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Public Act 096-0689 |
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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 adding Section | ||||
18-12.5 and by changing Sections 21-1a and 21-10 as follows: | ||||
(105 ILCS 5/18-12.5 new)
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Sec. 18-12.5. State aid claims during health emergencies. | ||||
After consultation with a local health department, if a school | ||||
district closes one or more recognized school buildings, but | ||||
not all buildings, during a public health emergency, as | ||||
determined by the State Board of Education in consultation with | ||||
the Illinois Department of Public Health, the district may | ||||
claim a full day of attendance for those days based on the | ||||
average of the 3 school days of attendance immediately | ||||
preceding the closure of the school building. Attendance for | ||||
those days may be claimed only if the school building was | ||||
scheduled to be in operation on those days. The partial or no | ||||
day of attendance and the reasons thereof shall be certified, | ||||
as prescribed by the State Board of Education, within a month | ||||
after the closing by the school district superintendent to the | ||||
regional superintendent of schools for forwarding to the State | ||||
Superintendent of Education for approval. | ||||
This Section is applicable beginning April 1, 2009 and only |
if a school district closes a building or buildings, but not | ||
the entire district, which must be done in accordance with | ||
Section 18-12 of this Code.
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(105 ILCS 5/21-1a) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-1a)
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Sec. 21-1a. Tests required for certification and teacher | ||
preparation.
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(a) After July 1, 1988, in addition to all other | ||
requirements, early
childhood, elementary, special, high | ||
school, school service personnel, or,
except as provided in | ||
Section 34-6, administrative certificates shall be
issued to | ||
persons who have satisfactorily passed a test of basic skills , | ||
an assessment of professional teaching, and a test of subject | ||
matter knowledge, provided that a person who passed another | ||
state's test of basic skills as a condition of certification or | ||
of admission to a teacher preparation program shall not be | ||
required to pass this State's test of basic skills and
subject | ||
matter knowledge .
A person who holds a valid and comparable | ||
out-of-state certificate, however, is not required to take a | ||
test of basic skills and is not required to take a test of | ||
subject matter knowledge, provided that the person has | ||
successfully passed a test of subject matter knowledge in | ||
another state or territory of the United States that is | ||
directly related in content to the specific subject area of | ||
certification. The tests of basic skills and subject matter
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knowledge shall be the tests which from time to time are |
designated by the
State Board of Education in consultation with | ||
the State Teacher
Certification Board and may be tests prepared | ||
by an educational testing
organization or tests designed by the | ||
State Board of Education in
consultation with the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board. The areas to be
covered by the test of | ||
basic skills shall include the basic skills of
reading, | ||
writing, grammar and mathematics. The test of subject matter
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knowledge shall assess content knowledge in the specific | ||
subject field. The
tests shall be designed to be racially | ||
neutral to assure that no
person in taking the tests is thereby | ||
discriminated against on the basis of
race, color, national | ||
origin or other factors unrelated to the person's
ability to | ||
perform as a certificated employee. The score required to pass
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the tests of basic skills and subject matter knowledge shall be | ||
fixed by
the State Board of Education in consultation with the | ||
State Teacher
Certification Board. The tests shall be held not | ||
fewer than 3 times a year
at such time and place as may be | ||
designated by the State Board of Education
in consultation with | ||
the State Teacher Certification Board.
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(b) Except as provided in Section 34-6, the provisions of | ||
subsection
(a) of this Section shall apply equally in any | ||
school district subject to
Article 34, provided that the State | ||
Board of Education shall determine
which certificates issued | ||
under Sections 34-8.1 and 34-83 prior to July 1,
1988 are | ||
comparable to any early childhood certificate, elementary | ||
school
certificate, special certificate, high school |
certificate, school service
personnel certificate or | ||
administrative certificate issued under this
Article as of July | ||
1, 1988.
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(c) A person who holds an early childhood, elementary, | ||
special, high
school or school service personnel certificate | ||
issued under this Article on
or at any time before July 1, | ||
1988, including a person who has been
issued any such | ||
certificate pursuant to Section 21-11.1 or in exchange for
a | ||
comparable certificate theretofore issued under Section 34-8.1 | ||
or Section
34-83, shall not be required to take or pass the | ||
tests in order to
thereafter have such certificate renewed.
