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92_HB1026eng HB1026 Engrossed LRB9207609NTsb 1 AN ACT concerning education. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing 5 Sections 14C-8, 21-1, and 21-2 as follows: 6 (105 ILCS 5/14C-8) (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-8) 7 Sec. 14C-8. Teacher certification - Qualifications - 8 Issuance of certificates. No person shall be eligible for 9 employment by a school district as a teacher of transitional 10 bilingual education without either (a) holding a valid 11 teaching certificate issued pursuant to Article 21 of this 12 Code and meeting such additional language and course 13 requirements as prescribed by the State Board of Education, 14 in consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board, 15 or (b) meeting the requirements set forth in this Section. 16 The State Board of Education, in consultation with the State 17 Teacher Certification Board, shall issue certificates valid 18 for teaching in all grades of the common school in 19 transitional bilingual education programs to any person who 20 presents it with satisfactory evidence that he possesses an 21 adequate speaking and reading ability in a language other 22 than English in which transitional bilingual education is 23 offered and communicative skills in English, and possessed 24 within 5 years previous to his or her applying for a 25 certificate under this Section a valid teaching certificate 26 issued by a foreign country, or by a State or possession or 27 territory of the United States, or other evidence of teaching 28 preparation as may be determined to be sufficient by the 29 State Board of Education, in consultation with the State 30 Teacher Certification Board, or holds a degree from an 31 institution of higher learning in a foreign country which the HB1026 Engrossed -2- LRB9207609NTsb 1 State Board of Education, in consultation with the State 2 Certification Board, determines to be the equivalent of a 3 bachelor's degree from a recognized institution of higher 4 learning in the United States; provided that any person 5 seeking a certificate under this Section must meet the 6 following additional requirements: 7 (1) Such persons must be in good health; 8 (2) Such persons must be of sound moral character; 9 (3) Such persons must be legally present in the United 10 States and possess legal authorization for employment; 11 (4) Such persons must not be employed to replace any 12 presently employed teacher who otherwise would not be 13 replaced for any reason. 14 Certificates issuedissuablepursuant to this Section 15 shall be called transitional bilingual certificates. These 16 certificates are valid for 2 years and may not be renewed 17 more than 3 times for a period of 2 years each, after the 18 2nd, 4th, and 6th year of teaching. A transitional bilingual 19 certificate may not be renewed unless the holder successfully 20 completes a minimum of 9 semester hours of college or 21 university coursework in an approved education program 22 leading to eligibility for an Initial or Standard Teaching 23 Certificate, issued pursuant to Section 21-2 of this Code, 24 during each 2-year validity period of the transitional 25 bilingual certificate. All applications for renewal of a 26 transitional bilingual certificate shall be directed to the 27 State Board of Education and shall contain documentation that 28 the certificate holder has successfully completed the 29 required coursework.issuable only during the 5 years30immediately following the effective date of this Act and31thereafter for additional periods of one year only upon a32determination by the State Board of Education that a school33district lacks the number of teachers necessary to comply34with the mandatory requirements of Sections 14C-2.1 and 14C-3HB1026 Engrossed -3- LRB9207609NTsb 1of this Article for the establishment and maintenance of2programs of transitional bilingual education and said3certificates issued by the Certification Board shall be valid4for a period of 6 years following their date of issuance and5shall not be renewed, except that one renewal for a period of6two years may be granted if necessary to permit the holder of7a certificate issued under this Section to acquire a teaching8certificate pursuant to Article 21 of this Code.Such 9 certificates and the persons to whom they are issued shall be 10 exempt from the provisions of Article 21 of this Code except 11 that Sections 21-12, 21-13, 21-16, 21-17, 21-19, 21-21, 12 21-22, 21-23 and 21-24 shall continue to be applicable to all 13 such certificates and certificate holders. 