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1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Grow Our Own Teacher Education Act is
5 amended by changing Sections 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35
6 as follows:
 
7     (110 ILCS 48/1)
8     Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Grow Your
9 Our Own Teacher Education Act.
10 (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
11     (110 ILCS 48/5)
12     Sec. 5. Purpose. The Grow Your Our Own Teacher preparation
13 programs established under this Act shall comprise a major new
14 statewide initiative, known as the Grow Your Our Own Teacher
15 Education Initiative, to prepare highly skilled, committed
16 teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools and
17 hard-to-staff teaching positions and who will remain in these
18 schools for substantial periods of time.
19      The Grow Your Our Own Teacher Education Initiative shall
20 effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders
21 and paraeducators to become effective teachers and teacher
22 leaders statewide in hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff
23 teaching positions in schools serving a substantial percentage
24 of low-income students. Further, the Initiative shall increase
25 the diversity of teachers, including diversity based on race,
26 ethnicity, and disability.
27     The Grow Your Our Own Teacher Education Initiative shall
28 ensure educational rigor by effectively preparing candidates
29 students in accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching,
30 through which graduates shall meet the requirements to secure
31 an Illinois initial standard teaching certificate.

 

 

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1     The goal of the Grow Your Our Own Teacher Education
2 Initiative is to add 1,000 teachers to low-income and other
3 hard-to-staff Illinois schools by 2016 with an average
4 retention period of 7 years, as opposed to the current rate of
5 2.5 years for new teachers in such areas.
6 (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
7     (110 ILCS 48/10)
8     Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
9      "Accredited teacher preparation program" means a State or
10 regionally accredited higher education program authorized to
11 prepare individuals to fulfill all of the requirements to
12 receive an Illinois initial standard teaching certificate.
13     "Developmental classes" means classes in basic skill
14 areas, such as mathematics and language arts that are
15 prerequisite to, but not counted towards, degree requirements
16 of a teacher preparation program.
17      "Hard-to-staff school" means an elementary or secondary
18 school that, based on data compiled by the State Board of
19 Education, ranks in the upper third of schools in this State on
20 a combined index measuring the percentage of the school's
21 teachers who are not fully certified and the percentage of the
22 school's teachers who leave their positions annually.
23      "Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching
24 category (such as special education, mathematics, or science)
25 in which statewide data compiled by the State Board of
26 Education indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial
27 teacher shortage or that has been identified as a critical need
28 by the local school board.
29     "Initiative" means the Grow Your Our Own Teacher Education
30 Initiative created under this Act.
31     "Paraeducators" means individuals with a history of
32 demonstrated accomplishments in school staff positions (such
33 as teacher assistants, school-community liaisons, school
34 clerks, and security aides) in schools serving a substantial
35 percentage of low-income students.

 

 

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1     "Parent and community leaders" means individuals with a
2 significant history of working to improve involvement in
3 improving schools serving a substantial percentage of
4 low-income students, including membership in a community
5 organization.
6      "Community organization" means a nonprofit organization
7 that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and
8 organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that
9 will hold the school and the school district accountable for
10 achieving high academic standards; in addition to
11 organizations with a geographic focus, "community
12 organization" includes general parent organizations,
13 organizations of special education or bilingual education
14 parents, and school employee unions.
15     "Program" means a Grow Your Our Own Teacher preparation
16 program established by a consortium under this Act.
17     "Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
18 students" means schools that maintain any of grades
19 pre-kindergarten through 8, in which at least 35% of the
20 students are eligible to receive whose percentage of students
21 receiving free or reduced-price lunches and schools that
22 maintain any of grades 9 through 12, in which at least 25% of
23 the students are eligible to receive free or reduced price
24 lunches is at or above the district-average percentage.
25      "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
26 (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
27     (110 ILCS 48/15)
28     Sec. 15. Creation of Initiative. The Grow Your Our Own
29 Teacher Education Initiative is created. The State Board shall
30 administer the Initiative as a grant competition to fund
31 consortia that will carry out Grow Your Our Own Teacher
32 preparation programs.
33 (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
34     (110 ILCS 48/20)

 

 

