Public Act 095-0270
 
SB0306 Enrolled LRB095 08155 NHT 28320 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
21-5b as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/21-5b)
    Sec. 21-5b. Alternative certification. The State Board of
Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
Certification Board, shall establish and implement an
alternative certification program under which persons who meet
the requirements of and successfully complete the program
established by this Section shall be issued an alternative
teaching certificate for teaching in the schools. The program
shall be limited to not more than 260 new participants during
each year that the program is in effect. The State Board of
Education, in cooperation with a partnership formed with a
university that offers 4-year baccalaureate and masters degree
programs and that is a recognized institution as defined in
Section 21-21 and one or more not-for-profit organizations in
the State which support excellence in teaching, shall within 30
days after submission by the partnership approve a course of
study developed by the partnership that persons in the program
must successfully complete in order to satisfy one criterion
for issuance of an alternative certificate under this Section.
The Alternative Teacher Certification program course of study
must include the current content and skills contained in the
university's current courses for State certification which
have been approved by the State Board of Education, in
consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board, as the
requirement for State teacher certification.
    The alternative certification program established under
this Section shall be known as the Alternative Teacher
Certification program. The Alternative Teacher Certification
Program shall be offered by the submitting partnership and may
be offered in conjunction with one or more not-for-profit
organizations in the State which support excellence in
teaching. The program shall be comprised of the following 3
phases: (a) the first phase is the course of study offered on
an intensive basis in education theory, instructional methods,
and practice teaching; (b) the second phase is the person's
assignment to a full-time teaching position for one school
year; and (c) the third phase is a comprehensive assessment of
the person's teaching performance by school officials and the
partnership participants and a recommendation by the partner
institution of higher education to the State Board of Education
that the person be issued a standard alternative teaching
certificate. Successful completion of the Alternative Teacher
Certification program shall be deemed to satisfy any other
practice or student teaching and subject matter requirements
established by law.
    A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
shall be issued under this Section 21-5b to persons who at the
time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
certificate under this Section:
        (1) have graduated from an accredited college or
    university with a bachelor's degree;
        (2) have successfully completed the first phase of the
    Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in
    this Section;
        (3) have passed the tests of basic skills and subject
    matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a; and
        (4) (i) have been employed for a period of at least 5
    years in an area requiring application of the individual's
    education or (ii) have attained at least a cumulative grade
    average of a "B" if the individual is assigned either to a
    school district that has not met the annual measurable
    objective for highly qualified teachers required by the
    Illinois Revised Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) Plan or to
    a school district whose data filed with the State Board of
    Education indicates that the district's poor and minority
    students are taught by teachers who are not highly
    qualified at a higher rate than other students; however,
    this item (4) requirement does not apply with respect to a
    provisional alternative teaching certificate for teaching
    in schools situated in a school district that is located in
    a city having a population in excess of 500,000
    inhabitants. Assignment may be made under clause (ii) of
    this item (4) only if the district superintendent and the
    exclusive bargaining representative of the district's
    teachers, if any, jointly agree to permit the assignment.
    A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
under this Section shall be treated as a regularly certified
teacher for purposes of compensation, benefits, and other terms
and conditions of employment afforded teachers in the school
who are members of a bargaining unit represented by an
exclusive bargaining representative, if any.
    Until February 15, 2000, a standard alternative teaching
certificate, valid for 4 years for teaching in the schools and
renewable as provided in Section 21-14, shall be issued under
this Section 21-5b to persons who first complete the
requirements for the provisional alternative teaching
certificate and who at the time of applying for a standard
alternative teaching certificate under this Section have
successfully completed the second and third phases of the
Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in this
Section. Alternatively, beginning February 15, 2000, at the end
of the 4-year validity period, persons who were issued a
standard alternative teaching certificate shall be eligible,
on the same basis as holders of an Initial Teaching Certificate
issued under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of this Code, to
apply for a Standard Teaching Certificate, provided they meet
the requirements of subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code
and further provided that a person who does not apply for and
receive a Standard Teaching Certificate shall be able to teach
only in schools situated in a school district that is located
in a city having a population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
    Beginning February 15, 2000, persons who have completed the
requirements for a standard alternative teaching certificate
under this Section shall be issued an Initial Alternative
Teaching Certificate valid for 4 years of teaching and not
renewable. At the end of the 4-year validity period, these
persons shall be eligible, on the same basis as holders of an
Initial Teaching Certificate issued under subsection (b) of
Section 21-2 of this Code, to apply for a Standard Teaching
Certificate, provided they meet the requirements of subsection
(c) of Section 21-2.
    This alternative certification program shall be
implemented so that the first provisional alternative teaching
certificates issued under this Section are effective upon the
commencement of the 1997-1998 academic year and the first
standard alternative teaching certificates issued under this
Section are effective upon the commencement of the 1998-1999
academic year.
    The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the
partnership establishing the Alternative Teacher Certification
program, shall adopt rules and regulations that are consistent
with this Section and that the State Board of Education deems
necessary to establish and implement the program.
(Source: P.A. 91-609, eff. 1-1-00.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.