101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB2056

 

Introduced , by Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/21B-30

    Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. With regard to applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or an Educator License with Stipulations provides that all applicants completing Illinois-approved, teacher education or school service personnel preparation programs shall be required to pass the State Board of Education's recognized test of basic skills (rather than requiring passage of the test prior to starting their student teaching or starting the final semester of their internship). Provides that if an applicant completing a teacher education or school service personal preparation program fails the test of basic skills the first time he or she takes the test, the applicant may complete a full school year of student teaching or of an internship instead of being required to pass the test. Provides that an institution of higher learning may not require an applicant to complete the test of basic skills prior to completing a semester of student teaching or of an internship (rather than prior to the semester before student teaching or prior to the semester before starting the final semester of an internship). Provides that an individual who completes a full school year of student teaching or of an internship is not required to pass the test of basic skills again for subsequent endorsements or other educator licenses. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2056LRB101 06954 AXK 51987 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
521B-30 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/21B-30)
7    Sec. 21B-30. Educator testing.
8    (a) This Section applies beginning on July 1, 2012.
9    (b) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
10State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall design
11and implement a system of examinations, which shall be required
12prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These examinations
13and indicators must be based on national and State professional
14teaching standards, as determined by the State Board of
15Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
16and Licensure Board. The State Board of Education may adopt
17such rules as may be necessary to implement and administer this
18Section.
19    (c) Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
20applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or an
21Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass a
22test of basic skills before the license is issued, unless the
23endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage

 

 

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1of the test. All applicants completing Illinois-approved,
2teacher education or school service personnel preparation
3programs shall be required to pass the State Board of
4Education's recognized test of basic skills prior to starting
5their student teaching or starting the final semester of their
6internship. However, if such an applicant fails to pass the
7test of basic skills the first time he or she takes the test,
8the applicant may complete a full school year of student
9teaching or of an internship instead of being required to pass
10the test. An institution of higher learning, as defined in the
11Higher Education Student Assistance Act, may not require an
12applicant to complete the State Board's recognized test of
13basic skills prior to completing a semester of the semester
14before student teaching or prior to the semester before
15starting the final semester of an internship. An individual who
16passes a test of basic skills or completes a full school year
17of student teaching or of an internship as otherwise permitted
18under this subsection is not required to pass a test of basic
19skills does not need to do so again for subsequent endorsements
20or other educator licenses.
21    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
22required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
23of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
24shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
25be allowed to student teach or serve as the teacher of record
26until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.

 

 

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1    (e) (Blank).
2    (f) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, beginning
3on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing teacher
4preparation programs in this State and all candidates subject
5to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required to pass a teacher
6performance assessment approved by the State Board of
7Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
8and Licensure Board.
9    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
10the teacher performance assessment shall be the tests that from
11time to time are designated by the State Board of Education, in
12consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
13Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing
14organization or tests designed by the State Board of Education,
15in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and
16Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a test of basic
17skills shall include reading, language arts, and mathematics.
18The test of content area knowledge shall assess content
19knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must be
20designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person taking
21the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race, color,
22national origin, or other factors unrelated to the person's
23ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score required
24to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of
25Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
26and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer

 

 

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1than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated
2by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
3Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
4    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
5the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
6applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
7subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code
8in the English language and in the language of the transitional
9bilingual education program requested by the applicant.
10    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
11provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
12district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
13    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
14testing requirements under this Section shall include without
15limitation provisions governing test selection, test
16validation and determination of a passing score,
17administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
18applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
19years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
20accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop such
21rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to year
22in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
23(Source: P.A. 99-58, eff. 7-16-15; 99-657, eff. 7-28-16;
2499-920, eff. 1-6-17; 100-596, eff. 7-1-18; 100-863, eff.
258-14-18; 100-932, eff. 8-17-18; revised 10-1-18.)
 
26    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.