Section 25.315  Renewal of Administrative Certificate

 

The requirements set forth in this Section apply to renewal of administrative certificates in accordance with Section 21-7.1 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/21-7.1].

 

a)         Professional Development Required

Pursuant to Section 21-7.1 of the School Code, renewal of administrative certificates held by public school administrators who are serving in positions requiring administrative certification is contingent upon certificate-holders' presentation of evidence of continuing professional education.  For the purposes of this Section, the terms "continuing professional education" and "continuing professional development" shall be considered synonymous.  Renewal of any affected administrative certificate whose period of validity begins on or after July 1, 2003, shall require the certificate-holder's completion of professional development activities sufficient to satisfy the requirements of Section 21-7.1 of the School Code and presentation, upon request by the regional superintendent or a representative of the State Board of Education or if required as part of an appeal under this Section, of evidence of completion of the activities.

 

b)         Each activity shall be required to address one or more of the following purposes:

 

1)         improving the administrator's knowledge of instructional practices and administrative procedures;

 

2)         maintaining the basic level of competence required for initial certification; and

 

3)         improving skills and knowledge regarding the improvement of teaching performance in clinical settings and assessment of levels of student performance.  (Section 21-7.1 of the School Code)

 

c)         Activities selected to fulfill the requirement for 100 hours of professional development (see Section 21-7.1(c-10) of the School Code) shall be subject to the provisions of this subsection (c).

 

1)         Activities chosen for this purpose may include but need not be limited to:

 

A)        Completion of college/university courses;

 

B)        Participation in state and national conferences of professional organizations or in workshops, seminars, symposia, or other, similar training events;

 

C)        Teaching college/university courses or making presentations at conferences, workshops, seminars, symposia, or other, similar training events;

 

D)        Providing formal mentoring to one or more other administrators;

 

E)         Independent study; and

 

F)         Other activities related to the Illinois School Leader Standards and other applicable standards (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 29) such as developing or revising school programs, participating in Administrators' Academy courses, research, and other, similar projects.

 

2)         Continuing professional development hours for the activities chosen pursuant to this subsection (c) shall be credited as follows.

 

A)        Fifteen hours shall be credited for each semester hour of college credit earned.

 

B)        One hour shall be credited for each hour of the administrator's direct participation in a relevant activity other than college coursework, as verified by a log the administrator shall maintain and present upon request by the regional superintendent or a representative of the State Board of Education, or if required as part of an appeal under this Section, describing what was done with respect to each activity, with dates and amounts of time spent in each case.

 

d)         Required Administrators' Academy Courses

 

1)         An individual who fails to complete an Administrators' Academy course in a given year as required by Section 21-7.1(c-10)(B) of the School Code shall be required to complete two courses for each one missed.  He or she may make these up at any time during the remainder of the certificate's validity or while holding a reinstated certificate pursuant to subsection (e)(5) of this Section.

 

2)         Each administrator who completes an Administrators' Academy course shall receive written, dated verification that indicates the title of the course and the number of hours to be credited toward the applicable requirement.

 

e)         Application for Renewal of Certificate

 

1)         Each application for renewal of an administrative certificate, other than an application of a regional superintendent of schools, shall be submitted to the regional superintendent and shall be accompanied by a verification format developed by the State Board of Education certifying that the required number of hours of professional development activities and the required number of Administrators' Academy courses have been completed.  (Section 21-7.1(c-10) of the School Code)  A certificate-holder who fails to submit this material so as to ensure its receipt by the regional superintendent no later than April 30 may not be able to preserve his or her right of appeal under subsection (f) of this Section.

 

2)         Based on the available information regarding the individual's compliance with the requirements for certificate renewal set forth in this Section, the regional superintendent shall, within 30 days after receipt of an individual's application, forward a recommendation for renewal or non-renewal of the administrative certificate to the State Superintendent of Education and notify the certificate-holder in writing of that recommendation.

 

3)         A certificate-holder who is a regional superintendent of schools shall submit the verification format referred to in subsection (e)(1) of this Section to the State Superintendent of Education along with his or her application for certificate renewal.

 

4)         Within 30 days after receiving an application, the State Superintendent of Education shall notify the affected certificate-holder as to whether the administrative certificate has been renewed or not renewed, including the rationale for nonrenewal.  Upon receipt of notification of renewal, the certificate-holder shall pay the applicable registration fee to the regional superintendent, except that a regional superintendent shall deposit his or her own fee in the region's institute fund.

