Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson

Filed: 4/30/2013

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 490

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 490 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1such rules as may be necessary to implement and administer this
2Section. No score on a test required under this Section, other
3than a test of basic skills, shall be more than 5 years old at
4the time that an individual makes application for an educator
5license or endorsement.
6    (c) Applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or
7an Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass
8a test of basic skills before the license is issued , unless the
9endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage
10of the test. All applicants completing Illinois-approved,
11teacher education or school service personnel preparation
12programs shall be required to pass the State Board of
13Education's recognized test of basic skills prior to starting
14their student teaching or starting the final semester of their
15internship, unless required earlier at the discretion of the
16recognized, Illinois institution in which they are completing
17their approved program. No candidate may be fully admitted into
18an educator preparation program at a recognized Illinois
19institution until he or she has passed a test of basic skills.
20An individual who passes a test of basic skills does not need
21to do so again for subsequent endorsements or other educator
22licenses.
23    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
24required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
25of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
26shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall

 

 

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1be allowed to student teach, serve as the teacher of record, or
2begin an internship or residency required for licensure until
3he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
4    (e) All applicants seeking a State license endorsed in a
5teaching field shall pass the assessment of professional
6teaching (APT). Passage of the APT is required for completion
7of an approved Illinois educator preparation program.
8    (f) Beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates
9completing teacher preparation programs in this State are
10required to pass an evidence-based assessment of teacher
11effectiveness approved by the State Board of Education, in
12consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
13Board. All recognized institutions offering approved teacher
14preparation programs must begin phasing in the approved teacher
15performance assessment no later than July 1, 2013.
16    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
17the assessment of professional teaching shall be the tests that
18from time to time are designated by the State Board of
19Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
20and Licensure Board, and may be tests prepared by an
21educational testing organization or tests designed by the State
22Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
23Preparation and Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a
24test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and
25mathematics. The test of content area knowledge shall assess
26content knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must

 

 

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1be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person
2taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race,
3color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to the
4person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score
5required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of
6Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
7and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer
8than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated
9by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
10Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
11    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
12the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
13applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
14subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code
15in the English language and in the language of the transitional
16bilingual education program requested by the applicant.
17    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
18provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
19district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
20    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
21testing requirements under this Section shall include
22provisions governing test selection, test validation and
23determination of a passing score, administration of the tests,
24frequency of administration, applicant fees, frequency of
25applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score is
26valid, and appropriate special accommodations. The State Board

 

 

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1of Education shall develop such rules as may be needed to
2ensure uniformity from year to year in the level of difficulty
3for each form of an assessment.
4(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)".