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(d) The State Board of Education in consultation with the | ||
State Teacher
Certification Board shall conduct a pilot | ||
administration of the tests by
administering the test to | ||
students completing teacher education programs in
the 1986-87 | ||
school year for the purpose of determining the effect and
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impact of testing candidates for certification.
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Beginning with the 2002-2003 academic year, a student may | ||
not enroll
in a teacher preparation program at a recognized | ||
teacher training
institution until he or she has passed the | ||
basic skills test.
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Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||
the 94th General Assembly, prior to completing an approved | ||
teacher preparation program, a preservice education candidate | ||
must satisfactorily pass the test of subject matter knowledge | ||
in the discipline in which he or she will be certified to |
teach. The teacher preparation program may require passage of | ||
the test of subject matter knowledge at any time during the | ||
program, including prior to student teaching.
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(e) The rules and regulations developed to implement the | ||
required test
of basic skills and subject matter knowledge | ||
shall include the requirements
of subsections (a), (b), and (c) | ||
and shall include specific regulations to
govern test | ||
selection; test validation and determination of a passing
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score; administration of the tests; frequency of | ||
administration; applicant
fees; frequency of applicants' | ||
taking the tests; the years for which a
score is valid; and, | ||
waiving certain additional tests for additional
certificates | ||
to individuals who have satisfactorily passed the test of
basic | ||
skills and subject matter knowledge as required in subsection | ||
(a).
The State Board of Education shall provide, by rule, | ||
specific policies that
assure uniformity in the difficulty | ||
level of each form of the basic skills
test and each subject | ||
matter knowledge test from test-to-test and
year-to-year. The | ||
State Board of Education shall also set a passing
score for the | ||
tests.
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(f) The State Teacher Certification Board may issue a | ||
nonrenewable
temporary certificate between July 1, 1988 and | ||
August 31, 1988 to
individuals who have taken the tests of | ||
basic skills and subject matter
knowledge prescribed by this | ||
Section but have not received such test scores
by August 31, | ||
1988. Such temporary certificates shall expire on
December 31, |
1988.
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(g) Beginning February 15, 2000, the State Board of
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Education, in
consultation with the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board,
shall implement and administer a new | ||
system of certification for teachers in
the State of Illinois. | ||
The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
State | ||
Teacher Certification Board, shall design
and implement a | ||
system of examinations and various other criteria which
shall | ||
be required prior to the issuance of Initial Teaching | ||
Certificates and
Standard Teaching Certificates. These | ||
examinations and indicators shall be
based on national and | ||
State professional teaching standards,
as determined by
the | ||
State Board of Education, in consultation with the State | ||
Teacher
Certification Board. The State
Board of Education may | ||
adopt any and all regulations necessary to implement and
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administer
this Section.
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(h) The State Board of Education shall report to the | ||
Illinois
General Assembly and the Governor with | ||
recommendations for further changes and
improvements to the | ||
teacher certification system no later than July 1,
1999
and on | ||
an annual basis until July 1, 2001.
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(Source: P.A. 93-679, eff. 6-30-04; 94-208, eff. 7-14-05.)
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(105 ILCS 5/21-10) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-10)
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Sec. 21-10. Provisional certificate.
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(A) Until July 1, 1972, the
State Teacher Certification |
Board may issue a provisional certificate
valid for teaching in | ||
elementary, high school or special subject fields
subject to | ||
the following conditions:
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A provisional certificate may be issued to a person who | ||
presents
certified evidence of having earned a bachelor's | ||
degree from a
recognized institution of higher learning. The | ||
academic and
professional courses offered as a basis of the | ||
provisional certificate
shall be courses approved by the State | ||
Board of Education in
consultation with the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board.
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A certificate earned under this plan may be renewed at the | ||
end of
each two-year period upon evidence filed with the State | ||
Teacher
Certification Board that the holder has earned 8 | ||
semester hours of
credit within the period; provided the | ||
requirements for the certificate
of the same type issued for | ||
the teaching position for which the teacher
is employed shall | ||
be met by the end of the second renewal period. A
second | ||
provisional certificate shall not be issued. The credits so
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earned must be approved by the State Board of Education in
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consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board and | ||
must meet
the general pattern for a similar type of certificate | ||
issued on the
basis of credit. No more than 4 semester hours | ||
shall be chosen from
elective subjects.
