Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB2693
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Full Text of SB2693  100th General Assembly

SB2693enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
SB2693 EnrolledLRB100 17543 AXK 32713 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.
19    (c) Applicants seeking a Professional Educator License or
20an Educator License with Stipulations shall be required to pass
21a test of basic skills before the license is issued, unless the
22endorsement the individual is seeking does not require passage
23of the test. All applicants completing Illinois-approved,

 

 

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1teacher education or school service personnel preparation
2programs shall be required to pass the State Board of
3Education's recognized test of basic skills prior to starting
4their student teaching or starting the final semester of their
5internship, unless required earlier at the discretion of the
6recognized, Illinois institution in which they are completing
7their approved program. An institution of higher learning, as
8defined in the Higher Education Student Assistance Act, may not
9require an applicant to complete the State Board's recognized
10test of basic skills prior to the semester before student
11teaching or prior to the semester before starting the final
12semester of an internship. An individual who passes a test of
13basic skills does not need to do so again for subsequent
14endorsements or other educator licenses.
15    (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
16required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
17of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
18shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
19be allowed to student teach or serve as the teacher of record
20until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
21    (e) (Blank). and completing their student teaching
22experience no later than August 31, 2015 Prior to September 1,
232015, passage The APT shall be available through August 31,
242020.
25    (f) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, beginning
26on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing teacher

 

 

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1preparation programs in this State and all candidates subject
2to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required to pass an
3evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness approved by
4the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
5Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. All recognized
6institutions offering approved teacher preparation programs
7must begin phasing in the approved teacher performance
8assessment no later than July 1, 2013.
9    (g) Tests of basic skills and content area knowledge and
10the assessment of professional teaching shall be the tests that
11from time to time are designated by the State Board of
12Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
13and Licensure Board, and may be tests prepared by an
14educational testing organization or tests designed by the State
15Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
16Preparation and Licensure Board. The areas to be covered by a
17test of basic skills shall include reading, language arts, and
18mathematics. The test of content area knowledge shall assess
19content knowledge in a specific subject field. The tests must
20be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no person
21taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis of race,
22color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to the
23person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The score
24required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State Board of
25Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
26and Licensure Board. The tests shall be administered not fewer

 

 

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1than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be designated
2by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
3Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
4    The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
5the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
6applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
7subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this Code
8in the English language and in the language of the transitional
9bilingual education program requested by the applicant.
10    (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
11provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
12district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
13    (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
14testing requirements under this Section shall include without
15limitation provisions governing test selection, test
16validation and determination of a passing score,
17administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
18applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
19years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
20accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop such
21rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to year
22in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
23(Source: P.A. 98-361, eff. 1-1-14; 98-581, eff. 8-27-13;
2498-756, eff. 7-16-14; 99-58, eff. 7-16-15; 99-657, eff.
257-28-16; 99-920, eff. 1-6-17; revised 1-23-17.)
 
26    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.