Section 25.490  Licensure of Persons Who Have Been Convicted of a Crime

Convictions related to certain offenses, other than those listed in Section 21B-80(c) of the School Code [105 ILCS 5] that result in automatic revocation or denial of licensure, may lead to denial of licensure if they demonstrate that the applicant is not of good character as required by Section 21B-15 of the School Code.  Accordingly, each applicant for the issuance, registration, reinstatement or renewal of an Illinois professional educator license, 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 of this Part, shall be required to indicate on the relevant form whether he or she has ever been convicted of, or is subject to pending criminal charges for, a felony or any sex, narcotics or drug offense (whether felony or misdemeanor) in Illinois or any other state.

a)         Each individual providing an affirmative response to this question shall be ineligible to receive, register, reinstate or renew a license or to receive an additional credential if the offense was one of those enumerated in Section 21B‑80(c) of the School Code or, if the offense was not one of those enumerated, until he or she provides to the State Superintendent of Education:

1)         a certified court record of the conviction, to include sentencing information;

2)         evidence that at least one year has elapsed since the end of the sentence for the criminal offense, when "sentence" includes any period of supervision or probation that was imposed either alone or in combination with a period of incarceration or, for criminal offenses enumerated in Section 21B-80(b) of the School Code, evidence that at least seven years have elapsed;

3)         a personal statement that meets the requirements outlined in Section 25.480(a); and

4)         character references that meet the requirements outlined in Section 25.480(b) of this Part, in which the authors clearly indicate that they have knowledge of the conviction but can also attest to the individual's good character, as defined in Section 21B-15 of the School Code, and rehabilitation.

b)         The State Superintendent shall review the information submitted pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section and determine whether licensure, license registration, license renewal, license reinstatement or issuance of one or more additional credentials, as applicable, is appropriate, based on whether the offense was one of those enumerated in Section 21B-80 of the School Code, except for subsection (c) of that Section, and, if not, whether the evidence of good character, as defined in Section 21B-15 of the School Code, and rehabilitation provided is convincing when taken together with the gravity of the offense, the individual's age and background at the time of the offense, and any criminal penalty that was imposed.

(Source:  Amended at 41 Ill. Reg. 8813, effective June 28, 2017)