Section 226.800  Personnel Required to be Qualified

 

a)         General

 

1)         Each school district, or the cooperative entity of which it is a member, shall employ sufficient professional and noncertified personnel to deliver and supervise the full continuum of special education and related services needed by the eligible students who reside in the district. The number and types of personnel employed shall be based on students' need rather than administrative convenience.

 

2)         Each district or cooperative entity shall periodically submit to the State Board of Education, on forms supplied by the State Board, the roster of the individuals who will be or are providing special education or related services. The State Board may request any additional documentation needed in order to verify that each individual holds the qualifications that are required for his or her assignments.

 

3)         Reimbursement for personnel expenditures shall be made by the State Board with respect to only those individuals who are qualified, pursuant to this Subpart I, to deliver services to students with IEPs [105 ILCS 5/14-1.10 and 14-13.01] and whose positions are listed either in Section 226.850 or 226.860 of this Part, or pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.48 (Short-Term Emergency Certification in Special Education) when applicable.

 

4)         Each district or cooperative entity shall develop and implement a comprehensive personnel development program for all personnel involved with the education of children with disabilities.

 

b)         Professional Instructional Personnel

Each individual employed in a professional instructional capacity shall:

 

1)         hold a valid special preschool-age 21 certificate and the qualifications required for the teaching area pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.43; or

 

2)         hold another valid teaching certificate and approval issued by the State Board of Education specific to the area of responsibility (see Section 226.810 of this Part); or

 

3)         be employed pursuant to an authorization for assignment issued to the employing entity under Section 226.820 of this Part; or

 

4)         hold short-term emergency certification issued pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.48 (beginning January 1, 2002).

 

c)         An individual assigned as a vocational coordinator shall be required to hold approval for this position, which shall be granted provided that the individual submits an application demonstrating that he or she:

 

1)         has two years' teaching experience;

 

2)         holds either a special preschool-age 21 certificate or a high school certificate; and

 

3)         has completed at least 16 semester hours of college coursework, which shall at least include each of the areas identified in subsections (c)(3)(A) through (D) and may include one or more of the areas identified in subsections (c)(3)(E) through (I) of this Section:

 

A)        Survey of the exceptional child;

 

B)        Characteristics of the mentally retarded student;

 

C)        Characteristics of the socially and/or emotionally maladjusted student;

 

D)        Vocational programming for students with disabilities;

 

E)         Characteristics of other exceptionalities;

 

F)         Methods course in special education;

 

G)        Guidance and counseling;

 

H)        Educational and psychological diagnosis;

 

I)          Vocational and technical education.

 

d)         An individual assigned as a teacher coordinator shall be required to hold approval for this position, which shall be granted provided that the individual submits an application demonstrating that he or she:

 

1)         holds either a special preschool-age 21 certificate endorsed for the disability area of assignment or a high school certificate with special education approval in the applicable disability area issued pursuant to Section 226.810 of this Part;

 

2)         has completed a course in vocational programming for students with disabilities; and

 

3)         has at least one year's work experience outside the field of education or has completed at least one course in either guidance and counseling or vocational and technical education.

 

e)         An individual assigned as a business manager's assistant shall hold an administrative certificate endorsed for chief school business official pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.345.

 

f)          Qualified Bilingual Specialists

Professional staff otherwise qualified pursuant to this Section shall be considered "qualified bilingual specialists" if they submit the required application and meet the applicable requirements set forth in this subsection (f).

 

1)         A holder of a special preschool-age 21 certificate endorsed in the area of responsibility pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.43 shall successfully complete a language examination in the non-English language of instruction and shall have completed coursework covering:

 

A)        Psychological/educational assessment of students with disabilities who have limited English proficiency;

 

B)        Theoretical foundations of bilingual education and English as a second language, including the study of first and second language acquisition; and

 

C)        Methods and materials for teaching students of limited English proficiency or students with disabilities who have limited English proficiency.

 

2)         A holder of an early childhood, elementary, high school, or special certificate who also holds special education approval in the area of responsibility (see Section 226.810 of this Part) shall successfully complete a language examination in the non-English language of instruction and shall have completed the coursework listed in subsections (f)(1)(A), (B), and (C) of this Section.

 

3)         A holder of an early childhood, elementary, high school, or special certificate who also holds approval to teach bilingual education or English as a second language shall have completed coursework covering:

 

A)        Methods for teaching in the special education area of assignment;

 

B)        Psychological/educational assessment of students with disabilities who have limited English proficiency, or psychological diagnosis for children with all types of disabilities; and

 

C)        Characteristics of students, or characteristics of students with limited English proficiency specifically, in the special education area of assignment.

