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Public Act 91-0765
HB2940 Enrolled LRB9109229NTsb
AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section 21-4.
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 21-4 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/21-4) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-4)
Sec. 21-4. Special certificate.
(a) A special certificate shall be valid for 4 years for
teaching the special subjects named therein in all grades of
the common schools. Subject to the provisions of Section
21-1a, it shall be issued to persons who have graduated from
a recognized institution of higher learning with a bachelor's
degree and with not fewer than 120 semester hours including a
minimum of 16 semester hours in professional education, 5 of
which shall be in student teaching under competent and close
supervision. When the holder of such certificate has earned a
master's degree, including eight semester hours of graduate
professional education from a recognized institution of
higher learning and with two years' teaching experience, it
may be endorsed for supervision.
Such persons shall be recommended for the special
certificate by a recognized institution as having completed
an approved program of preparation which includes academic
and professional courses approved by the State Superintendent
of Education in consultation with the State Teacher
Certification Board.
(b) Those persons holding special certificates on
February 15, 2000 shall be eligible for one of the following:
(1) The issuance of Standard Elementary and
Standard Secondary Certificates with appropriate special
certification designations as determined by the State
Board of Education, in consultation with the State
Teacher Certification Board, and consistent with rules
adopted by the State Board of Education. These
certificates shall be renewed as provided in subsection
(c) of Section 21-2.
(2) The issuance of Standard Special K-12
Certificates with appropriate special certification
designations, which shall be renewed as provided in
subsection (c) of Section 21-2. These certificates shall
not be eligible for additional certification designations
except as approved by the State Board of Education, in
consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board.
(c) Those persons eligible to receive K-12 certification
after February 15, 2000 shall be issued Initial Elementary
and Initial Secondary Certificates with appropriate special
certification designations pursuant to this Section or
Initial Special K-12 Certificates with appropriate special
certification designations pursuant to this Section. These
Initial K-12 Special Certificates shall not be eligible for
additional certification designations except as approved by
the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
Teacher Certification Board.
(d) Beginning February 15, 2000, All persons holding
exchanging a special certificate with a special education
endorsement are exempt from the provisions of Section 2-3.71
of this Code, provided they meet all the other requirements
for teaching as established by the State Board of Education,
in consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board.
Beginning February 15, 2000, all persons exchanging a
special certificate pursuant to subsection (b) of this
Section with a special education endorsement or receiving a
special education designation on either a special certificate
or an elementary certificate issued pursuant to subsection
(c) of this Section are exempt from the provisions of Section
2-3.71 of this Code, provided they meet all the other
requirements for teaching as established by the State Board
of Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
Certification Board.
Certificates exchanged or issued pursuant to this
subsection (d) shall be valid for teaching children with
disabilities, as defined in Section 14-1.02 of this Code, and
these special certificates shall be called Initial or
Standard Special Preschool - Age 21 Certificates. Nothing in
this subsection (d) shall be construed to adversely affect
the rights of any person presently certificated, any person
whose certification is currently pending, or any person who
is currently enrolled or enrolls prior to February 15, 2000
in an approved Special K-12 certification program.
(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 90-653, eff. 7-29-98;
90-811, eff. 1-26-99; 91-102, eff. 7-12-99.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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