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1     Sec. 20. Selection of grantees. The State Board shall award
2 grants to up to 10 qualified consortia that reflect the
3 distribution and diversity of target hard-to-staff schools and
4 hard-to-staff positions across this State. In awarding grants,
5 the State Board shall select programs that successfully address
6 Initiative criteria and that reflect a diversity of strategies
7 in terms of serving urban areas, serving rural areas, the
8 nature of the participating institutions of higher education,
9 whether participants will be trained at the baccalaureate or
10 master's level, and the nature of hard-to-staff schools and
11 hard-to-staff teaching positions on which a program is focused.
12     The State Board shall select consortia that meet the
13 following requirements:
14         (1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one
15     4-year institution of higher education with an accredited
16     teacher preparation program, at least one school district
17     or group of schools, and one or more community
18     organizations. The consortium may also include a 2-year
19     institution of higher education or a school employee union
20     or both.
21         (2) The 4-year institution of higher education
22     participating in the consortium shall have past,
23     demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary
24     or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of
25     low-income students.
26         (3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined set
27     of target schools serving a substantial percentage of
28     low-income students that will be the primary focus of the
29     program. The consortium shall articulate the steps that it
30     will carry out in preparing teachers for its target
31     hard-to-staff schools and in preparing teachers for one or
32     more hard-to-staff teaching positions in its target
33     schools.
34         (4) Candidate Student participants in a program under
35     the Initiative must hold a high school diploma or its
36     equivalent and must meet either the definition of "parent

 

 

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1     and community leaders" or the definition of
2     "paraeducators" contained in Section 10 of this Act.
3         (5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures
4     for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare
5     highly competent teachers. Professional preparation
6     Instruction shall include on-going direct experience in
7     target schools and evaluation analysis of this experience.
8         (6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts
9     of candidates students who begin by moving through the
10     program together. The program shall be offered on a
11     schedule that enables candidates students to work full time
12     while participating in the program and allows
13     paraeducators to continue in their current positions. The
14     consortium shall guarantee that support will be available
15     to an admitted cohort through the cohort's full period of
16     training. At the beginning of the Initiative, programs that
17     are already operating and existing cohorts of candidates
18     students under this model shall be eligible for funding.
19         (7) The institutions of higher education participating
20     in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the
21     same amount of funds in implementing the program that these
22     institutions spend per student on similar educational
23     programs. Grants received by the consortium shall
24     supplement and not supplant these amounts.
25         (8) The State Board shall establish additional
26     criteria for review of proposals, including criteria that
27     address the following issues:
28             (A) Previous experience of the institutions of
29         higher education in preparing candidates students for
30         hard-to-staff schools and positions and in working
31         with students with non-traditional backgrounds.
32             (B) The quality of the implementation plan,
33         including strategies for overcoming institutional
34         barriers to the progress of non-traditional candidates
35         students.
36             (C) If a community college is a participant, the

 

 

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1         nature and extent of existing articulation agreements
2         and guarantees between the community college and the
3         4-year institution of higher education.
4             (D) The number of candidates participants to be
5         trained in the planned current cohort or cohorts and
6         the capacity of the consortium for adding cohorts in
7         future cycles.
8             (E) Experience of the community organization or
9         organizations in organizing parents and community
10         leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong
11         relational school culture.
12             (F) The qualifications of the person or persons
13         designated by the 4-year institution of higher
14         education to be responsible for cohort support and the
15         development of a shared learning and social
16         environment among candidates participants.
17             (G) The consortium's plan for collective
18         consortium decision-making, including mechanisms for
19         community and candidate participant input.
20             (H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of the
21         program on the quality of education in the target
22         schools.
23             (I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs of
24         targeted schools and positions, and the use in
25         curriculum and instructional planning of principles
26         for effective education for adults adult education.
27             (J) The availability of classes under the program
28         in places and times accessible to the candidates
29         participants.
30             (K) Provision of a level of performance to be
31         maintained by candidates participants as a condition
32         of continuing in the program.
33             (L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher
34         education to ensure that candidates students take
35         advantage of existing financial aid resources before
36         using the loan funds described in Section 25 of this

 

 