14 Each holder of a transitional bilingual certificate must 15 develop a plan for satisfying the renewal requirements every 16 2 years, if necessary, and must maintain records of 17 completion of required coursework to document his or her 18 progress. Each school district that employs a holder of a 19 transitional bilingual certificate must (i) review the 20 certificate holder's plan, (ii) monitor the certificate 21 holder's progress made annually, and (iii) retain the 22 documentation provided by the certificate holder. The school 23 district must certify to the State Board of Education that 24 the certificate holder has successfully completed the 25 required coursework. If exceptional circumstances exist, the 26 State Superintendent of Education may grant an additional 27 period of time to fulfill the renewal requirements for one 28 2-year period, as long as the maximum amount of time a 29 certificate is held is 8 years. Eligibility and application 30 for the additional period of time shall be determined in 31 accordance with rules established by the State Board of 32 Education, in consultation with the State Teacher 33 Certification Board. Each school district that employs a 34 holder of a transitional bilingual certificate is encouraged HB1026 Engrossed -4- LRB9207609NTsb 1 to provide mentoring by an experienced teacher during the 2 first 2 years that the holder's certificate is valid. 3 An individual who completes 4 years of teaching after 4 receiving a transitional bilingual certificate issued and 5 renewed pursuant to this Section qualifies for a Standard 6 Teaching Certificate, provided that the individual satisfies 7 the requirements for a Standard Certificate established under 8 subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code, including 9 successful completion of the Standard Teaching Certificate 10 Examination beginning July 1, 2003. An individual who so 11 qualifies for a Standard Teaching Certificate without receipt 12 of an Initial Teaching Certificate must successfully complete 13 the Initial Teaching Certification examination established 14 under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of this Code. A 15 transitional bilingual certificate may not be renewed after 16 the 4th year of teaching unless the certificate holder 17 satisfactorily passes the test of basic skills established 18 under Section 21-1a of this Code before application for a 19 second renewal.After the effective date of this amendatory20Act of 1984, an additional renewal for a period to expire21August 31, 1985, may be granted. The State Board of Education22shall report to the General Assembly on or before January 31,231985 its recommendations for the qualification of teachers of24bilingual education and for the qualification of teachers of25English as a second language. Said qualification program26shall take effect no later than August 31, 1985.27 Beginning July 1, 2001, the State Board of Education 28 shall implement a test or tests to assess the speaking, 29 reading, writing, and grammar skills of applicants for a 30 certificate issued under this Section in the English language 31 and in the language of the transitional bilingual education 32 program requested by the applicant and shall establish 33 appropriate fees for these tests. The State Board of 34 Education, in consultation with the Certification Board, HB1026 Engrossed -5- LRB9207609NTsb 1 shall promulgate rules to implement the required tests, 2 including specific provisions to govern test selection, test 3 validation, determination of a passing score, administration 4 of the test or tests, frequency of administration, applicant 5 fees, identification requirements for test takers, frequency 6 of applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score 7 is valid, waiving tests for individuals who have 8 satisfactorily passed other tests, and the consequences of 9 dishonest conduct in the application for or taking of the 10 tests. 11 If the qualifications of an applicant for a certificate 12 valid for teaching in transitional bilingual education 13 programs in all grades of the common schools do not meet the 14 requirements established for the issuance of that 15 certificate, the Certification Board nevertheless shall issue 16 the applicant a substitute teacher's certificate under 17 Section 21-9 whenever it appears from the face of the 18 application submitted for certification as a teacher of 19 transitional bilingual education and the evidence presented 20 in support thereof that the applicant's qualifications meet 21 the requirements established for the issuance of a 22 certificate under Section 21-9; provided, that if it does not 23 appear from the face of such application and supporting 24 evidence that the applicant is qualified for issuance of a 25 certificate under Section 21-9 the Certification Board shall 26 evaluate the application with reference to the requirements 27 for issuance of certificates under Section 21-9 and shall 28 inform the applicant, at the time it denies the application 29 submitted for certification as a teacher of transitional 30 bilingual education, of the additional qualifications which 31 the applicant must possess in order to meet the requirements 32 established for issuance of (i) a certificate valid for 33 teaching in transitional bilingual education programs in all 34 grades of the common schools and (ii) a substitute teacher's HB1026 Engrossed -6- LRB9207609NTsb 1 certificate under Section 21-9. 2 (Source: P.A. 91-370, eff. 7-30-99.) 