SB2199 EngrossedLRB098 06402 NHT 36444 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
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
17such rules as may be necessary to implement and administer this
18Section. No score on a test required under this Section, other
19than a test of basic skills, shall be more than 5 years old at
20the time that an individual makes application for an educator
21license or endorsement.
22    (c) Applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or
23an Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass

 

 

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1a test of basic skills, unless the endorsement the individual
2is seeking does not require passage of the test.
3    No candidate may be fully admitted into an educator
4preparation program at a recognized Illinois institution until
5he or she has passed a test of basic skills. An individual who
6passes a test of basic skills does not need to do so again for
7subsequent endorsements or other educator licenses.
8    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
9required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
10of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
11shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
12be allowed to student teach or , serve as the teacher of record,
13or begin an internship or residency required for licensure
14until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
15    (e) All applicants seeking a State license endorsed in a
16teaching field shall pass the assessment of professional
17teaching (APT). Passage of the APT is required for completion
18of an approved Illinois educator preparation program.
19    (f) Beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates
20completing teacher preparation programs in this State are
21required to pass an evidence-based assessment of teacher
22effectiveness approved by the State Board of Education, in
23consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
24Board. All recognized institutions offering approved teacher
25preparation programs must begin phasing in the approved teacher
26performance assessment no later than July 1, 2013.

 

 

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1    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
2the assessment of professional teaching shall be the tests that
3from time to time are designated by the State Board of
4Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
5and Licensure Board, and may be tests prepared by an
6educational testing organization or tests designed by the State
7Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
8Preparation and Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a
9test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and
10mathematics. The test of content area knowledge shall assess
11content knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must
12be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person
13taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race,
14color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to the
15person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score
16required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of
17Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
18and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer
19than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated
20by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
21Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
22    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
23the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
24applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
25subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code
26in the English language and in the language of the transitional

 

 

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1bilingual education program requested by the applicant.
2    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
3provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
4district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
5    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
6testing requirements under this Section shall include
7provisions governing test selection, test validation and
8determination of a passing score, administration of the tests,
9frequency of administration, applicant fees, frequency of
10applicants taking the tests, the years for which a score is
11valid, and appropriate special accommodations. The State Board
12of Education shall develop such rules as may be needed to
13ensure uniformity from year to year in the level of difficulty
14for each form of an assessment.
15(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17becoming law.