HB0496eng 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB0496 Engrossed LRB098 03307 NHT 33322 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 21B-40 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/21B-40)

Sec. 21B-40. Fees.

(a) Beginning with the start of the new licensure system established pursuant to this Article, the following fees shall be charged to applicants:

(1) A $75 application fee for a Professional Educator License or an Educator License with Stipulations and for individuals seeking a Substitute Teaching License. However, beginning on January 1, 2015, the application fee for a Professional Educator License, Educator License with Stipulations, or Substitute Teaching License shall be $100.

(2) A $150 application fee for individuals who have completed an approved educator preparation program outside of this State or who hold a valid, comparable credential from another state or country and are seeking any of the licenses set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection (a).

(3) A $50 application fee for each endorsement or approval an individual holding a license wishes to add to that license.

(4) A $10 per year registration fee for the course of the validity cycle to register the license, which shall be paid to the regional office of education having supervision and control over the school in which the individual holding the license is to be employed. If the individual holding the license is not yet employed, then the license may be registered in any county in this State. The registration fee must be paid in its entirety the first time the individual registers the license for a particular validity period in a single region. No additional fee may be charged for that validity period should the individual subsequently register the license in additional regions. An individual must register the license (i) immediately after initial issuance of the license and (ii) at the beginning of each renewal cycle if the individual has satisfied the renewal requirements required under this Code.

(b) All application fees paid pursuant to subdivisions (1) through (3) of subsection (a) of this Section shall be deposited into the Teacher Certificate Fee Revolving Fund and shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the State Board of Education to provide the technology and human resources necessary for the timely and efficient processing of applications and for the renewal of licenses. The Teacher Certificate Fee Revolving Fund is not subject to administrative charge transfers, authorized under Section 8h of the State Finance Act, from the Teacher Certificate Fee Revolving Fund into any other fund of this State, and moneys in the Teacher Certificate Fee Revolving Fund shall not revert back to the General Revenue Fund at any time.

The regional superintendent of schools shall deposit the registration fees paid pursuant to subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of this Section into the institute fund established pursuant to Section 3-11 of this Code.

(c) The State Board of Education and each regional office of education are authorized to charge a service or convenience fee for the use of credit cards for the payment of license fees. This service or convenience fee shall not exceed the amount required by the credit card processing company or vendor that has entered into a contract with the State Board or regional office of education for this purpose, and the fee must be paid to that company or vendor.

(d) If, at the time a certificate issued under Article 21 of this Code is exchanged for a license issued under this Article, a person has paid registration fees for any years of the validity period of the certificate and these years have not expired when the certificate is exchanged, then those fees must be applied to the registration of the new license.

(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.