3 (105 ILCS 5/21-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-1) 4 Sec. 21-1. Qualification of teachers. No one may be 5 certified to teach or supervise in the public schools of this 6 State who is not of good character, good health, a citizen of 7 the United States or legally present and authorized for 8 employment, and at least 19 years of age. If the holder of a 9 certificate under this Section is not a citizen of the United 10 States 6 years after the date of the issuance of the original 11 certificate, any certificate held by such person on that date 12 shall be cancelled by the board of education and no other 13 certificate to teach shall be issued to such person until 14 such person is a citizen of the United States. However, the 15 State Superintendent of Education may extend this 6-year time 16 limit for a period of 2 years if the person certifies his or 17 her intention to become a United States citizen and furnishes 18 proof that he or she has filed an application for United 19 States citizenship. Upon the expiration of this extension 20 period, the State Superintendent of Education may grant an 21 additional extension of 2 years upon proof that the person's 22 application for citizenship is pending. If the person is not 23 a United States citizen by the end of this additional 24 extension period, any certificate held by that person at the 25 end of this period shall be cancelled by the board of 26 education and no other certificate may be issued until the 27 person furnishes proof that he or she is a United States 28 citizen. 29 Citizenship is not required for the issuance of a 30 temporary part-time certificate to participants in approved 31 training programs for exchange students as described in 32 Section 21-10.2. A certificate issued under this plan shall 33 expire on June 30 following the date of issue. One renewal HB1026 Engrossed -7- LRB9207609NTsb 1 for one year is authorized if the holder remains as an 2 official participant in an approved exchange program. 3 In determining good character under this Section, any 4 felony conviction of the applicant may be taken into 5 consideration, but such a conviction shall not operate as a 6 bar to registration. 7 No person otherwise qualified shall be denied the right 8 to be certified, to receive training for the purpose of 9 becoming a teacher or to engage in practice teaching in any 10 school because of a physical disability including but not 11 limited to visual and hearing disabilities; nor shall any 12 school district refuse to employ a teacher on such grounds, 13 provided that the person is able to carry out the duties of 14 the position for which he applies. 15 No person may be granted or continue to hold a teaching 16 certificate who has knowingly altered or misrepresented his 17 or her teaching qualifications in order to acquire the 18 certificate. Any other certificate held by such person may 19 be suspended or revoked by the State Teacher Certification 20 Board, depending upon the severity of the alteration or 21 misrepresentation. 22 No one may teach or supervise in the public schools nor 23 receive for teaching or supervising any part of any public 24 school fund, who does not hold a certificate of qualification 25 granted by the State Board of Education or by the State 26 Teacher Certification Board and a regional superintendent of 27 schools as hereinafter provided, or by the board of education 28 of a city having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants 29 except as provided in Section 34-6 and in Section 10-22.34 or 30 Section 10-22.34b. However, the provisions of this Article do 31 not apply to a member of the armed forces who is employed as 32 a teacher of subjects in the Reserve Officer's Training Corps 33 of any school. Sections 21-2 through 21-24 do not apply to 34 cities having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants, HB1026 Engrossed -8- LRB9207609NTsb 1 until July 1, 1988. 2 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the 3 board of education of any school district may grant to a 4 teacher of the district a leave of absence with full pay for 5 a period of not more than one year to permit such teacher to 6 teach in a foreign state under the provisions of the Exchange 7 Teacher Program established under Public Law 584, 79th 8 Congress, and Public Law 402, 80th Congress, as amended. The 9 school board granting such leave of absence may employ with 10 or without pay a national of the foreign state wherein the 11 teacher on leave of absence will teach, if the national is 12 qualified to teach in that foreign state, and if that 13 national will teach in a grade level similar to the one which 14 was taught in such foreign state. The State Board of 15 Education shall promulgate and enforce such reasonable rules 16 as may be necessary to effectuate this paragraph. 17 (Source: P.A. 88-189; 89-159, eff. 1-1-96; 89-397, eff. 18 8-20-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.) 19 (105 ILCS 5/21-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-2) 20 Sec. 21-2. Grades of certificates. 21 (a) Until February 15, 2000, all certificates issued 22 under this Article shall be State certificates valid, except 23 as limited in Section 21-1, in every school district coming 24 under the provisions of this Act and shall be limited in time 25 and designated as follows: Provisional vocational 26 certificate, temporary provisional vocational certificate, 27 early childhood certificate, elementary school certificate, 28 special certificate, high school certificate, school service 29 personnel certificate, administrative certificate, 30 provisional certificate, and substitute certificate. The 31 requirement of student teaching under close and competent 32 supervision for obtaining a teaching certificate may be 33 waived by the State Teacher Certification Board upon HB1026 Engrossed -9- LRB9207609NTsb 1 presentation to the Board by the teacher of evidence of 5 2 years successful teaching experience on a valid certificate 3 and graduation from a recognized institution of higher 4 learning with a bachelor's degree with not less than 120 5 semester hours and a minimum of 16 semester hours in 6 professional education. 