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1         Act.
2             (M) The availability of supportive services,
3         including counseling, tutoring, and child care.
4             (N) A plan for continued participation of
5         graduates of the program in a program of support for at
6         least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings.
7             (O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation
8         of candidates' participants' teaching skills that
9         ensures that graduates of the program are as prepared
10         for teaching as other individuals completing the
11         institution of higher education's preparation program
12         for the certificate sought those from the conventional
13         teacher training program of the 4-year institution of
14         higher education.
15             (P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides
16         reports at least yearly on the progress of candidates
17         participants towards graduation and the impact of the
18         program on the target schools and their communities.
19             (Q) Contributions from schools, school districts,
20         and other consortia members to the program, including
21         stipends for candidates participants during their
22         student teaching.
23             (R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the
24         program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced
25         requirements for external funding in subsequent
26         cycles.
27             (S) The inclusion in the planned program of
28         strategies derived from community organizing that will
29         help candidates develop tools for working with parents
30         and other community members.
31 (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
32     (110 ILCS 48/25)
33     Sec. 25. Expenditures under the Initiative.
34     (a) Every program under the Initiative shall implement and
35 manage a program of forgivable loans to cover any portion of

 

 

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1 tuition and direct expenses of candidates students under the
2 program in excess of grants-in-aid and other forgivable loans
3 received. All students admitted to a cohort shall be eligible
4 for such loans. Loans shall be fully forgiven if a graduate
5 completes 5 years of service in a hard-to-staff schools school
6 or hard-to-staff teaching positions, with partial forgiveness
7 for shorter periods of service. The State Board shall establish
8 standards for the approval of requests from programs to waive
9 this obligation for individual candidates and for deferral of
10 repayment for work interruptions after certification. The
11 State Board shall also define standards for the fiscal
12 management of these loan funds position.
13     (b) Grants under the Initiative shall be awarded in such a
14 way as to provide the required support for a cohort of
15 candidates students for the cohort's entire training period.
16 Program budgets must show expenditures for the entire period
17 that candidates participants are expected to be enrolled.
18     (c) No funds under the Initiative may be used to supplant
19 the average per-capita expenditures by the institution of
20 higher education for candidates students in regular education
21 degree programs.
22     (d) Where necessary, program budgets shall include the
23 costs of child care to permit candidates parents to maintain a
24 full class schedule. Child care may be provided by the
25 community organization or organizations or be independently
26 contracted for.
27     (e) The institution of higher education may expend grant
28 funds to cover the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator
29 and the additional costs of offering classes in community
30 settings and for tutoring services.
31     (f) The community organization or organizations may
32 receive a portion of the grant money for the expenses of
33 recruitment, community orientation, and counseling of
34 potential candidates participants, for providing space in the
35 community, and for working with school personnel to facilitate
36 individual work experiences and support of candidates

 

 

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1 participants.
2     (g) The school district or school employee union or both
3 may receive a portion of the grant money for expenses of
4 supporting the work experiences of candidates participants and
5 providing mentors for graduates. Notwithstanding the
6 provisions of Section 10-20.15 of the School Code, school
7 districts may also use these or other applicable public funds
8 to pay participants in programs under the Initiative for
9 student teaching required by an accredited teacher preparation
10 program.
11     (h) One member of the consortium may expend funds to cover
12 the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator.
13     (i) Grant funds may also be expended to pay directly for
14 required developmental classes for candidates beginning a
15 program.
16 (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
17     (110 ILCS 48/30)
18     Sec. 30. Implementation of Initiative. The State Board
19 shall develop guidelines and application procedures for the
20 Initiative in fiscal year 2005. The State Board may, if it
21 chooses, award a small number of planning grants during any
22 fiscal year 2005 to potential consortia using existing
23 resources. Other than existing cohorts, the The first programs
24 under the Initiative shall be awarded grants in such a way as
25 to allow candidates participants to begin their work at the
26 beginning of the 2006-2007 2005-2006 school year.
27 (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
28     (110 ILCS 48/35)
29     Sec. 35. Independent program evaluation. The State Board
30 shall contract for an independent evaluation of program
31 implementation by each of its participating consortia and of
32 the impact of each program, including the extent of candidate
33 student persistence in program enrollment, acceptance as an
34 education major in a 4-year institution of higher education,

 

 

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1 completion of a bachelor's degree in teaching, obtaining a
2 teaching position in a target school or similar school,
3 subsequent effectiveness as a teacher, and persistence in
4 teaching in a target school or similar school. The evaluation
5 shall assess the Initiative's overall effectiveness and shall
6 identify particular program strategies that are especially
7 effective.
8 (Source: P.A. 93-802, eff. 1-1-05.)
 
9     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10 becoming law.