Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 099-0035
Illinois General Assembly

Previous General Assemblies

Public Act 099-0035


 

Public Act 0035 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 099-0035
 
HB1790 EnrolledLRB099 06636 NHT 26709 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
21B-20 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/21B-20)
    Sec. 21B-20. Types of licenses. Before July 1, 2013, the
State Board of Education shall implement a system of educator
licensure, whereby individuals employed in school districts
who are required to be licensed must have one of the following
licenses: (i) a professional educator license; (ii) a
professional educator license with stipulations; or (iii) a
substitute teaching license. References in law regarding
individuals certified or certificated or required to be
certified or certificated under Article 21 of this Code shall
also include individuals licensed or required to be licensed
under this Article. The first year of all licenses ends on June
30 following one full year of the license being issued.
    The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, may adopt such
rules as may be necessary to govern the requirements for
licenses and endorsements under this Section.
        (1) Professional Educator License. Persons who (i)
    have successfully completed an approved educator
    preparation program and are recommended for licensure by
    the Illinois institution offering the educator preparation
    program, (ii) have successfully completed the required
    testing under Section 21B-30 of this Code, (iii) have
    successfully completed coursework on the psychology of,
    the identification of, and the methods of instruction for
    the exceptional child, including without limitation the
    learning disabled, (iv) have successfully completed
    coursework in methods of reading and reading in the content
    area, and (v) have met all other criteria established by
    rule of the State Board of Education shall be issued a
    Professional Educator License. All Professional Educator
    Licenses are valid until June 30 immediately following 5
    years of the license being issued. The Professional
    Educator License shall be endorsed with specific areas and
    grade levels in which the individual is eligible to
    practice.
        Individuals can receive subsequent endorsements on the
    Professional Educator License. Subsequent endorsements
    shall require a minimum of 24 semester hours of coursework
    in the endorsement area, unless otherwise specified by
    rule, and passage of the applicable content area test.
        (2) Educator License with Stipulations. An Educator
    License with Stipulations shall be issued an endorsement
    that limits the license holder to one particular position
    or does not require completion of an approved educator
    program or both.
        An individual with an Educator License with
    Stipulations must not be employed by a school district or
    any other entity to replace any presently employed teacher
    who otherwise would not be replaced for any reason.
        An Educator License with Stipulations may be issued
    with the following endorsements:
            (A) Provisional educator. A provisional educator
        endorsement in a specific content area or areas on an
        Educator License with Stipulations may be issued to an
        applicant who holds an educator license with a minimum
        of 15 semester hours in content coursework from another
        state, U.S. territory, or foreign country and who, at
        the time of applying for an Illinois license, does not
        meet the minimum requirements under Section 21B-35 of
        this Code, but does, at a minimum, meet both of the
        following requirements:
                (i) Holds the equivalent of a minimum of a
            bachelor's degree, unless a master's degree is
            required for the endorsement, from a regionally
            accredited college or university or, for
            individuals educated in a country other than the
            United States, the equivalent of a minimum of a
            bachelor's degree issued in the United States,
            unless a master's degree is required for the
            endorsement.
                (ii) Has passed a test of basic skills and
            content area test, as required by Section 21B-30 of
            this Code.
        However, a provisional educator endorsement for
        principals may not be issued, nor may any person with a
        provisional educator endorsement serve as a principal
        in a public school in this State. In addition,
        out-of-state applicants shall not receive a
        provisional educator endorsement if the person
        completed an alternative licensure program in another
        state, unless the program has been determined to be
        equivalent to Illinois program requirements.
            Notwithstanding any other requirements of this
        Section, a service member or spouse of a service member
        may obtain a Professional Educator License with
        Stipulations, and a provisional educator endorsement
        in a specific content area or areas, if he or she holds
        a valid teaching certificate or license in good
        standing from another state, meets the qualifications
        of educators outlined in Section 21B-15 of this Code,
        and has not engaged in any misconduct that would
        prohibit an individual from obtaining a license
        pursuant to Illinois law, including without limitation
        any administrative rules of the State Board of
        Education; however, the service member or spouse may
        not serve as a principal under the Professional
        Educator License with Stipulations or provisional
        educator endorsement.
