HB0490 EngrossedLRB098 03321 NHT 33336 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. No score on a test required under this Section, other
19than a test of basic skills, shall be more than 5 years old at
20the time that an individual makes application for an educator
21license or endorsement.
22    (c) All applicants Applicants seeking a Professional
23Educator License or an Educator License with Stipulations shall

 

 

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1be required to pass the State Board of Education's recognized a
2test of basic skills prior to their student teaching, unless
3required earlier at the discretion of the recognized Illinois
4institution in which they are in attendance or , unless the
5endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage
6of the test. The passage of a test of basic skills shall not be
7a prerequisite for admission into a graduate program for
8speech-language pathology. An individual admitted into a
9graduate program for speech-language pathology must pass a test
10of basic skills prior to commencement of his or her full-time
11school internship. No candidate may be fully admitted into an
12educator preparation program at a recognized Illinois
13institution until he or she has passed a test of basic skills.
14An individual who passes a test of basic skills does not need
15to do so again for subsequent endorsements or other educator
16licenses.
17    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
18required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
19of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
20shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
21be allowed to student teach, serve as the teacher of record, or
22begin an internship or residency required for licensure until
23he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
24    (e) All applicants seeking a State license endorsed in a
25teaching field shall pass the assessment of professional
26teaching (APT). Passage of the APT is required for completion

 

 

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1of an approved Illinois educator preparation program.
2    (f) Beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates
3completing teacher preparation programs in this State are
4required to pass an evidence-based assessment of teacher
5effectiveness approved by the State Board of Education, in
6consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
7Board. All recognized institutions offering approved teacher
8preparation programs must begin phasing in the approved teacher
9performance assessment no later than July 1, 2013.
10    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
11the assessment of professional teaching shall be the tests that
12from time to time are designated by the State Board of
13Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
14and Licensure Board, and may be tests prepared by an
15educational testing organization or tests designed by the State
16Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
17Preparation and Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a
18test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and
19mathematics. The test of content area knowledge shall assess
20content knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must
21be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person
22taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race,
23color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to the
24person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score
25required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of
26Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation

 

 

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1and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer
2than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated
3by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
4Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
5    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
6the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
7applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
8subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code
9in the English language and in the language of the transitional
10bilingual education program requested by the applicant.
11    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
12provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
13district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
14    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
15testing requirements under this Section shall include
16provisions governing test selection, test validation and
17determination of a passing score, administration of the tests,
18frequency of administration, applicant fees, frequency of
19applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score is
20valid, and appropriate special accommodations. The State Board
21of Education shall develop such rules as may be needed to
22ensure uniformity from year to year in the level of difficulty
23for each form of an assessment.
24(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)