 

5)         An individual whose certificate is not renewed because of his or her failure to complete professional development in accordance with this Section may apply for a reinstated certificate valid for one year.  With respect to the year of reinstatement, completion of one Administrators' Academy course and one or more additional professional development activities meeting the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of this Section and totaling no fewer than 20 hours shall be required.  After the one-year period of validity of the reinstated certificate, the individual shall receive a renewable administrative certificate only if he or she also presents evidence of having made up activities missed during the preceding renewal cycle by completing the requirements of subsection (e)(5)(A) of this Section, subsection (e)(5)(B) of this Section, or both, as applicable.

 

A)        The certificate-holder shall complete two Administrators' Academy courses for each year during which he or she failed to complete one, if not already made up as discussed in subsection (d)(1) of this Section.

 

B)        If the certificate-holder failed to complete the applicable number of professional development activities or hours, he or she shall complete the balance of that requirement and ten additional hours of professional development meeting the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of this Section.

 

6)         The period of validity of an administrative certificate issued after a year of reinstatement or held after the reinstatement of a teaching certificate shall be adjusted to coincide with the validity of the holder's teaching certificate.

 

f)          Appeal to State Teacher Certification Board

Within 14 days after receipt of notice from the State Superintendent that his or her administrative certificate will not be renewed based upon failure to complete the requirements of this Section, a certificate-holder may appeal that decision to the State Teacher Certification Board, using a form made available by the State Board of Education.

 

1)         Each appeal shall state the reasons why the State Superintendent's decision should be reversed and shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.

 

A)        Appeals shall be addressed to:

 

State Teacher Certification Board

Secretary

100 North First Street

Springfield, Illinois  62777

 

B)        No electronic or facsimile transmissions will be accepted.

 

C)        Appeals postmarked later than 14 calendar days after receipt of the non-renewal notice will not be processed.

 

2)         In addition to the appeal letter, the certificate-holder shall submit the following material when the appeal is filed:

 

A)        evidence that he or she has satisfactorily completed the required types and quantity of activities; and

 

B)        any other relevant documents.

 

3)         The State Teacher Certification Board shall review each appeal regarding renewal of an administrative certificate in order to determine whether the certificate-holder has met the requirements of this Section.  The Certification Board may hold an appeal hearing or may make its determination based upon the record of review, which shall consist of:

 

A)        the regional superintendent's rationale for recommending nonrenewal of the certificate, if applicable;

 

B)        any evidence submitted to the State Superintendent along with the individual's application for renewal; and

 

C)        the State Superintendent's rationale for non-renewal of the certificate.

 

4)         If the Certification Board holds an appeal hearing, it may request the certificate-holder to appear before it, in which case no less than ten days' notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing shall be given to the affected individual.

 

5)         The certificate-holder shall submit to the State Teacher Certification Board such additional information as the Certification Board determines is necessary to decide the appeal.

 

6)         The State Teacher Certification Board shall notify the certificate-holder of its decision regarding certificate renewal by certified mail, return receipt requested, no later than 30 days after reaching a decision.  Upon receipt of notification of renewal, the certificate-holder shall pay the applicable registration fee to the regional superintendent, except that a regional superintendent shall deposit his or her own fee in the region's institute fund.

 

7)         The decision of the State Teacher Certification Board is a final administrative decision and shall be subject to administrative review as set forth in Section 21-24 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/21-24].

 

g)         Proportionate Reduction; Part-Time Service

The requirements of this Section regarding continuing professional development are subject to reduction in accordance with Section 21-7.1(c-15) of the School Code.

 

1)         The requirements of this Section shall be subject to reduction on the same annual basis as provided in  Section 21-7.1(c-15) of the School Code in relation to years when a certificate-holder is not employed in a position requiring administrative certification.

 

2)         The number of hours required under subsection (c) of this Section shall also be reduced by 50 percent with respect to periods of time when a certificate-holder is serving on an administrative certificate only and performing services for less than 50 percent of the school day or school term, unless the individual is one whose continued retirement status is subject to the limitations of Section 16-118 of the Illinois Pension Code.  Each such individual shall be subject only to the requirement for completion of one Administrators' Academy course for each year during which he or she is employed on the administrative certificate, provided that his or her employment does not exceed the limitations of Section 16-118.

 

h)         An individual who performs services on an administrative certificate and concurrently also on some other type of certificate to which renewal requirements apply shall be subject to the provisions of Section 25.475 of this Part.

 

i)          Section 21-7.1(c-10) of the School Code provides that those persons holding administrative certificates on June 30, 2003 who are renewing those certificates on or after July 1, 2003 shall be issued new administrative certificates.  The certificates that are subject to this provision include:

 

1)         Limited Supervisory (Type 60);

 

2)         All-Grade Supervisory (Type 61);

 

3)         Limited Elementary Supervisory (Type 62);

 

4)         Limited High School Supervisory (Type 63);

 

5)         Life General Supervisory (Type 70); and

 

6)         Life Supervisory (Type 71).

 

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 13263, effective July 25, 2008)