Section 25.400  Registration of Certificates; Fees

Section 21-16 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/21-16] requires the registration of an individual's teaching certificate(s) and establishes the amount of the registration fee to be paid for each type of certificate.  Registration fees and requirements applicable in specified situations shall be as set forth in this Section.

a)         Any fee paid to register a certificate for a given year shall cover the registration of all other certificates held by the same individual.  An individual shall be required to register all certificates held but shall pay only one registration fee for any year.

b)         An individual is required to register his or her certificate in each region where he or she teaches but, except as provided in Section 21-9 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/21-9], is required to pay a registration fee in only one region.  Therefore, an individual who moves from one region to another after paying a registration fee for a particular period of time:

1)         shall be required to register his or her certificate(s) in the new region, but

2)         shall not be required to pay any additional registration fee except as provided in subsection (c) of this Section.

c)         Under Section 21-9 of the School Code, a holder of a substitute certificate is required to pay a registration fee in each region where the certificate is used.  Therefore, a holder of such a certificate who moves from one region to another after paying a registration fee for a particular period of time:

1)         shall be required to register his or her certificate(s) in the new region, and

2)         shall be required to pay a registration fee for the remaining years of the substitute certificate's validity.

d)         When a registration fee is paid, the amount due shall be the amount required to register the certificate for its entire period of validity, except that a life certificate may be registered for a maximum of five years (see Section 21-16 of the School Code).

e)         Except as provided in subsection (f) of this Section, an individual who receives and registers one or more additional certificates after paying a registration fee for a particular period of time shall not be required to pay an additional registration fee until the period covered by the original fee has elapsed. That is, no registration fee shall be charged for a new certificate as long as the current registration period of another certificate covers a portion of the new certificate's registration period.

f)          An individual who receives a standard certificate after paying a registration fee covering four years of teaching on an initial certificate without "using" all four of those years (e.g., an individual from another state who came to Illinois already having accumulated some teaching experience) shall be required to pay the registration fee for the new standard certificate's five-year period of validity, less "credit" equaling the amount paid for the unused years for which the initial certificate was registered.

g)         Pursuant to Section 25.450 of this Part, a certificate that has lapsed may be reinstated by payment of all accumulated registration fees.  The amount due for each year shall be the fee that was in effect at that time, rather than the annual amount applicable at the time when the fees are paid.

h)         The amount of the fee that was in effect for any given year shall remain in effect for that year, regardless of when the fee is paid.

i)          The other provisions of this Section notwithstanding, no fee paid in connection with the registration of one or more certificates shall have the effect of extending the period of validity of any other certificate that is subject to additional renewal requirements that have not been met.

(Source:  Added at 25 Ill. Reg. 16031, effective November 28, 2001)