Bill Text: IL HB4241 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Removes the requirement that educator licensure candidates pass a teacher performance assessment. Makes related changes. Effective July 1, 2022.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-18 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4241 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB4241-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 HB4241 Introduced , by Rep. Sue Scherer SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/21B-30
105 ILCS 5/21B-50
Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Removes the requirement that educator licensure candidates pass a teacher performance assessment. Makes related changes. Effective July 1, 2022.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
HB4241 LRB102 21336 CMG 30448 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
21B-30 and 21B-50 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/21B-30)
Sec. 21B-30. Educator testing.
(a) (Blank).
(b) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall design
and implement a system of examinations, which shall be
required prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These
examinations and indicators must be based on national and
State professional teaching standards, as determined by the
State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The State Board of
Education may adopt such rules as may be necessary to
implement and administer this Section.
(c) (Blank).
(c-5) The State Board must adopt rules to implement a
paraprofessional competency test. This test would allow an
applicant seeking an Educator License with Stipulations with a
paraprofessional educator endorsement to obtain the

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endorsement if he or she passes the test and meets the other
requirements of subparagraph (J) of paragraph (2) of Section
21B-20 other than the higher education requirements.
(d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
shall be no exception to this requirement. No candidate shall
be allowed to student teach or serve as the teacher of record
until he or she has passed the applicable content area test.
(e) (Blank).
(f) (Blank). Except as otherwise provided in this Article,
beginning on September 1, 2015, all candidates completing
teacher preparation programs in this State and all candidates
subject to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required to pass a
teacher performance assessment approved by the State Board of
Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
and Licensure Board. A candidate may not be required to submit
test materials by video submission. Subject to appropriation,
an individual who holds a Professional Educator License and is
employed for a minimum of one school year by a school district
designated as Tier 1 under Section 18-8.15 may, after
application to the State Board, receive from the State Board a
refund for any costs associated with completing the teacher
performance assessment under this subsection.
(g) The content area knowledge test and the teacher
performance assessment shall be the test tests that from time

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to time are designated by the State Board of Education, in
consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
Board, and may include a test be tests prepared by an
educational testing organization or a test tests designed by
the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The test of content
area knowledge shall assess content knowledge in a specific
subject field. The test tests must be designed to be racially
neutral to ensure that no person taking the test tests is
discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national
origin, or other factors unrelated to the person's ability to
perform as a licensed employee. The score required to pass the
test tests shall be fixed by the State Board of Education, in
consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
Board. The test tests shall be administered not fewer than 3
times a year at such time and place as may be designated by the
State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this
Code in the English language and in the language of the
transitional bilingual education program requested by the
applicant.
(h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the

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provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
(i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
testing requirements under this Section shall include without
limitation provisions governing test selection, test
validation and determination of a passing score,
administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop
such rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to
year in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-220, eff. 8-7-19;
101-594, eff. 12-5-19; 102-301, eff. 8-26-21.)
(105 ILCS 5/21B-50)
Sec. 21B-50. Alternative Educator Licensure Program.
(a) There is established an alternative educator licensure
program, to be known as the Alternative Educator Licensure
Program for Teachers.
(b) The Alternative Educator Licensure Program for
Teachers may be offered by a recognized institution approved
to offer educator preparation programs by the State Board of
Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
and Licensure Board.
The program shall be comprised of 4 phases:

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(1) A course of study that at a minimum includes
instructional planning; instructional strategies,
including special education, reading, and English language
learning; classroom management; and the assessment of
students and use of data to drive instruction.
(2) A year of residency, which is a candidate's
assignment to a full-time teaching position or as a
co-teacher for one full school year. An individual must
hold an Educator License with Stipulations with an
alternative provisional educator endorsement in order to
enter the residency and must complete additional program
requirements that address required State and national
standards, pass the State Board's teacher performance
assessment no later than the end of the first semester of
the second year of residency, as required under phase (3)
of this subsection (b), and be recommended by the
principal or qualified equivalent of a principal, as
required under subsection (d) of this Section, and the
program coordinator to continue with the second year of
the residency.
(3) A second year of residency, which shall include
the candidate's assignment to a full-time teaching
position for one school year. The candidate must be
assigned an experienced teacher to act as a mentor and
coach the candidate through the second year of residency.
(4) A comprehensive assessment of the candidate's