7 (b) Initial Teaching Certificate. Beginning February 8 15, 2000, persons who (1) have completed an approved teacher 9 preparation program, (2) are recommended by an approved 10 teacher preparation program, (3) have successfully completed 11 the Initial Teaching Certification examinations required by 12 the State Board of Education, and (4) have met all other 13 criteria established by the State Board of Education in 14 consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board, 15 shall be issued an Initial Teaching Certificate valid for 4 16 years of teaching, as defined in Section 21-14 of this Code. 17 Initial Teaching Certificates shall be issued for categories 18 corresponding to Early Childhood, Elementary, Secondary, and 19 Special K-12, with special certification designations for 20 Special Education, Bilingual Education, fundamental learning 21 areas (including Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, 22 Science, Social Science, Physical Development and Health, 23 Fine Arts, and Foreign Language), and other areas designated 24 by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the 25 State Teacher Certification Board. 26 (c) Standard Certificate. Beginning February 15, 2000, 27 persons who (1) have completed 4 years of teaching, as 28 defined in Section 21-14 of this Code, with an Initial 29 Certificate or an Initial Alternative Teaching Certificate 30 and have met all other criteria established by the State 31 Board of Education in consultation with the State Teacher 32 Certification Board, (2) have completed 4 years of teaching 33 on a valid equivalent certificate in another State or 34 territory of the United States, have completed 4 years of HB1026 Engrossed -10- LRB9207609NTsb 1 teaching on a valid certificate issued pursuant to Section 2 14C-8 of this Code, or have completed 4 years of teaching in 3 a nonpublic Illinois elementary or secondary school with an 4 Initial Certificate or an Initial Alternative Teaching 5 Certificate, and have met all other criteria established by 6 the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State 7 Teacher Certification Board, or (3) were issued teaching 8 certificates prior to February 15, 2000 and are renewing 9 those certificates after February 15, 2000, shall be issued a 10 Standard Certificate valid for 5 years, which may be renewed 11 thereafter every 5 years by the State Teacher Certification 12 Board based on proof of continuing education or professional 13 development. Beginning July 1, 2003, persons who have 14 completed 4 years of teaching, as described in clauses (1) 15 and (2) of this subsection (c), have successfully completed 16 the Standard Teaching Certificate Examinations, and have met 17 all other criteria established by the State Board of 18 Education, in consultation with the State Teacher 19 Certification Board, shall be issued Standard Certificates. 20 Standard Certificates shall be issued for categories 21 corresponding to Early Childhood, Elementary, Secondary, and 22 Special K-12, with special certification designations for 23 Special Education, Bilingual Education, fundamental learning 24 areas (including Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, 25 Science, Social Science, Physical Development and Health, 26 Fine Arts, and Foreign Language), and other areas designated 27 by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the 28 State Teacher Certification Board. 29 (d) Master Certificate. Beginning February 15, 2000, 30 persons who have successfully achieved National Board 31 certification through the National Board for Professional 32 Teaching Standards shall be issued a Master Certificate, 33 valid for 10 years and renewable thereafter every 10 years 34 through compliance with requirements set forth by the State HB1026 Engrossed -11- LRB9207609NTsb 1 Board of Education, in consultation with the State Teacher 2 Certification Board. However, each teacher who holds a Master 3 Certificate shall be eligible for a teaching position in this 4 State in the areas for which he or she holds a Master 5 Certificate without satisfying any other requirements of this 6 Code, except for those requirements pertaining to criminal 7 background checks. A teacher who holds a Master Certificate 8 shall be deemed to meet State certification renewal 9 requirements in the area or areas for which he or she holds a 10 Master Certificate for the 10-year term of the teacher's 11 Master Certificate. 12 (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 90-653, eff. 7-29-98; 13 90-811, eff. 1-26-99; 91-102, eff. 7-12-99; 91-606, eff. 14 8-16-99; 91-609, eff. 1-1-00; revised 10-7-99.) 15 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 16 becoming law.