            In this Section, "service member" means any person
        who, at the time of application under this Section, is
        an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces
        or any reserve component of the United States Armed
        Forces or the National Guard of any state,
        commonwealth, or territory of the United States or the
        District of Columbia.
            A provisional educator endorsement is valid until
        June 30 immediately following 2 years of the license
        being issued, during which time any remaining testing
        and coursework deficiencies must be met. Failure to
        satisfy all stated deficiencies shall mean the
        individual, including any service member or spouse who
        has obtained a Professional Educator License with
        Stipulations and a provisional educator endorsement in
        a specific content area or areas, is ineligible to
        receive a Professional Educator License at that time. A
        provisional educator endorsement on an Educator
        License with Stipulations shall not be renewed.
            (B) Alternative provisional educator. An
        alternative provisional educator endorsement on an
        Educator License with Stipulations may be issued to an
        applicant who, at the time of applying for the
        endorsement, has done all of the following:
                (i) Graduated from a regionally accredited
            college or university with a minimum of a
            bachelor's degree.
                (ii) Successfully completed the first phase of
            the Alternative Educator Licensure Program for
            Teachers, as described in Section 21B-50 of this
            Code.
                (iii) Passed a test of basic skills and content
            area test, as required under Section 21B-30 of this
            Code.
            The alternative provisional educator endorsement
        is valid for 2 years of teaching and may be renewed for
        a third year by an individual meeting the requirements
        set forth in Section 21B-50 of this Code.
            (C) Alternative provisional superintendent. An
        alternative provisional superintendent endorsement on
        an Educator License with Stipulations entitles the
        holder to serve only as a superintendent or assistant
        superintendent in a school district's central office.
        This endorsement may only be issued to an applicant
        who, at the time of applying for the endorsement, has
        done all of the following:
                (i) Graduated from a regionally accredited
            college or university with a minimum of a master's
            degree in a management field other than education.
                (ii) Been employed for a period of at least 5
            years in a management level position in a field
            other than education.
                (iii) Successfully completed the first phase
            of an alternative route to superintendent
            endorsement program, as provided in Section 21B-55
            of this Code.
                (iv) Passed a test of basic skills and content
            area tests required under Section 21B-30 of this
            Code.
            The endorsement may be registered for 2 fiscal
        years in order to complete one full year of serving as
        a superintendent or assistant superintendent.
            (D) Resident teacher endorsement. A resident
        teacher endorsement on an Educator License with
        Stipulations may be issued to an applicant who, at the
        time of applying for the endorsement, has done all of
        the following:
                (i) Graduated from a regionally accredited
            institution of higher education with a minimum of a
            bachelor's degree.
                (ii) Enrolled in an approved Illinois educator
            preparation program.
                (iii) Passed a test of basic skills and content
            area test, as required under Section 21B-30 of this
            Code.
            The resident teacher endorsement on an Educator
        License with Stipulations is valid for 4 years of
        teaching and shall not be renewed.
            A resident teacher may teach only under the
        direction of a licensed teacher, who shall act as the
        resident mentor teacher, and may not teach in place of
        a licensed teacher. A resident teacher endorsement on
        an Educator License with Stipulations shall no longer
        be valid after June 30, 2017.
            (E) Career and technical educator. A career and
        technical educator endorsement on an Educator License
        with Stipulations may be issued to an applicant who has
        a minimum of 60 semester hours of coursework from a
        regionally accredited institution of higher education
        and has a minimum of 2,000 hours of experience in the
        last 10 years outside of education in each area to be
        taught.
            The career and technical educator endorsement on
        an Educator License with Stipulations is valid until
        June 30 immediately following 5 years of the
        endorsement being issued and may be renewed. For
        individuals who were issued the career and technical
        educator endorsement on an Educator License with
        Stipulations on or after January 1, 2015, the license
        may be renewed if the individual passes a test of basic
        skills, as required under Section 21B-30 of this Code.
