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Public Act 095-0270
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| SB0306 Enrolled |
LRB095 08155 NHT 28320 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
21-5b as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/21-5b)
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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
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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
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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 |
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for issuance of an alternative certificate under this Section.
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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.
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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
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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
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Certification program shall be deemed to satisfy any other
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practice or student teaching and subject matter requirements |
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established by
law.
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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:
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(1) have graduated from an accredited college or |
university with a
bachelor's degree;
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(2) have successfully completed the first phase of the |
Alternative Teacher
Certification program as provided in |
this Section;
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(3) have passed the tests of basic skills and subject |
matter knowledge
required by Section
21-1a; and
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(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 |
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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.
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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.
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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 |
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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
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only in
schools situated in a school district that is located |
in a city having a
population in excess
of 500,000 inhabitants.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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standard alternative teaching certificates issued under this |
Section are
effective upon the commencement of the 1998-1999 |
academic year.
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The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the |
partnership
establishing the Alternative Teacher Certification |
program, shall adopt rules
and regulations that are consistent |