 

4)         A holder of a transitional bilingual certificate issued pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.90 and endorsed for the language of assignment shall have completed two years of successful teaching experience and have completed coursework covering:

 

A)        Survey of children with all types of disabilities;

 

B)        Assessment of the bilingual student, or psychological/educational assessment of the student with disabilities who has limited English proficiency;

 

C)        Theoretical foundations of bilingual education and English as a second language, including the study of first and second language acquisition;

 

D)        Methods for teaching in the special education area of assignment; and

 

E)         Characteristics of students, or characteristics of students with limited English proficiency specifically, in the special education area of assignment.

 

5)         A holder of a school service personnel certificate endorsed for guidance, school social work, school psychology, or speech-language pathology shall successfully complete an examination in the non-English language and shall have completed coursework in assessment of the bilingual student or psychological/educational assessment of the student with disabilities who has limited English proficiency.

 

g)         Directors and Assistant Directors of Special Education

Each school district, or the cooperative entity of which it is a member, shall employ a full-time director of special education, who shall be the chief administrative officer of the special education programs and services of the district or cooperative entity.  The provisions of subsections (g)(1) and (2) of this Section shall apply through June 30, 2005.  Beginning July 1, 2005, directors and assistant directors of special education shall be subject to the requirements of 23 Ill. Adm. Code 29.140.

 

1)         Each director or assistant director of special education shall hold a valid administrative certificate issued pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.365 and a master's degree, including 30 semester hours of coursework distributed among all the areas specified in either 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.365(b) or (c), as applicable.

 

2)         Each individual who will function as a director or assistant director of special education shall submit an application for special education administrative approval on a form supplied by the State Board of Education.

 

3)         Each school district, or the cooperative entity of which it is a member, shall submit to the State Board of Education a letter identifying the individual employed as the director of special education.  If the individual is qualified as required, the State Board shall confirm that the individual is the State-approved director of special education for the district or cooperative entity.

 

h)         Supervisors

 

1)         Each district or cooperative entity shall employ sufficient supervisory personnel to provide consultation to and coordination of special education services.

 

2)         Each individual performing a supervisory function shall hold a master's degree, including at least 15 semester hours of coursework distributed among all the following areas:

 

A)        Survey of exceptional children;

 

B)        Characteristics courses in the areas to be supervised;

 

C)        Methods courses in the areas to be supervised;

 

D)        Educational and psychological diagnosis and remedial techniques; and

 

E)         Supervision of programs for exceptional children.

 

3)         Each individual performing a supervisory function shall also hold either:

 

A)        a valid special preschool-age 21 certificate in the area to be supervised, endorsed for supervision pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.497, with two years' teaching experience in that area; or

 

B)        a valid school service personnel certificate endorsed for supervision and two years' experience in the area to be supervised; or

 

C)        a valid administrative certificate and either a valid special preschool-age 21 certificate endorsed for the area to be supervised or special education approval in that area.

 

i)          Chief Administrator of Special School

The chief administrator of a special school shall hold an administrative certificate with a general administrative endorsement issued pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.335 or 25.365 and either:

 

1)         an endorsement or approval that is specific to at least one of the disabilities prevalent in the students served by the school, if the school serves students who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or speech- and language-impaired; or

 

2)         an endorsement as Learning Behavior Specialist I that either is unlimited or specific to one of the disabilities prevalent in the students served by the school (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.46); or

 

3)         approval as an LBS I issued by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 226.810 of this Part that either is unlimited or specific to one of the disabilities prevalent in the students served by the school.

 

j)          Other Professional Personnel

Each individual employed in a professional capacity not specified in subsections (a) through (i) of this Section shall, as appropriate to his or her assignment, hold:

 

1)         the school service personnel certificate endorsed as appropriate to the area of responsibility (see 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25, Subpart D); or

 

2)         a valid license or permission to practice, if the individual's profession is governed by such a requirement and either no educational credential in the same or a related field is issued by the State Board of Education (e.g., for a physical therapist) or the School Code permits the individual to perform the functions assigned; or

 

3)         a credential, regardless of title, issued by a professional association or organization in the relevant field, when no educational credential in the same or a related field is issued by the State Board of Education and no license or permission to practice is required by the State (e.g., for a music therapist or a daily living skills specialist).

 

k)         Noncertified Personnel

 

1)         Each noncertified professional individual employed in a special education class, program, or service, and each individual providing assistance at a work site, shall function under the general direction of a professional staff member.

 

2)         Each program assistant/aide, as well as each nonemployee providing any service in the context of special education, shall function under the direct supervision of a professional staff member.

 

3)         Each district shall provide training experiences appropriate to the nature of their responsibilities to the individuals discussed in subsections (k)(1) and (2) of this Section.  Training shall be in lieu of the requirements for noncertified personnel set forth in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1, Subpart F.

 

(Source:  Amended by peremptory rulemaking at 35 Ill. Reg. 14836, effective August 22, 2011)