HB0256 EngrossedLRB101 05145 AXK 50157 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
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) This Section applies beginning on July 1, 2012.
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 required
12prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These examinations
13and indicators must be based on national and State professional
14teaching standards, as determined by the State Board of
15Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
16and Licensure Board. The State Board of Education may adopt
17such rules as may be necessary to implement and administer this
18Section.
19    (c) Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
20applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or an
21Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass a
22test of basic skills before the license is issued, unless the
23endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage

 

 

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1of the test. All applicants completing Illinois-approved,
2teacher education or school service personnel preparation
3programs shall be required to pass the State Board of
4Education's recognized test of basic skills prior to starting
5their student teaching or starting the final semester of their
6internship. An institution of higher learning, as defined in
7the Higher Education Student Assistance Act, may not require an
8applicant to complete the State Board's recognized test of
9basic skills prior to the semester before student teaching or
10prior to the semester before starting the final semester of an
11internship. An individual who passes a test of basic skills
12does not need to do so again for subsequent endorsements or
13other educator licenses.
14    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
15required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
16of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
17shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
18be allowed to student teach or serve as the teacher of record
19until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
20    (e) (Blank).
21    (f) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, beginning
22on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing teacher
23preparation programs in this State and all candidates subject
24to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required to pass a teacher
25performance assessment approved by the State Board of
26Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation

 

 

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1and Licensure Board.
2    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
3the teacher performance assessment shall be the tests that from
4time to time are designated by the State Board of Education, in
5consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
6Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing
7organization or tests designed by the State Board of Education,
8in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and
9Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a test of basic
10skills shall include reading, language arts, and mathematics.
11The test of content area knowledge shall assess content
12knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must be
13designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person taking
14the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race, color,
15national origin, or other factors unrelated to the person's
16ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score required
17to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of
18Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
19and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer
20than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated
21by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
22Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
23    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
24the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
25applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
26subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code

 

 

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1in the English language and in the language of the transitional
2bilingual education program requested by the applicant.
3    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
4provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
5district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
6    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
7testing requirements under this Section shall include without
8limitation provisions governing test selection, test
9validation and determination of a passing score,
10administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
11applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
12years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
13accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop such
14rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to year
15in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
16    (j) Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, in order to
17obtain a license under this Article, a student teacher
18candidate may not be required to videotape himself or herself
19or his or her students in a classroom setting.
20(Source: P.A. 99-58, eff. 7-16-15; 99-657, eff. 7-28-16;
2199-920, eff. 1-6-17; 100-596, eff. 7-1-18; 100-863, eff.
228-14-18; 100-932, eff. 8-17-18; revised 10-1-18.)
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24becoming law.