            (F) Part-time provisional career and technical
        educator or provisional career and technical educator.
        A part-time provisional career and technical educator
        endorsement or a provisional career and technical
        educator endorsement on an Educator License with
        Stipulations may be issued to an applicant who has a
        minimum of 8,000 hours of work experience in the skill
        for which the applicant is seeking the endorsement. It
        is the responsibility of each employing school board
        and regional office of education to provide
        verification, in writing, to the State Superintendent
        of Education at the time the application is submitted
        that no qualified teacher holding a Professional
        Educator License or an Educator License with
        Stipulations with a career and technical educator
        endorsement is available and that actual circumstances
        require such issuance.
            The provisional career and technical educator
        endorsement on an Educator License with Stipulations
        is valid until June 30 immediately following 5 years of
        the endorsement being issued and may be renewed only
        one time for 5 years. For individuals who were issued
        the provisional career and technical educator
        endorsement on an Educator License with Stipulations
        on or after January 1, 2015, the license may be renewed
        one time if the individual passes a test of basic
        skills, as required under Section 21B-30 of this Code,
        and has completed a minimum of 20 semester hours from a
        regionally accredited institution.
            A part-time provisional career and technical
        educator endorsement on an Educator License with
        Stipulations may be issued for teaching no more than 2
        courses of study for grades 6 through 12. The part-time
        provisional career and technical educator endorsement
        on an Educator License with Stipulations is valid until
        June 30 immediately following 5 years of the
        endorsement being issued and may be renewed for 5 years
        if the individual makes application for renewal.
            (G) Transitional bilingual educator. A
        transitional bilingual educator endorsement on an
        Educator License with Stipulations may be issued for
        the purpose of providing instruction in accordance
        with Article 14C of this Code to an applicant who
        provides satisfactory evidence that he or she meets all
        of the following requirements:
                (i) Possesses adequate speaking, reading, and
            writing ability in the language other than English
            in which transitional bilingual education is
            offered.
                (ii) Has the ability to successfully
            communicate in English.
                (iii) Either possessed, within 5 years
            previous to his or her applying for a transitional
            bilingual educator endorsement, a valid and
            comparable teaching certificate or comparable
            authorization issued by a foreign country or holds
            a degree from an institution of higher learning in
            a foreign country that the State Educator
            Preparation and Licensure Board determines to be
            the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from a
            regionally accredited institution of higher
            learning in the United States.
            A transitional bilingual educator endorsement
        shall be valid for prekindergarten through grade 12, is
        valid until June 30 immediately following 5 years of
        the endorsement being issued, and shall not be renewed.
            Persons holding a transitional bilingual educator
        endorsement shall not be employed to replace any
        presently employed teacher who otherwise would not be
        replaced for any reason.
            (H) Language endorsement. In an effort to
        alleviate the shortage of teachers speaking a language
        other than English in the public schools, an individual
        who holds an Educator License with Stipulations may
        also apply for a language endorsement, provided that
        the applicant provides satisfactory evidence that he
        or she meets all of the following requirements:
                (i) Holds a transitional bilingual
            endorsement.
                (ii) Has demonstrated proficiency in the
            language for which the endorsement is to be issued
            by passing the applicable language content test
            required by the State Board of Education.
                (iii) Holds a bachelor's degree or higher from
            a regionally accredited institution of higher
            education or, for individuals educated in a
            country other than the United States, holds a
            degree from an institution of higher learning in a
            foreign country that the State Educator
            Preparation and Licensure Board determines to be
            the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from a
            regionally accredited institution of higher
            learning in the United States.
                (iv) Has passed a test of basic skills, as
            required under Section 21B-30 of this Code.
            A language endorsement on an Educator License with
        Stipulations is valid for prekindergarten through
        grade 12 for the same validity period as the
        individual's transitional bilingual educator
        endorsement on the Educator License with Stipulations
        and shall not be renewed.
