costs of child care to permit parents to maintain a full class | ||||||
3 | schedule. Child care may be provided by the community | ||||||
4 | organization or organizations or be independently contracted | ||||||
5 | for. | ||||||
6 | (e) The institution of higher education may expend grant | ||||||
7 | funds to cover the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator | ||||||
8 | and the additional costs of offering classes in community | ||||||
9 | settings and for tutoring services. | ||||||
10 | (f) The community organization or organizations may | ||||||
11 | receive a portion of the grant money for the expenses of | ||||||
12 | recruitment, community orientation, and counseling of | ||||||
13 | potential participants, for providing space in the community, | ||||||
14 | and for working with school personnel to facilitate individual | ||||||
15 | work experiences and support of participants. | ||||||
16 | (g) The school district or school employee union or both | ||||||
17 | may receive a portion of the grant money for expenses of | ||||||
18 | supporting the work experiences of participants and providing | ||||||
19 | mentors for graduates.
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20 | Section 30. Implementation of Initiative. The State Board | ||||||
21 | shall develop guidelines and application procedures for the | ||||||
22 | Initiative in fiscal year 2005. The State Board may, if it | ||||||
23 | chooses, award a small number of planning grants during fiscal | ||||||
24 | year 2005 to potential consortia using existing resources. The | ||||||
25 | first programs under the Initiative shall be awarded grants in | ||||||
26 | such a way as to allow participants to begin their work at the | ||||||
27 | beginning of the 2005-2006 school year. | ||||||
28 | Section 35. Independent program evaluation. The State | ||||||
29 | Board shall contract for an independent evaluation of program | ||||||
30 | implementation by each of its participating consortia and of | ||||||
31 | the impact of each program, including the extent of student | ||||||
32 | persistence in program enrollment, acceptance as an education |
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1 | major in a 4-year institution of higher education, completion | ||||||
2 | of a bachelor's degree in teaching, obtaining a teaching | ||||||
3 | position in a target school or similar school, subsequent | ||||||
4 | effectiveness as a teacher, and persistence in teaching in a | ||||||
5 | target school or similar school. The evaluation shall assess | ||||||
6 | the Initiative's overall effectiveness and shall identify | ||||||
7 | particular program strategies that are especially effective. | ||||||
8 | Section 40. Funding. Funding of the Initiative is subject | ||||||
9 | to appropriation. $200,000 of the amount appropriated each | ||||||
10 | fiscal year for the Initiative shall be allocated to carry out | ||||||
11 | the independent program evaluation under Section 35 of this | ||||||
12 | Act, and the remainder shall be allocated to participating | ||||||
13 | consortia. | ||||||
14 | Section 90. Rules. The State Board may adopt any rules | ||||||
15 | necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this Act. | ||||||
16 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | ||||||
17 | 1, 2005.".
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