Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB5729

Creates the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act. Sets forth provisions concerning postsecondary career expectations; a competency-based, high school graduation requirements pilot program; transitional mathematics courses; reading and communication transitional competencies; College and Career Pathway Endorsements and State Distinction programs; and administrative rules. Effective immediately.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause with provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes: Removes requirements concerning adopting grade-level postsecondary and career expectations for all students in grades 9 through 12. Removes certain requirements on State agencies. Makes changes to requirements of school districts participating in the pilot program and requirements for participating in the pilot program. Requires participating school districts to form a standing planning and implementation committee. Makes changes to various dates concerning implementation of the pilot program. Changes references from "transitional mathematics courses" to "transitional mathematics instruction" and makes certain requirements concerning student readiness applicable only to mathematics courses. Requires the statewide panel to recommend statewide criteria for determining projected readiness for 11th grade students for college-level mathematics courses. Makes changes to provisions concerning mathematics instruction placement and delivery. Provides how to demonstrate readiness for public high school graduates. Allows a public university to be a party to a partnership agreement at its sole discretion. Provides for the creation and publication of statewide portability standards for certain courses. Requires that the State Board of Education and Illinois Community College Board establish a phased transition plan and benchmarks by June 30, 2019 for transitional mathematics instruction implementation. Removes provisions concerning the State Distinction Program. Allows eligible school districts to award one or more College and Career Pathway Endorsements beginning in the 2019-2020 (rather than 2018-2019) school year. Removes certain requirements for support of the College and Career Pathway Endorsement program. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Makes a technical correction in the provisions concerning College and Career Pathway Endorsements. Changes a reference with respect to the administrative rules of the Illinois Community College Board and the Board of Higher Education.

Makes changes concerning the competency-based, high school graduation requirements pilot program. Provides that no waiver shall be granted relating to teacher tenure or seniority or teacher or principal evaluations. Provides that any waiver or modification of teacher educator licensure requirements to permit instruction by non-educators or educators without an appropriate license must ensure that an appropriately licensed teacher and the provider of instruction partner in order to verify the method for assessing competency of mastery and verify whether a student has demonstrated mastery. Limits the first 2 annual cohorts of the pilot program to no more than 12 school districts and any subsequent annual cohort to no more than 15 school districts, allows only one application per school district for each annual cohort of the pilot program, and prohibits the application of a school district having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants from including more than 6 schools. Provides that the expansion of a school district's competency-based learning system to a new school or new subject area requires a new application by the school district.

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