Section 25.155  Initial Recognition Procedures

The procedures set forth in this Section shall apply to initial recognition of an institution and the concurrent accreditation of the educational unit and approval of one or more teacher preparation programs within that institution.

a)         An institution may notify the State Board of Education of its desire to initiate the initial recognition, accreditation, and program approval process by submitting a letter of intent to the State Superintendent of Education on a form provided by the State Board.  Within 30 days after receipt of such a notification, the State Superintendent shall respond to the institution, identifying the staff member who will be responsible for assisting the institution and inviting the institution to submit its required materials to that individual.

b)         The institution shall submit to the State Superintendent of Education, in the quantity and format specified by the State Superintendent, a report containing:

1)         information indicating that the institution meets the conditions described in Section 25.115(a) of this Part;

2)         a written description of the educational unit, including:

A)        identification of the unit, its mission, purposes, or goals, its authority and responsibilities for professional education, and its coordination of the institution's various teacher preparation programs;

B)        identification of the dean, chair, or director who is officially designated to represent the educational unit and is assigned the authority and responsibility for its overall administration and operation;

C)        the written policies and procedures which guide the operations of the educational unit;

D)        the unit's policies for monitoring and evaluating its operations, the quality of its offerings, performance of candidates, and effectiveness of its graduates; and

E)         the unit's published criteria for admission to and exit from all initial and advanced preparation programs for professional educators, and provision for summary reports of candidate performance at exit; and

3)         a complete description of the unit's conceptual frameworks and its/their development, which shall address each of the "structural elements" of conceptual frameworks found in the standards referred to in Section 25.115(b) of this Part.

c)         Review of conceptual frameworks for institutions seeking initial recognition shall be conducted at least annually, during a time period announced by the State Superintendent of Education, by a panel convened by the State Superintendent.  Each review shall encompass all materials postmarked no later than 60 days prior to the date of the review.  No later than 30 days after the panel completes its review, the State Board of Education shall notify the institution either that the description of its conceptual frameworks is adequate or that certain structural elements were not adequately addressed.

d)         If the description of the conceptual frameworks is not found to be adequate, no further review of the institution shall occur unless the institution submits a revised conceptual framework.  If the description of the conceptual frameworks is found to be adequate, a review visit shall be scheduled no later than the conclusion of the following academic year and for the mutual convenience of the affected institution and the review panel.

e)         With regard to each program for which approval is sought, the institution shall submit to the State Superintendent of Education a program report meeting the requirements of Section 25.127(a) of this Part.  An institution shall submit its program reports no later than one year prior to the projected date of its institutional review pursuant to subsection (h) of this Section.

f)          A panel established by the State Superintendent shall review the program report of each proposed program.  The members of each panel shall be chosen from a pool of individuals with expertise in the respective content area.

1)         No later than 30 days after the State Superintendent receives a program report, staff shall notify the affected institution as to whether the report is complete pursuant to Section 25.127(a) of this Part.

2)         An institution may provide additional material to complete a program report within 30 days after receiving a notification to the effect that a report is incomplete.

3)         No later than six months prior to the scheduled date of the visit, the review panel shall notify the affected institution of any applicable standards not addressed in its program report, as well as any deficiencies which, if not improved, will be identified in the panel's critique as areas for improvement.

4)         Within 60 days after receiving the panel's notification under subsection (f)(3) of this Section, the affected institution may submit revisions to a program report that may include descriptions of changes in the program made in response to the critique provided by the panel.

5)         No later than 60 days before the scheduled date of the review visit referred to in this Section, each program review panel shall submit to the affected institution and to the State Superintendent a final critique describing the degree to which the program meets the applicable content standards established by the State Board of Education and recommending action with respect to the proposed program.

g)         The institution shall submit to the State Superintendent an institutional report incorporating an overview of the institution, an overview of the unit's conceptual frameworks, and evidence that it is meeting each of the standards referred to in Section 25.115(b) of this Part.  This report shall be submitted in a format and quantity prescribed by the State Superintendent of Education.

h)         The State Superintendent of Education shall authorize the scheduling of an on-site review visit to the institution when:

1)         its conceptual framework is found to be adequate;

2)         the institution has submitted the narrative required under subsection (g) of this Section; and

3)         a panel has reviewed each program report submitted by the institution as required by subsection (f) of this Section and has determined that each report meets the applicable content standards established by the State Board of Education.

i)          From a pool of individuals who have been trained in the applicable standards and procedures, the State Superintendent shall empanel a team to conduct an on-site review to verify the information provided by the institution as required by subsection (g) of this Section.  A staff member of the State Board of Education shall accompany the team, serving as a consulting, ex officio member to ensure that applicable standards, procedures, rules, and statutes are addressed.  The review team shall conduct the review visit, prepare its draft and final reports, and submit its final report as provided in Section 25.125(e) and (f) of this Part.

j)          Within 30 days after receipt of the final report, the institution shall submit to the State Superintendent either a letter stating agreement with the report's findings or a rejoinder to those findings meeting the requirements of Section 25.125(g) of this Part.

k)         Staff of the State Board of Education shall convey to the State Teacher Certification Board the review team's report, the institution's letter of agreement or rejoinder, a response to that rejoinder provided by the team's chair, and any other relevant documentation that was available to the review team.

l)          The State Teacher Certification Board, after reviewing all the relevant materials, shall convey its recommendation to the State Superintendent that the State Board of Education:

1)         Recognize the institution, accredit the educational unit, and approve one or more proposed teacher education programs, thereby authorizing the educational unit to conduct the approved programs and to recommend candidates for certification by entitlement; or

2)         Recognize the institution, provisionally accredit the educational unit, and approve one or more proposed teacher education programs, thereby authorizing the educational unit to conduct the approved programs and recommend candidates for certification by entitlement (subject to the requirements of Section 25.125(j)(2) of this Part); or

3)         Deny recognition of the institution, accreditation of the affected educational unit, or approval of one or more teacher education programs, thereby prohibiting the conduct of the proposed programs.

m)        Actions following upon the recommendation of the State Teacher Certification Board shall be as described in Section 25.160 of this Part.

(Source:  Amended at 30 Ill. Reg. 8494, effective April 21, 2006)