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| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
91_HB0534eng HB0534 Engrossed LRB9101849NTsbA 1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section 2 14C-8. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing 6 Section 14C-8 as follows: 7 (105 ILCS 5/14C-8) (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-8) 8 Sec. 14C-8. Teacher certification - Qualifications - 9 Issuance of certificates. No person shall be eligible for 10 employment by a school district as a teacher of transitional 11 bilingual education without either (a) holding a valid 12 teaching certificate issued pursuant to Article 21 of this 13 Code and meeting such additional language and course 14 requirements as prescribed by the State Board of Education or 15 (b) meeting the requirements set forth in this Section. The 16 Certification Board shall issue certificates valid for 17 teaching in all grades of the common school in transitional 18 bilingual education programs to any person who presents it 19 with satisfactory evidence that he possesses an adequate 20 speaking and reading ability in a language other than English 21 in which transitional bilingual education is offered and 22 communicative skills in English, and possessed within 5five23 years previous to his or her applying for a certificate under 24 this Section a valid teaching certificate issued by a foreign 25 country, or by a State or possession or territory of the 26 United States, or other evidence of teaching preparation as 27 may be determined to be sufficient by the Certification 28 Board, or holds a degree from an institution of higher 29 learning in a foreign country which the Certification Board 30 determines to be the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from a 31 recognized institution of higher learning in the United HB0534 Engrossed -2- LRB9101849NTsbA 1 States; provided that any person seeking a certificate under 2 this Section must meet the following additional requirements: 3 (1) Such persons must be in good health; 4 (2) Such persons must be of sound moral character; 5 (3) Such persons must be legally present in the United 6 States and possess legal authorization for employment; 7 (4) Such persons must not be employed to replace any 8 presently employed teacher who otherwise would not be 9 replaced for any reason. 10 Certificates issuable pursuant to this Section shall be 11 issuable only during the 5 years immediately following the 12 effective date of this Act and thereafter for additional 13 periods of one year only upon a determination by the State 14 Board of Education that a school district lacks the number of 15 teachers necessary to comply with the mandatory requirements 16 of Sections 14C-2.1 and 14C-3 of this Article for the 17 establishment and maintenance of programs of transitional 18 bilingual education and said certificates issued by the 19 Certification Board shall be valid for a period of 6 years 20 following their date of issuance and shall not be renewed, 21 except that one renewal for a period of two years may be 22 granted if necessary to permit the holder of a certificate 23 issued under this Section to acquire a teaching certificate 24 pursuant to Article 21 of this Code. Such certificates and 25 the persons to whom they are issued shall be exempt from the 26 provisions of Article 21 of this Code except that Sections 27 21-12, 21-13, 21-16, 21-17, 21-19, 21-21, 21-22, 21-23 and 28 21-24 shall continue to be applicable to all such 29 certificates. 30 After the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1984, 31 an additional renewal for a period to expire August 31, 1985, 32 may be granted. The State Board of Education shall report to 33 the General Assembly on or before January 31, 1985 its 34 recommendations for the qualification of teachers of HB0534 Engrossed -3- LRB9101849NTsbA 1 bilingual education and for the qualification of teachers of 2 English as a second language. Said qualification program 3 shall take effect no later than August 31, 1985. 4 Beginning July 1, 2001, the State Board of Education 5 shall implement a test or tests to assess the speaking, 6 reading, writing, and grammar skills of applicants for a 7 certificate issued under this Section in the English language 8 and in the language of the transitional bilingual education 9 program requested by the applicant and shall establish 10 appropriate fees for these tests. The State Board of 11 Education, in consultation with the Certification Board, 12 shall promulgate rules to implement the required tests, 13 including specific provisions to govern test selection, test 14 validation, determination of a passing score, administration 15 of the test or tests, frequency of administration, applicant 16 fees, identification requirements for test takers, frequency 17 of applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score 18 is valid, waiving tests for individuals who have 19 satisfactorily passed other tests, and the consequences of 20 dishonest conduct in the application for or taking of the 21 tests. 22 If the qualifications of an applicant for a certificate 23 valid for teaching in transitional bilingual education 24 programs in all grades of the common schools do not meet the 25 requirements established for the issuance of that 26 certificate, the Certification Board nevertheless shall issue 27 the applicant a substitute teacher's certificate under 28 Section 21-9 whenever it appears from the face of the 29 application submitted for certification as a teacher of 30 transitional bilingual education and the evidence presented 31 in support thereof that the applicant's qualifications meet 32 the requirements established for the issuance of a 33 certificate under Section 21-9; provided, that if it does not 34 appear from the face of such application and supporting HB0534 Engrossed -4- LRB9101849NTsbA 1 evidence that the applicant is qualified for issuance of a 2 certificate under Section 21-9 the Certification Board shall 3 evaluate the application with reference to the requirements 4 for issuance of certificates under Section 21-9 and shall 5 inform the applicant, at the time it denies the application 6 submitted for certification as a teacher of transitional 7 bilingual education, of the additional qualifications which 8 the applicant must possess in order to meet the requirements 9 established for issuance of (i) a certificate valid for 10 teaching in transitional bilingual education programs in all 11 grades of the common schools and (ii) a substitute teacher's 12 certificate under Section 21-9. 13 (Source: P.A. 86-1002.) 14 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 15 becoming law.