Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst

Filed: 2/28/2019

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2056

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2056 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1such rules as may be necessary to implement and administer this
2Section.
3    (c) Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
4applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or an
5Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass a
6test of basic skills before the license is issued, unless the
7endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage
8of the test. All applicants completing Illinois-approved,
9teacher education or school service personnel preparation
10programs shall be required to pass the State Board of
11Education's recognized test of basic skills prior to starting
12their student teaching or starting the final semester of their
13internship. However, if such an applicant fails to pass the
14test of basic skills the first time he or she takes the test,
15the applicant may complete a full school year of student
16teaching or of an internship instead of being required to pass
17the test. An institution of higher learning, as defined in the
18Higher Education Student Assistance Act, may not require an
19applicant to complete the State Board's recognized test of
20basic skills prior to the semester before student teaching or
21prior to the semester before starting the final semester of an
22internship. An individual who passes a test of basic skills or
23completes a full school year of student teaching or of an
24internship as otherwise permitted under this subsection is not
25required to pass a test of basic skills does not need to do so
26again for subsequent endorsements or other educator licenses.

 

 

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1    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
2required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
3of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
4shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
5be allowed to student teach or serve as the teacher of record
6until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
7    (e) (Blank).
8    (f) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, beginning
9on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing teacher
10preparation programs in this State and all candidates subject
11to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required to pass a teacher
12performance assessment approved by the State Board of
13Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
14and Licensure Board.
15    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
16the teacher performance assessment shall be the tests that from
17time to time are designated by the State Board of Education, in
18consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
19Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing
20organization or tests designed by the State Board of Education,
21in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and
22Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a test of basic
23skills shall include reading, language arts, and mathematics.
24The test of content area knowledge shall assess content
25knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must be
26designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person taking

 

 

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1the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race, color,
2national origin, or other factors unrelated to the person's
3ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score required
4to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of
5Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
6and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer
7than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated
8by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
9Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
10    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
11the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
12applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
13subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code
14in the English language and in the language of the transitional
15bilingual education program requested by the applicant.
16    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
17provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
18district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
19    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
20testing requirements under this Section shall include without
21limitation provisions governing test selection, test
22validation and determination of a passing score,
23administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
24applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
25years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
26accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop such

 

 

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1rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to year
2in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
3(Source: P.A. 99-58, eff. 7-16-15; 99-657, eff. 7-28-16;
499-920, eff. 1-6-17; 100-596, eff. 7-1-18; 100-863, eff.
58-14-18; 100-932, eff. 8-17-18; revised 10-1-18.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.".