            (I) Visiting international educator. A visiting
        international educator endorsement on an Educator
        License with Stipulations may be issued to an
        individual who is being recruited by a particular
        school district that conducts formal recruitment
        programs outside of the United States to secure the
        services of qualified teachers and who meets all of the
        following requirements:
                (i) Holds the equivalent of a minimum of a
            bachelor's degree issued in the United States.
                (ii) Has been prepared as a teacher at the
            grade level for which he or she will be employed.
                (iii) Has adequate content knowledge in the
            subject to be taught.
                (iv) Has an adequate command of the English
            language.
            A holder of a visiting international educator
        endorsement on an Educator License with Stipulations
        shall be permitted to teach in bilingual education
        programs in the language that was the medium of
        instruction in his or her teacher preparation program,
        provided that he or she passes the English Language
        Proficiency Examination or another test of writing
        skills in English identified by the State Board of
        Education, in consultation with the State Educator
        Preparation and Licensure Board.
            A visiting international educator endorsement on
        an Educator License with Stipulations is valid for 3
        years and shall not be renewed.
            (J) Paraprofessional educator. A paraprofessional
        educator endorsement on an Educator License with
        Stipulations may be issued to an applicant who holds a
        high school diploma or its recognized equivalent and
        either holds an associate's degree or a minimum of 60
        semester hours of credit from a regionally accredited
        institution of higher education or has passed a test of
        basic skills required under Section 21B-30 of this
        Code. The paraprofessional educator endorsement is
        valid until June 30 immediately following 5 years of
        the endorsement being issued and may be renewed through
        application and payment of the appropriate fee, as
        required under Section 21B-40 of this Code. An
        individual who holds only a paraprofessional educator
        endorsement is not subject to additional requirements
        in order to renew the endorsement.
        (3) Substitute Teaching License. A Substitute Teaching
    License may be issued to qualified applicants for
    substitute teaching in all grades of the public schools,
    prekindergarten through grade 12. Substitute Teaching
    Licenses are not eligible for endorsements. Applicants for
    a Substitute Teaching License must hold a bachelor's degree
    or higher from a regionally accredited institution of
    higher education.
        Substitute Teaching Licenses are valid for 5 years and
    may be renewed if the individual has passed a test of basic
    skills, as authorized under Section 21B-30 of this Code. An
    individual who has passed a test of basic skills for the
    first licensure renewal is not required to retake the test
    again for further renewals.
        Substitute Teaching Licenses are valid for substitute
    teaching in every county of this State. If an individual
    has had his or her Professional Educator License or
    Educator License with Stipulations suspended or revoked or
    has not met the renewal requirements for licensure, then
    that individual is not eligible to obtain a Substitute
    Teaching License.
        A substitute teacher may only teach in the place of a
    licensed teacher who is under contract with the employing
    board. If, however, there is no licensed teacher under
    contract because of an emergency situation, then a district
    may employ a substitute teacher for no longer than 30
    calendar days per each vacant position in the district if
    the district notifies the appropriate regional office of
    education within 5 business days after the employment of
    the substitute teacher in the emergency situation. An
    emergency situation is one in which an unforeseen vacancy
    has occurred and (i) a teacher is unable to fulfill his or
    her contractual duties or (ii) teacher capacity needs of
    the district exceed previous indications, and the district
    is actively engaged in advertising to hire a fully licensed
    teacher for the vacant position.
        There is no limit on the number of days that a
    substitute teacher may teach in a single school district,
    provided that no substitute teacher may teach for longer
    than 90 school days for any one licensed teacher under
    contract in the same school year. A substitute teacher who
    holds a Professional Educator License or Educator License
    with Stipulations shall not teach for more than 120 school
    days for any one licensed teacher under contract in the
    same school year. The limitations in this paragraph (3) on
    the number of days a substitute teacher may be employed do
    not apply to any school district operating under Article 34
    of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; 97-710, eff. 1-1-13; 98-28,
eff. 7-1-13; 98-751, eff. 1-1-15.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2016