Public Act 103-0207

HB3801 Enrolled LRB103 30162 RJT 56589 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 Section

21B-70 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/21B-70)

Sec. 21B-70. Illinois Teaching Excellence Program.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Diverse candidate" means a candidate who identifies with

any of the ethnicities reported on the Illinois Report Card

other than White.

"Hard-to-staff school" means a public school in which no

less than 30% of the student enrollment is considered

low-income as reported by the report card under Section 10-17a

of this Code.

"National Board certified teacher candidate cohort

facilitator" means a National Board certified teacher who

collaborates to advance the goal of supporting all other

candidate cohorts other than diverse candidate cohorts through

the Illinois National Board for Professional Teaching

Standards Comprehensive Support System.

"National Board certified teacher diverse candidate cohort

facilitator" means a National Board certified teacher who

collaborates to advance the goal of supporting racially and

ethnically diverse candidates through the Illinois National

Board for Professional Teaching Standards Comprehensive

Support System.

"National Board certified teacher diverse liaison" means

an individual or entity that supports the National Board

certified teacher leading a diverse candidate cohort.

"National Board certified teacher liaison" means an

individual or entity that supports the National Board

certified teacher leading candidate cohorts other than diverse

candidate cohorts.

"National Board certified teacher rural or remote or

distant candidate cohort facilitator" means a National Board

certified teacher who collaborates to advance the goal of

supporting rural or remote candidates through the Illinois

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

Comprehensive Support System.

"National Board certified teacher rural or remote or

distant liaison" means an individual or entity that supports

the National Board certified teacher leading a rural or remote

candidate cohort.

"Qualified educator" means a teacher or school counselor

currently employed in a school district who is in the process

of obtaining certification through the National Board for

Professional Teaching Standards or who has completed

certification and holds a current Professional Educator

License with a National Board for Professional Teaching

Standards designation or a retired teacher or school counselor

who holds a Professional Educator License with a National

Board for Professional Teaching Standards designation.

"Rural or remote" or "rural or remote or distant" means

local codes 32, 33, 41, 42, and 43 of the New Urban-Centric

Locale Codes, as defined by the National Center for Education

Statistics.

"Tier 1" has the meaning given to that term under Section

18-8.15.

"Tier 2" has the meaning given to that term under Section

18-8.15.

(b) Any funds appropriated for the Illinois Teaching

Excellence Program must be used to provide monetary assistance

and incentives for qualified educators who are employed by or

retired from school districts and who have or are in the

process of obtaining licensure through the National Board for

Professional Teaching Standards. The goal of the program is to

improve instruction and student performance.

The State Board of Education shall allocate an amount as

annually appropriated by the General Assembly for the Illinois

Teaching Excellence Program for (i) application or re-take

fees for each qualified educator seeking to complete

certification through the National Board for Professional

Teaching Standards, to be paid directly to the National Board

for Professional Teaching Standards, and (ii) incentives under

paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (c) for each

qualified educator, to be distributed to the respective school

district, and incentives under paragraph (5) of subsection

(c), to be distributed to the respective school district or

directly to the qualified educator. The school district shall

distribute this payment to each eligible teacher or school

counselor as a single payment.

The State Board of Education's annual budget must set out

by separate line item the appropriation for the program.

Unless otherwise provided by appropriation, qualified

educators are eligible for monetary assistance and incentives

outlined in subsections (c) and (d) of this Section.

(c) When there are adequate funds available, monetary

assistance and incentives shall include the following:

(1) A maximum of $2,000 towards the application or

re-take fee for teachers or school counselors in a Tier 1

school district who apply on a first-come, first-serve

basis for National Board certification.

(2) A maximum of $2,000 towards the application or

re-take fee for teachers or school counselors in a school

district other than a Tier 1 school district who apply on a

first-come, first-serve basis for National Board

certification.

(3) A maximum of $1,000 towards the National Board for

Professional Teaching Standards' renewal application fee.

(4) (Blank).

(5) An annual incentive of no more than $1,500

prorated at $50 per hour, which shall be paid to each

qualified educator currently employed in a school district

who holds both a National Board for Professional Teaching

Standards designation and a current corresponding

certificate issued by the National Board for Professional

Teaching Standards and who agrees, in writing, to provide

up to 30 hours of mentoring or National Board for

Professional Teaching Standards professional development

or both during the school year to classroom teachers or

school counselors, as applicable. Funds must be disbursed

on a first-come, first-serve basis, with priority given to

Tier 1 school districts. Mentoring shall include, either

singly or in combination, the following:

(A) National Board for Professional Teaching

Standards certification candidates.

(B) National Board for Professional Teaching

Standards re-take candidates.

(C) National Board for Professional Teaching

Standards renewal candidates.

(D) (Blank).

Funds may also be used for instructional leadership

training for qualified educators interested in supporting

implementation of the Illinois Learning Standards or teaching

and learning priorities of the State Board of Education or

both.

(d) In addition to the monetary assistance and incentives

provided under subsection (c), if adequate funds are

available, incentives shall include the following incentives

for the program in rural or remote schools or school districts

or for programs working with diverse candidates or for

retention bonuses for hard to staff schools, to be distributed

to the respective school district or directly to the qualified

educator or entity:

(1) A one-time incentive of $3,000 payable to National

Board certified teachers teaching in Tier 1 or Tier 2

rural or remote school districts or rural or remote

schools in Tier 1 or Tier 2 school districts, with

priority given to teachers teaching in Tier 1 rural or

remote school districts or rural or remote schools in Tier

1 school districts.

(2) An annual incentive of $3,200 for National Board

certified teacher rural or remote or distant candidate

cohort facilitators, diverse candidate cohort

facilitators, and candidate cohort facilitators. Priority

shall be given to rural or remote candidate cohort

facilitators and diverse candidate cohort facilitators.

(3) An annual incentive of $2,500 for National Board

certified teacher rural or remote or distant liaisons,

diverse liaisons, and liaisons. Priority shall be given to

rural or remote liaisons and diverse liaisons.

(4) An annual retention bonus of $4,000 per year for 2

consecutive years shall be awarded to National Board

certified teachers employed in hard-to-staff schools.

Funds must be disbursed on a first-come, first-served

basis.

(Source: P.A. 100-201, eff. 8-18-17; 101-333, eff. 1-1-20;

101-654, eff. 3-8-21.)