Section 25.485  Licensure of Persons with Prior Certificate or License Sanctions

A previous denial of licensure or another action against an individual's license may indicate that issuance, renewal, reinstatement, or registration of a license would also currently be inappropriate.  Accordingly, each applicant for the issuance, renewal, reinstatement, or registration of an Illinois professional educator license, an educator license with stipulations, or substitute teaching license or for the addition of another credential (e.g., endorsement, approval, designation), including any credential issued under Subpart G, shall be required to indicate on the relevant form whether the applicant has ever had a professional license of any kind or teaching certificate or license denied, suspended, or revoked in Illinois or any other state, country or jurisdiction.

a)         Each individual providing an affirmative response to this question shall be required to submit a copy of the notice issued by the responsible agency in the state where the action occurred that includes:

1)         the date of the action;

2)         the reasons for the action;

3)         any penalties that were imposed; and

4)         the ending date of each penalty, if applicable.

b)         Subject to subsection (c) or (d), the State Superintendent shall review the information submitted pursuant to subsection (a) and shall determine whether issuance, renewal, reinstatement, or registration of a license or issuance of one or more additional credentials, as applicable, is appropriate in light of the circumstances surrounding the previous denial or suspension (including the applicant's age and the background of the applicant at the time of the action), any penalty that was imposed, and any evidence the applicant has provided concerning the applicant's good character that may mitigate the defect in the record. (Also see Section 25.480(b).)

c)         The State Superintendent may review any other license held by the applicant to determine if, based on the severity of the actions that led to the prior license denial, suspension, or revocation, the revocation or suspension of any additional license issued by the State Board is warranted.

d)         An application shall not be evaluated from an individual whose previous denial occurred five or fewer years from the date of application. 

e)         An application from an individual whose educator license is revoked at the time of application either in Illinois or another state shall not be considered except that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any individual who voluntarily surrendered a license pursuant to Section 21B-45 of the Code, or similar provision in another state, provided that the voluntary surrender was unrelated to misconduct.

f)         An application from an individual whose license had been suspended shall not be evaluated for a period of time that is equal to the length of the suspension.  The start date of this waiting period shall begin on the day following the date on which the suspension was lifted.  The provisions of this subsection (f) shall not apply to:

1)         any application to register or renew the license that was subject to the suspension, provided that the license was maintained as valid during the term of the suspension; and

2)         any application to renew another license that was not subject to the suspension.

g)         Submission of the application following the time period specified in subsection (e) or (f) is not a guarantee that the application will be approved and a license, endorsement, approval, or designation issued.  An individual may appeal the decision to deny the application in accordance with procedures set forth in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act [5 ILCS 100/Art. 10].

h)         An individual shall not be entitled to a refund of the application fee in the event that the application is subsequently denied.

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 5954, effective April 11, 2023)