Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

Filed: 3/6/2009

 

 


 

 


 
09600SB2220sam001 LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2220

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2220 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
5 21-1a and 21-10 as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/21-1a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 21-1a)
7     Sec. 21-1a. Tests required for certification and teacher
8 preparation.
9     (a) After July 1, 1988, in addition to all other
10 requirements, early childhood, elementary, special, high
11 school, school service personnel, or, except as provided in
12 Section 34-6, administrative certificates shall be issued to
13 persons who have satisfactorily passed a test of basic skills,
14 an assessment of professional teaching, and a test of subject
15 matter knowledge, provided that a person who passed another
16 state's test of basic skills as a condition of certification or

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 2 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1 of admission to a teacher preparation program shall not be
2 required to pass this State's test of basic skills and subject
3 matter knowledge. A person who holds a valid and comparable
4 out-of-state certificate, however, is not required to take a
5 test of basic skills and is not required to take a test of
6 subject matter knowledge, provided that the person has
7 successfully passed a test of subject matter knowledge in
8 another state or territory of the United States that is
9 directly related in content to the specific subject area of
10 certification. The tests of basic skills and subject matter
11 knowledge shall be the tests which from time to time are
12 designated by the State Board of Education in consultation with
13 the State Teacher Certification Board and may be tests prepared
14 by an educational testing organization or tests designed by the
15 State Board of Education in consultation with the State Teacher
16 Certification Board. The areas to be covered by the test of
17 basic skills shall include the basic skills of reading,
18 writing, grammar and mathematics. The test of subject matter
19 knowledge shall assess content knowledge in the specific
20 subject field. The tests shall be designed to be racially
21 neutral to assure that no person in taking the tests is thereby
22 discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national
23 origin or other factors unrelated to the person's ability to
24 perform as a certificated employee. The score required to pass
25 the tests of basic skills and subject matter knowledge shall be
26 fixed by the State Board of Education in consultation with the

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 3 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1 State Teacher Certification Board. The tests shall be held not
2 fewer than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be
3 designated by the State Board of Education in consultation with
4 the State Teacher Certification Board.
5     (b) Except as provided in Section 34-6, the provisions of
6 subsection (a) of this Section shall apply equally in any
7 school district subject to Article 34, provided that the State
8 Board of Education shall determine which certificates issued
9 under Sections 34-8.1 and 34-83 prior to July 1, 1988 are
10 comparable to any early childhood certificate, elementary
11 school certificate, special certificate, high school
12 certificate, school service personnel certificate or
13 administrative certificate issued under this Article as of July
14 1, 1988.
15     (c) A person who holds an early childhood, elementary,
16 special, high school or school service personnel certificate
17 issued under this Article on or at any time before July 1,
18 1988, including a person who has been issued any such
19 certificate pursuant to Section 21-11.1 or in exchange for a
20 comparable certificate theretofore issued under Section 34-8.1
21 or Section 34-83, shall not be required to take or pass the
22 tests in order to thereafter have such certificate renewed.
23     (d) The State Board of Education in consultation with the
24 State Teacher Certification Board shall conduct a pilot
25 administration of the tests by administering the test to
26 students completing teacher education programs in the 1986-87

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 4 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1 school year for the purpose of determining the effect and
2 impact of testing candidates for certification.
3     Beginning with the 2002-2003 academic year, a student may
4 not enroll in a teacher preparation program at a recognized
5 teacher training institution until he or she has passed the
6 basic skills test.
7     Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of
8 the 94th General Assembly, prior to completing an approved
9 teacher preparation program, a preservice education candidate
10 must satisfactorily pass the test of subject matter knowledge
11 in the discipline in which he or she will be certified to
12 teach. The teacher preparation program may require passage of
13 the test of subject matter knowledge at any time during the
14 program, including prior to student teaching.
15     (e) The rules and regulations developed to implement the
16 required test of basic skills and subject matter knowledge
17 shall include the requirements of subsections (a), (b), and (c)
18 and shall include specific regulations to govern test
19 selection; test validation and determination of a passing
20 score; administration of the tests; frequency of
21 administration; applicant fees; frequency of applicants'
22 taking the tests; the years for which a score is valid; and,
23 waiving certain additional tests for additional certificates
24 to individuals who have satisfactorily passed the test of basic
25 skills and subject matter knowledge as required in subsection
26 (a). The State Board of Education shall provide, by rule,

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 5 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1 specific policies that assure uniformity in the difficulty
2 level of each form of the basic skills test and each subject
3 matter knowledge test from test-to-test and year-to-year. The
4 State Board of Education shall also set a passing score for the
5 tests.
6     (f) The State Teacher Certification Board may issue a
7 nonrenewable temporary certificate between July 1, 1988 and
8 August 31, 1988 to individuals who have taken the tests of
9 basic skills and subject matter knowledge prescribed by this
10 Section but have not received such test scores by August 31,
11 1988. Such temporary certificates shall expire on December 31,
12 1988.
13     (g) Beginning February 15, 2000, the State Board of
14 Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
15 Certification Board, shall implement and administer a new
16 system of certification for teachers in the State of Illinois.
17 The State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
18 Teacher Certification Board, shall design and implement a
19 system of examinations and various other criteria which shall
20 be required prior to the issuance of Initial Teaching
21 Certificates and Standard Teaching Certificates. These
22 examinations and indicators shall be based on national and
23 State professional teaching standards, as determined by the
24 State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
25 Teacher Certification Board. The State Board of Education may
26 adopt any and all regulations necessary to implement and

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 6 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1 administer this Section.
2     (h) The State Board of Education shall report to the
3 Illinois General Assembly and the Governor with
4 recommendations for further changes and improvements to the
5 teacher certification system no later than July 1, 1999 and on
6 an annual basis until July 1, 2001.
7 (Source: P.A. 93-679, eff. 6-30-04; 94-208, eff. 7-14-05.)
 
