SB0306 Engrossed LRB095 08155 NHT 28320 b

1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
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 Section
5 21-5b as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/21-5b)
7     Sec. 21-5b. Alternative certification. The State Board of
8 Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
9 Certification Board, shall establish and implement an
10 alternative certification program under which persons who meet
11 the requirements of and successfully complete the program
12 established by this Section shall be issued an alternative
13 teaching certificate for teaching in the schools. The program
14 shall be limited to not more than 260 new participants during
15 each year that the program is in effect. The State Board of
16 Education, in cooperation with a partnership formed with a
17 university that offers 4-year baccalaureate and masters degree
18 programs and that is a recognized institution as defined in
19 Section 21-21 and one or more not-for-profit organizations in
20 the State which support excellence in teaching, shall within 30
21 days after submission by the partnership approve a course of
22 study developed by the partnership that persons in the program
23 must successfully complete in order to satisfy one criterion

 

 

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1 for issuance of an alternative certificate under this Section.
2 The Alternative Teacher Certification program course of study
3 must include the current content and skills contained in the
4 university's current courses for State certification which
5 have been approved by the State Board of Education, in
6 consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board, as the
7 requirement for State teacher certification.
8     The alternative certification program established under
9 this Section shall be known as the Alternative Teacher
10 Certification program. The Alternative Teacher Certification
11 Program shall be offered by the submitting partnership and may
12 be offered in conjunction with one or more not-for-profit
13 organizations in the State which support excellence in
14 teaching. The program shall be comprised of the following 3
15 phases: (a) the first phase is the course of study offered on
16 an intensive basis in education theory, instructional methods,
17 and practice teaching; (b) the second phase is the person's
18 assignment to a full-time teaching position for one school
19 year; and (c) the third phase is a comprehensive assessment of
20 the person's teaching performance by school officials and the
21 partnership participants and a recommendation by the partner
22 institution of higher education to the State Board of Education
23 that the person be issued a standard alternative teaching
24 certificate. Successful completion of the Alternative Teacher
25 Certification program shall be deemed to satisfy any other
26 practice or student teaching and subject matter requirements

 

 

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1 established by law.
2     A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
3 one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
4 shall be issued under this Section 21-5b to persons who at the
5 time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
6 certificate under this Section:
7         (1) have graduated from an accredited college or
8     university with a bachelor's degree;
9         (2) have successfully completed the first phase of the
10     Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in
11     this Section;
12         (3) have passed the tests of basic skills and subject
13     matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a; and
14         (4) (i) have been employed for a period of at least 5
15     years in an area requiring application of the individual's
16     education or (ii) have attained at least a cumulative grade
17     average of a "B" if the individual is assigned either to a
18     school district that has not met the annual measurable
19     objective for highly qualified teachers required by the
20     Illinois Revised Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) Plan or to
21     a school district whose data filed with the State Board of
22     Education indicates that the district's poor and minority
23     students are taught by teachers who are not highly
24     qualified at a higher rate than other students; however,
25     this item (4) requirement does not apply with respect to a
26     provisional alternative teaching certificate for teaching

 

 

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1     in schools situated in a school district that is located in
2     a city having a population in excess of 500,000
3     inhabitants. Assignment may be made under clause (ii) of
4     this item (4) only if the district superintendent and the
5     exclusive bargaining representative of the district's
6     teachers, if any, jointly agree to permit the assignment.
7     A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
8 under this Section shall be treated as a regularly certified
9 teacher for purposes of compensation, benefits, and other terms
10 and conditions of employment afforded teachers in the school
11 who are members of a bargaining unit represented by an
12 exclusive bargaining representative, if any.
13     Until February 15, 2000, a standard alternative teaching
14 certificate, valid for 4 years for teaching in the schools and
15 renewable as provided in Section 21-14, shall be issued under
16 this Section 21-5b to persons who first complete the
17 requirements for the provisional alternative teaching
18 certificate and who at the time of applying for a standard
19 alternative teaching certificate under this Section have
20 successfully completed the second and third phases of the
21 Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in this
22 Section. Alternatively, beginning February 15, 2000, at the end
23 of the 4-year validity period, persons who were issued a
24 standard alternative teaching certificate shall be eligible,
25 on the same basis as holders of an Initial Teaching Certificate
26 issued under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of this Code, to

 

 

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1 apply for a Standard Teaching Certificate, provided they meet
2 the requirements of subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code
3 and further provided that a person who does not apply for and
4 receive a Standard Teaching Certificate shall be able to teach
5 only in schools situated in a school district that is located
6 in a city having a population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
7     Beginning February 15, 2000, persons who have completed the
8 requirements for a standard alternative teaching certificate
9 under this Section shall be issued an Initial Alternative
10 Teaching Certificate valid for 4 years of teaching and not
11 renewable. At the end of the 4-year validity period, these
12 persons shall be eligible, on the same basis as holders of an
13 Initial Teaching Certificate issued under subsection (b) of
14 Section 21-2 of this Code, to apply for a Standard Teaching
15 Certificate, provided they meet the requirements of subsection
16 (c) of Section 21-2.
17     This alternative certification program shall be
18 implemented so that the first provisional alternative teaching
19 certificates issued under this Section are effective upon the
20 commencement of the 1997-1998 academic year and the first
21 standard alternative teaching certificates issued under this
22 Section are effective upon the commencement of the 1998-1999
23 academic year.
24     The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the
25 partnership establishing the Alternative Teacher Certification
26 program, shall adopt rules and regulations that are consistent

 

 

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1 with this Section and that the State Board of Education deems
2 necessary to establish and implement the program.
3 (Source: P.A. 91-609, eff. 1-1-00.)
 
4     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5 becoming law.