093_HB2133

 
                                     LRB093 04743 NHT 04799 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to teacher certification.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 5.   The  School  Code  is  amended  by  changing
 5    Section 21-5c as follows:

 6        (105 ILCS 5/21-5c)
 7        Sec.  21-5c.  Alternative route to teacher certification.
 8    The State Board of Education, in consultation with the  State
 9    Teacher Certification Board, shall establish and implement an
10    alternative  route  to  teacher  certification  program under
11    which persons who meet the requirements of  and  successfully
12    complete  the  program  established  by this Section shall be
13    issued  an  initial  teaching  certificate  for  teaching  in
14    schools in this State. The State  Board  of  Education  shall
15    approve  a  course  of study that persons in the program must
16    successfully complete in order to satisfy one  criterion  for
17    issuance   of   a   certificate   under  this  Section.   The
18    Alternative Route to Teacher Certification program course  of
19    study  must  include the current content and skills contained
20    in a university's current  courses  for  State  certification
21    which  have been approved by the State Board of Education, in
22    consultation with the State Teacher Certification  Board,  as
23    the requirement for State teacher certification.
24        The program established under this Section shall be known
25    as  the  Alternative  Route to Teacher Certification program.
26    The program may be offered in conjunction with  one  or  more
27    not-for-profit  organizations in this the State.  The program
28    shall be comprised of the following 3 phases: (a) a course of
29    study offered on an  intensive  basis  in  education  theory,
30    instructional   methods,   and  practice  teaching;  (b)  the
31    person's assignment to a full-time teaching position for  one
 
                            -2-      LRB093 04743 NHT 04799 b
 1    school year, including the designation of a mentor teacher to
 2    advise  and  assist the person with that teaching assignment;
 3    and (c) a comprehensive assessment of the  person's  teaching
 4    performance  by school officials and program participants and
 5    a recommendation by the institution of  higher  education  to
 6    the  State  Board  of  Education that the person be issued an
 7    initial teaching certificate.  Successful completion  of  the
 8    Alternative  Route  to Teacher Certification program shall be
 9    deemed to satisfy any other practice or student teaching  and
10    subject matter requirements established by law.
11        A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
12    one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
13    shall  be  issued  under this Section 21-5c to persons who at
14    the time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
15    certificate under this Section:
16             (1)  have graduated from an  accredited  college  or
17        university with a bachelor's degree;
18             (2)  have  been  employed for a period of at least 5
19        years  in  an   area   requiring   application   of   the
20        individual's education;
21             (3)  have  successfully completed the first phase of
22        the Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided
23        in this Section; and
24             (4)  have passed  the  tests  of  basic  skills  and
25        subject matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a.
26        An  initial  teaching  certificate, valid for teaching in
27    the common schools, shall be issued  under  Section  21-3  or
28    21-5  to  persons who first complete the requirements for the
29    provisional alternative teaching certificate and who  at  the
30    time  of  applying  for  an initial teaching certificate have
31    successfully completed the second and  third  phases  of  the
32    Alternative   Route   to  Teacher  Certification  program  as
33    provided in this Section.
34        A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
 
                            -3-      LRB093 04743 NHT 04799 b
 1    or an initial teaching certificate earned under this  Section
 2    shall  be  treated  as  a  regularly  certified  teacher  for
 3    purposes  of  compensation,  benefits,  and  other  terms and
 4    conditions of employment afforded teachers in the school  who
 5    are  members of a bargaining unit represented by an exclusive
 6    bargaining representative, if any.
 7        The  State  Board  of  Education  may  adopt  rules   and
 8    regulations  that  are  consistent with this Section and that
 9    the State Board deems necessary to  establish  and  implement
10    the program.
11    (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)