8     (105 ILCS 5/21-10)  (from Ch. 122, par. 21-10)
9     Sec. 21-10. Provisional certificate.
10     (A) Until July 1, 1972, the State Teacher Certification
11 Board may issue a provisional certificate valid for teaching in
12 elementary, high school or special subject fields subject to
13 the following conditions:
14     A provisional certificate may be issued to a person who
15 presents certified evidence of having earned a bachelor's
16 degree from a recognized institution of higher learning. The
17 academic and professional courses offered as a basis of the
18 provisional certificate shall be courses approved by the State
19 Board of Education in consultation with the State Teacher
20 Certification Board.
21     A certificate earned under this plan may be renewed at the
22 end of each two-year period upon evidence filed with the State
23 Teacher Certification Board that the holder has earned 8
24 semester hours of credit within the period; provided the
25 requirements for the certificate of the same type issued for

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 7 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1 the teaching position for which the teacher is employed shall
2 be met by the end of the second renewal period. A second
3 provisional certificate shall not be issued. The credits so
4 earned must be approved by the State Board of Education in
5 consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board and
6 must meet the general pattern for a similar type of certificate
7 issued on the basis of credit. No more than 4 semester hours
8 shall be chosen from elective subjects.
9     (B) After July 1, 1972, the State Teacher Certification
10 Board may issue a provisional certificate valid for teaching in
11 early childhood, elementary, high school or special subject
12 fields, or for providing service as school service personnel or
13 for administering schools subject to the following conditions:
14 A provisional certificate may be issued to a person who meets
15 the requirements for a regular teaching, school service
16 personnel or administrative certificate in another State and
17 who presents certified evidence of having earned a bachelor's
18 degree from a recognized institution of higher learning. The
19 academic and professional courses offered as a basis of the
20 provisional certificate shall be courses approved by the State
21 Board of Education in consultation with the State Teacher
22 Certification Board. A certificate earned under this plan is
23 valid for a period of 2 years and shall not be renewed;
24 however, the individual to whom this certificate is issued
25 shall have passed or shall pass the examinations set forth by
26 the State Board of Education within 9 months of the date of

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 8 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1 issuance of the provisional certificate. Failure to pass the
2 tests, required in Section 21-1a, shall result in the
3 cancellation of the provisional certificate.
4     (C) The State Teacher Certification Board may also issue a
5 provisional vocational certificate and a temporary provisional
6 vocational certificate.
7         (1) The requirements for a provisional vocational
8     certificate shall be determined by the State Board of
9     Education in consultation with the State Teacher
10     Certification Board; provided, the following minimum
11     requirements are met: (a) after July 1, 1972, at least 30
12     semester hours of credit from a recognized institution of
13     higher learning; and (b) after July 1, 1974, at least 60
14     semester hours of credit from a recognized institution of
15     higher learning.
16         (2) The requirements for a temporary provisional
17     vocational certificate shall be determined by the State
18     Board of Education in consultation with the State Teacher
19     Certification Board; provided, the following minimum
20     requirements are met: (a) after July 1, 1973, at least
21     4,000 hours of work experience in the skill to be certified
22     for teaching; and (b) after July 1, 1975, at least 8,000
23     hours of work experience in the skill to be certified for
24     teaching. Any certificate issued under the provisions of
25     this paragraph shall expire on June 30 following the date
26     of issue. Renewals may be granted on a yearly basis, but

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 9 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1     shall not be granted to any person who does not file with
2     the State Teacher Certification Board a transcript showing
3     at least 3 semester hours of credit earned during the
4     previous year in a recognized institution of learning. No
5     such certificate shall be issued except upon certification
6     by the employing board, subject to the approval of the
7     regional superintendent of schools, that no qualified
8     teacher holding a regular certificate or a provisional
9     vocational certificate is available and that actual
10     circumstances and need require such issuance.
11     The courses or work experience offered as a basis for the
12 issuance of the provisional vocational certificate or the
13 temporary provisional vocational certificate shall be approved
14 by the State Board of Education in consultation with the State
15 Teacher Certification Board.
16     (D) Until July 1, 1972, the State Teacher Certification
17 Board may also issue a provisional foreign language certificate
18 valid for 4 years for teaching the foreign language named
19 therein in all grades of the common schools and shall be issued
20 to persons who have graduated from a recognized institution of
21 higher learning with not fewer than 120 semester hours of
22 credit and who have met other requirements as determined by the
23 State Board of Education in consultation with the State Teacher
24 Certification Board. If the holder of a provisional foreign
25 language certificate is not a citizen of the United States
26 within 6 years of the date of issuance of the original

 

 

09600SB2220sam001 - 10 - LRB096 03623 NHT 23283 a

1 certificate, such certificate shall be suspended by the
2 regional superintendent of schools of the region in which the
3 holder is engaged to teach and shall not be reinstated until
4 the holder is a citizen of the United States.
5     (E) Notwithstanding anything in this Act to the contrary,
6 the State Teacher Certification Board shall issue part-time
7 provisional certificates to eligible individuals who are
8 professionals and craftsmen.
9     The requirements for a part-time provisional teachers
10 certificate shall be determined by the State Board of Education
11 in consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board,
12 provided the following minimum requirements are met: 60
13 semester hours of credit from a recognized institution of
14 higher learning or 4000 hours of work experience in the skill
15 to be certified for teaching.
16     A part-time provisional certificate may be issued for
17 teaching no more than 2 courses of study for grades 6 through
18 12.
19     A part-time provisional teachers certificate shall be
20 valid for 2 years and may be renewed at the end of each 2 year
21 period.
22 (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
 
23     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
24 2009.".