HB0490 EnrolledLRB098 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) Applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or
23an Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass

 

 

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

 

 

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1    (f) Beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates
2completing teacher preparation programs in this State are
3required to pass an evidence-based assessment of teacher
4effectiveness approved by the State Board of Education, in
5consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
6Board. All recognized institutions offering approved teacher
7preparation programs must begin phasing in the approved teacher
8performance assessment no later than July 1, 2013.
9    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
10the assessment of professional teaching shall be the tests that
11from time to time are designated by the State Board of
12Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
13and Licensure Board, and may be tests prepared by an
14educational testing organization or tests designed by the State
15Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
16Preparation and Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a
17test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and
18mathematics. The test of content area knowledge shall assess
19content knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must
20be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person
21taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race,
22color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to the
23person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score
24required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of
25Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
26and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer

 

 

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1than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated
2by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
3Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
4    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
5the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
6applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
7subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code
8in the English language and in the language of the transitional
9bilingual education program requested by the applicant.
10    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
11provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
12district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
13    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
14testing requirements under this Section shall include
15provisions governing test selection, test validation and
16determination of a passing score, administration of the tests,
17frequency of administration, applicant fees, frequency of
18applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score is
19valid, and appropriate special accommodations. The State Board
20of Education shall develop such rules as may be needed to
21ensure uniformity from year to year in the level of difficulty
22for each form of an assessment.
23(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)