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(B) After July 1, 1972, the State Teacher Certification | ||
Board may
issue a provisional certificate valid for teaching in | ||
early childhood,
elementary, high school or special subject |
fields, or for providing service as
school service personnel or | ||
for administering schools subject to the following
conditions: | ||
A provisional certificate may be issued to a person who meets | ||
the
requirements for a regular teaching, school service | ||
personnel or administrative
certificate in another State and | ||
who
presents certified evidence of having earned a bachelor's | ||
degree from a
recognized institution of higher learning. The | ||
academic and
professional courses offered as a basis of the | ||
provisional certificate
shall be courses approved by the State | ||
Board of Education in
consultation with the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board. A certificate
earned under this plan is | ||
valid for a period of 2 years and
shall not be renewed ; | ||
however, the individual to whom this certificate is
issued | ||
shall have passed or shall pass the examinations
set forth by | ||
the State Board of Education within 9 months of the date of | ||
issuance
of the provisional certificate. Failure to pass the | ||
tests,
required in Section 21-1a, shall result in the | ||
cancellation of the
provisional certificate .
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(C) The State Teacher Certification Board may also issue a
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provisional vocational certificate and a temporary provisional
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vocational certificate.
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(1) The requirements for a provisional vocational | ||
certificate shall
be determined by the State Board of | ||
Education in
consultation with the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board; provided, the
following
minimum | ||
requirements are met: (a) after July 1, 1972, at least 30
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semester hours of credit from a recognized institution of | ||
higher
learning; and (b) after July 1, 1974, at least 60 | ||
semester hours of
credit from a recognized institution of | ||
higher learning.
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(2) The requirements for a temporary provisional | ||
vocational
certificate shall be determined by the State | ||
Board of Education in consultation
with the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board;
provided, the following minimum | ||
requirements are met: (a) after July 1,
1973, at least | ||
4,000 hours of work experience in the skill to be
certified | ||
for teaching; and (b) after July 1, 1975, at least 8,000 | ||
hours
of work experience in the skill to be certified for | ||
teaching. Any
certificate issued under the provisions of | ||
this paragraph shall expire
on June 30 following the date | ||
of issue. Renewals may be granted on a
yearly basis, but | ||
shall not be granted to any person who does not file
with | ||
the State Teacher Certification Board a transcript showing | ||
at least
3 semester hours of credit earned during the | ||
previous year in a
recognized institution of learning. No | ||
such certificate shall be issued
except upon certification | ||
by the employing board, subject to the
approval of the | ||
regional superintendent of schools, that no qualified
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teacher holding a regular certificate or a provisional | ||
vocational
certificate is available and that actual | ||
circumstances and need require
such issuance.
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The courses or work experience offered as a basis for the |
issuance of
the provisional vocational certificate or the | ||
temporary provisional
vocational certificate shall be approved | ||
by the State Board of Education
in consultation with the State | ||
Teacher
Certification Board.
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(D) Until July 1, 1972, the State Teacher Certification | ||
Board may
also issue a provisional foreign language certificate | ||
valid for 4 years
for teaching the foreign language named | ||
therein in all grades of the
common schools and shall be issued | ||
to persons who have graduated from a
recognized institution of | ||
higher learning with not fewer than 120
semester hours of | ||
credit and who have met other requirements as
determined by the | ||
State Board of Education in consultation
with the State Teacher | ||
Certification Board. If the holder of a
provisional foreign | ||
language certificate is not a citizen of the United
States | ||
within 6 years of the date of issuance of the original
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certificate, such certificate shall be suspended by the | ||
regional
superintendent of schools of the region in which the | ||
holder is engaged
to teach and shall not be reinstated until | ||
the holder is a citizen of
the United States.
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(E) Notwithstanding anything in this Act to the contrary, | ||
the State
Teacher Certification Board shall issue part-time | ||
provisional certificates to
eligible individuals who are | ||
professionals and craftsmen.
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The requirements for a part-time provisional teachers | ||
certificate shall be
determined by the State Board of Education | ||
in consultation with the State
Teacher Certification Board, |
provided the following minimum
requirements are met: 60 | ||
semester hours of credit from a recognized
institution of | ||
higher learning or 4000
hours of work experience in the skill | ||
to be certified for teaching.
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A part-time provisional certificate may be issued for | ||
teaching no more than 2
courses of study for grades 6 through | ||
12.
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A part-time provisional teachers certificate shall be | ||
valid for 2 years and
may be renewed at the end of each 2 year | ||
period.
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(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||
2009. |