Public Act 098-0603
 
SB1845 EnrolledLRB098 09595 NHT 39741 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    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 Sections
21-5b and 21-5c as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/21-5b)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
    Sec. 21-5b. Alternative certification. The State Board of
Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
Certification Board, shall establish and implement an
alternative certification program under which persons who meet
the requirements of and successfully complete the program
established by this Section shall be issued an alternative
teaching certificate for teaching in the schools. The program
shall be limited to not more than 260 new participants during
each year that the program is in effect. The State Board of
Education, in cooperation with one or more not-for-profit
organizations in the State that support excellence in teaching,
which may be in partnership with a university that offers
4-year baccalaureate and masters degree programs and that is a
recognized institution as defined in Section 21B-105 of this
Code, may within 30 days after submission by the program
sponsor approve a course of study developed by the program
sponsor that persons in the program must successfully complete
in order to satisfy one criterion for issuance of an
alternative certificate under this Section. The Alternative
Teacher Certification program course of study must include
content and skills which have been approved by the State Board
of Education, in consultation with the State Teacher
Certification Board, as meeting the requirement for State
teacher certification.
    The alternative certification program established under
this Section shall be known as the Alternative Teacher
Certification program. The Alternative Teacher Certification
Program shall be offered by the submitting partnership, and
such partnership may be offered by one or more not-for-profit
organizations in the State which support excellence in
teaching. The program shall be comprised of the following 3
phases: (a) the first phase is the course of study offered on
an intensive basis in education theory, instructional methods,
and practice teaching; (b) the second phase is the person's
assignment to a full-time teaching position for one school
year; and (c) the third phase is a comprehensive assessment of
the person's teaching performance by school officials and the
partnership participants and a recommendation by the program
sponsor to the State Board of Education that the person be
issued a standard alternative teaching certificate. Successful
completion of the Alternative Teacher Certification program
shall be deemed to satisfy any other practice or student
teaching and subject matter requirements established by law.
    A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
shall be issued under this Section 21-5b to persons who at the
time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
certificate under this Section:
        (1) have graduated from an accredited college or
    university with a bachelor's degree;
        (2) have successfully completed the first phase of the
    Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in
    this Section;
        (3) have passed the tests of basic skills and subject
    matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a; and
        (4) (i) have been employed for a period of at least 5
    years in an area requiring application of the individual's
    education or (ii) have attained at least a cumulative grade
    average of a "B" if the individual is assigned either to a
    school district that has not met the annual measurable
    objective for highly qualified teachers required by the
    Illinois Revised Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) Plan or to
    a school district whose data filed with the State Board of
    Education indicates that the district's poor and minority
    students are taught by teachers who are not highly
    qualified at a higher rate than other students; however,
    this item (4) does not apply with respect to a provisional
    alternative teaching certificate for teaching in schools
    situated in a school district that is located in a city
    having a population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
    Assignment may be made under clause (ii) of this item (4)
    only if the district superintendent and the exclusive
    bargaining representative of the district's teachers, if
    any, jointly agree to permit the assignment.
    A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
under this Section shall be treated as a regularly certified
teacher for purposes of compensation, benefits, and other terms
and conditions of employment afforded teachers in the school
who are members of a bargaining unit represented by an
exclusive bargaining representative, if any.
    Until February 15, 2000, a standard alternative teaching
certificate, valid for 4 years for teaching in the schools and
renewable as provided in Section 21-14, shall be issued under
this Section 21-5b to persons who first complete the
requirements for the provisional alternative teaching
certificate and who at the time of applying for a standard
alternative teaching certificate under this Section have
successfully completed the second and third phases of the
Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in this
Section. Alternatively, beginning February 15, 2000, at the end
of the 4-year validity period, persons who were issued a
standard alternative teaching certificate shall be eligible,
on the same basis as holders of an Initial Teaching Certificate
issued under subsection (b) of Section 21-2 of this Code, to
apply for a Standard Teaching Certificate, provided they meet
the requirements of subsection (c) of Section 21-2 of this Code
and further provided that a person who does not apply for and
receive a Standard Teaching Certificate shall be able to teach
only in schools situated in a school district that is located
in a city having a population in excess of 500,000 inhabitants.
    Beginning February 15, 2000, persons who have completed the
requirements for a standard alternative teaching certificate
under this Section shall be issued an Initial Alternative
Teaching Certificate valid for 4 years of teaching and not
renewable. At the end of the 4-year validity period, these
persons shall be eligible, on the same basis as holders of an
Initial Teaching Certificate issued under subsection (b) of
Section 21-2 of this Code, to apply for a Standard Teaching
Certificate, provided they meet the requirements of subsection
(c) of Section 21-2.