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teaching effectiveness, as evaluated by the principal or
qualified equivalent of a principal, as required under
subsection (d) of this Section, and the program
coordinator, at the end of the second year of residency.
If there is disagreement between the 2 evaluators about
the candidate's teaching effectiveness, the candidate may
complete one additional year of residency teaching under a
professional development plan developed by the principal
or qualified equivalent and the preparation program. At
the completion of the third year, a candidate must have
positive evaluations and a recommendation for full
licensure from both the principal or qualified equivalent
and the program coordinator or no Professional Educator
License shall be issued.
Successful completion of the program shall be deemed to
satisfy any other practice or student teaching and content
matter requirements established by law.
(c) An alternative provisional educator endorsement on an
Educator License with Stipulations is valid for 2 years of
teaching in the public schools, including without limitation a
preschool educational program under Section 2-3.71 of this
Code or charter school, or in a State-recognized nonpublic
school in which the chief administrator is required to have
the licensure necessary to be a principal in a public school in
this State and in which a majority of the teachers are required
to have the licensure necessary to be instructors in a public

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school in this State, but may be renewed for a third year if
needed to complete the Alternative Educator Licensure Program
for Teachers. The endorsement shall be issued only once to an
individual who meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Has graduated from a regionally accredited college
or university with a bachelor's degree or higher.
(2) (Blank).
(3) Has completed a major in the content area if
seeking a middle or secondary level endorsement or, if
seeking an early childhood, elementary, or special
education endorsement, has completed a major in the
content area of reading, English/language arts,
mathematics, or one of the sciences. If the individual
does not have a major in a content area for any level of
teaching, he or she must submit transcripts to the State
Board of Education to be reviewed for equivalency.
(4) Has successfully completed phase (1) of subsection
(b) of this Section.
(5) Has passed a content area test required for the
specific endorsement for admission into the program, as
required under Section 21B-30 of this Code.
A candidate possessing the alternative provisional
educator endorsement may receive a salary, benefits, and any
other terms of employment offered to teachers in the school
who are members of an exclusive bargaining representative, if
any, but a school is not required to provide these benefits

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during the years of residency if the candidate is serving only
as a co-teacher. If the candidate is serving as the teacher of
record, the candidate must receive a salary, benefits, and any
other terms of employment. Residency experiences must not be
counted towards tenure.
(d) The recognized institution offering the Alternative
Educator Licensure Program for Teachers must partner with a
school district, including without limitation a preschool
educational program under Section 2-3.71 of this Code or
charter school, or a State-recognized, nonpublic school in
this State in which the chief administrator is required to
have the licensure necessary to be a principal in a public
school in this State and in which a majority of the teachers
are required to have the licensure necessary to be instructors
in a public school in this State. A recognized institution
that partners with a public school district administering a
preschool educational program under Section 2-3.71 of this
Code must require a principal to recommend or evaluate
candidates in the program. A recognized institution that
partners with an eligible entity administering a preschool
educational program under Section 2-3.71 of this Code and that
is not a public school district must require a principal or
qualified equivalent of a principal to recommend or evaluate
candidates in the program. The program presented for approval
by the State Board of Education must demonstrate the supports
that are to be provided to assist the provisional teacher

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during the 2-year residency period. These supports must
provide additional contact hours with mentors during the first
year of residency.
(e) Upon completion of the 4 phases outlined in subsection
(b) of this Section and all assessments required under Section
21B-30 of this Code, an individual shall receive a
Professional Educator License.
(f) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, may adopt such
rules as may be necessary to establish and implement the
Alternative Educator Licensure Program for Teachers.
(Source: P.A. 100-596, eff. 7-1-18; 100-822, eff. 1-1-19;
101-220, eff. 8-7-19; 101-570, eff. 8-23-19; 101-643, eff.
6-18-20; 101-654, eff. 3-8-21.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2022.