    Such alternative certification program shall be
implemented so that the first provisional alternative teaching
certificates issued under this Section are effective upon the
commencement of the 1997-1998 academic year and the first
standard alternative teaching certificates issued under this
Section are effective upon the commencement of the 1998-1999
academic year.
    The State Board of Education, in cooperation with the
partnership or partnerships establishing such Alternative
Teacher Certification programs, shall adopt rules and
regulations that are consistent with this Section and that the
State Board of Education deems necessary to establish and
implement the program.
    No one may be admitted to an alternative certification
program under this Section after September 1, 2014 2013, and
those alternative certification candidates who are admitted on
or before September 1, 2014 2013 must complete their coursework
the program before January 1, 2016 2015, except that candidates
admitted to an alternative certification program at Governors
State University and participants in the Teacher Quality
Partnership Grant program must be admitted on or before March
31, 2014, complete their coursework on or before August 31,
2015, and be entitled to certification on or before September
30, 2016 September 31, 2015. An The alternative certification
program at Governors State University shall provide the State
Board of Education with the names of the candidates who will be
eligible for certification under this exception.
    This Section is repealed on January 1, 2017 2016.
(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; 97-702, eff. 6-25-12;
98-38, eff. 6-28-13.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/21-5c)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
    Sec. 21-5c. Alternative route to teacher certification.
The State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
Teacher Certification Board, shall establish and implement one
or more alternative route to teacher certification programs
under which persons who meet the requirements of and
successfully complete the programs established by this Section
shall be issued an initial teaching certificate for teaching in
schools in this State. The State Board of Education may approve
a course of study that persons in such programs must
successfully complete in order to satisfy one criterion for
issuance of a certificate under this Section. The Alternative
Route to Teacher Certification programs course of study must
include content and skills which have been approved by the
State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
Teacher Certification Board, as meeting the requirement for
State teacher certification.
    Programs established under this Section shall be known as
Alternative Route to Teacher Certification programs. The
programs may be offered by a university that offers 4-year
baccalaureate and masters degree programs and that is a
recognized institution as defined in Section 21B-105 of this
Code, by one or more not-for-profit organizations in the State,
or a combination thereof. The programs shall be comprised of
the following 3 phases: (a) a course of study offered on an
intensive basis in education theory, instructional methods,
and practice teaching; (b) the person's assignment to a
full-time teaching position for one school year, including the
designation of a mentor teacher to advise and assist the person
with that teaching assignment; and (c) a comprehensive
assessment of the person's teaching performance by school
officials and program participants and a recommendation by the
program sponsor to the State Board of Education that the person
be issued an initial teaching certificate. Successful
completion of Alternative Route to Teacher Certification
programs shall be deemed to satisfy any other practice or
student teaching and subject matter requirements established
by law.
    A provisional alternative teaching certificate, valid for
one year of teaching in the common schools and not renewable,
shall be issued under this Section 21-5c to persons who at the
time of applying for the provisional alternative teaching
certificate under this Section:
        (1) have graduated from an accredited college or
    university with a bachelor's degree;
        (2) have been employed for a period of at least 5 years
    in an area requiring application of the individual's
    education;
        (3) have successfully completed the first phase of the
    Alternative Teacher Certification program as provided in
    this Section; and
        (4) have passed the tests of basic skills and subject
    matter knowledge required by Section 21-1a.
    An initial teaching certificate, valid for teaching in the
common schools, shall be issued under Section 21-3 or 21-5 to
persons who first complete the requirements for the provisional
alternative teaching certificate and who at the time of
applying for an initial teaching certificate have successfully
completed the second and third phases of the Alternative Route
to Teacher Certification program as provided in this Section.
    A person possessing a provisional alternative certificate
or an initial teaching certificate earned under this Section
shall be treated as a regularly certified teacher for purposes
of compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of
employment afforded teachers in the school who are members of a
bargaining unit represented by an exclusive bargaining
representative, if any.
    The State Board of Education may adopt rules and
regulations that are consistent with this Section and that the
State Board deems necessary to establish and implement the
program.
    No one may be admitted to an alternative certification
program under this Section after September 1, 2014 2013, and
those alternative certification candidates who are admitted on
or before June 30, 2014 September 1, 2013 must complete their
coursework the program before January 1, 2016 2015, except that
candidates admitted to an alternative certification program at
Governors State University and participants in the Teacher
Quality Partnership Grant program must be admitted on or before
March 31, 2014, complete their coursework on or before August
31, 2015, and be entitled to certification on or before
September 30, 2016 September 31, 2015. An The alternative
certification program at Governors State University shall
provide the State Board of Education with the names of the
candidates who will be eligible for certification under this
exception.
    This Section is repealed on January 1, 2017 2016.
(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; 97-702, eff. 6-25-12;
98-38, eff. 6-28-13.)