Bill Text: IL HB5032 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Right to Read Act. Provides that the State Board of Education shall offer support: to each public school district to select evidence-based core reading instruction programs and implement them using structured literacy instruction; and to each early childhood, elementary, and special education teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach, and administrator to complete evidence-based training in teaching reading. Requires the State Board of Education to annually compile and post on its website information on the steps it has undertaken to support school districts to deliver high-quality, evidence-based literacy instruction, including a list of any Early Literacy Grant recipients, documentation of how the recipient allocated the funding to support improved literacy, and what evidence-based literacy curricula the recipient is utilizing. Amends the School Code. In provisions concerning educator testing, requires applicants seeking specified licenses to pass a test in reading foundations, which shall include assessment of the applicant's understanding of phonological and phonemic awareness, concepts of print and the alphabetic principle, the role of phonics in promoting reading development, word analysis skills and strategies, vocabulary development, application of reading comprehension skills and strategies, and methods for assessing reading development. In provisions concerning minimum requirements for educators trained in other states or countries, provides that an applicant who has successfully completed a reading foundations test of at least comparable rigor to the Illinois reading foundations test is not required to complete a reading foundations test. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-08-10 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Margaret Croke [HB5032 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB5032-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 HB5032 Introduced , by Rep. Rita Mayfield SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
See Index
Creates the Right to Read Act. Provides that the State Board of Education shall offer support: to each public school district to select evidence-based core reading instruction programs and implement them using structured literacy instruction; and to each early childhood, elementary, and special education teacher, reading specialist, literacy coach, and administrator to complete evidence-based training in teaching reading. Requires the State Board of Education to annually compile and post on its website information on the steps it has undertaken to support school districts to deliver high-quality, evidence-based literacy instruction, including a list of any Early Literacy Grant recipients, documentation of how the recipient allocated the funding to support improved literacy, and what evidence-based literacy curricula the recipient is utilizing. Amends the School Code. In provisions concerning educator testing, requires applicants seeking specified licenses to pass a test in reading foundations, which shall include assessment of the applicant's understanding of phonological and phonemic awareness, concepts of print and the alphabetic principle, the role of phonics in promoting reading development, word analysis skills and strategies, vocabulary development, application of reading comprehension skills and strategies, and methods for assessing reading development. In provisions concerning minimum requirements for educators trained in other states or countries, provides that an applicant who has successfully completed a reading foundations test of at least comparable rigor to the Illinois reading foundations test is not required to complete a reading foundations test. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.
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STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
HB5032 LRB102 22552 CMG 31693 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Right
to Read Act.
Section 5. Legislative findings.
(a) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) the 2019 Illinois Assessment of Readiness found
that, among 3rd grade students, just 37% met or exceeded
learning standards in English language arts;
(2) the 2019 National Assessment of Educational
Progress similarly showed that just 35% of fourth grade
students in Illinois are proficient or advanced in English
language arts;
(3) research from the Annie E. Casey Institute found
that students who are not proficient readers in 3rd grade
are 4 times more likely not to finish high school, while
students from low-income families who are non-proficient
readers in 3rd grade are more than 6 times more likely not
to finish high school;
(4) the Literacy Project Foundation estimates that 60%
of all prison inmates are illiterate and 85% of juvenile
offenders struggle with reading;

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(5) 20 states require elementary teacher candidates to
pass a licensure test that is well-grounded in the science
of reading and fully measures knowledge in reading
foundations for all elementary candidates yet Illinois
does not measure the competencies of the science of
reading in the current licensure exam;
(6) the Simple View of Reading states that reading
comprehension is the product of the words one can decode
(word recognition) and the language one understands
(language comprehension) and word recognition requires an
understanding of phonics and phonological awareness, while
language comprehension requires an understanding of
background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, and
verbal reasoning; and
(7) strengthening early literacy instruction and
supports for students in Illinois will pay dividends in
the future, empowering students by providing the skills
they will need to graduate, find fulfilling careers, and
be productive members of their communities and of our
democracy.
(b) The General Assembly further finds that:
(1) reading is a critical skill that every child must
develop early in the child's educational career to be
successful;
(2) research shows that direct, systematic,
cumulative, sequential, and explicit reading instruction

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that is focused on the foundational reading skills of
phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary
development, reading fluency including oral skills, and
reading comprehension is highly effective in teaching
young children to read; and
(3) ensuring that every child has access to
high-quality, evidence-based reading instruction
implemented using a structured literacy approach is a
foundational component of Illinois' public education
system and a responsibility shared among federal, State,
and local education agencies.
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Board" means the State Board of Education.
"Cueing" means an instructional strategy in which students
are encouraged to infer what words say by looking at picture
clues or guessing or predicting words from repeated text
patterns or context, rather than encouraging them to decode
text as the primary method for recognizing a word while
reading.
"Evidence-based practice" refers to methodologies that
have been shown, through externally-validated research, to
effectuate positive educational results in a predictable
manner on a particular population. Evidence-based practices
meet a higher standard of evidence than research-based
practices.

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"Explicit" refers to a specific, direct, intentional, and
highly-structured manner of presentation in which topics are
broken down into small parts and taught individually,
involving direct demonstration, guidance, and practice.
"MTSS" means a multi-tiered system of support, which is an
educational intervention system, focused on
continuous-improvement using data-based problem solving and
decision-making at all levels of the educational system.
"Phonemic awareness" means the ability to identify and
manipulate individual sounds in spoken words.
"Phonics" means a method that demonstrates relationships
between letters or groups of letters of the alphabet
(graphemes) and sounds of spoken language (phonemes).
"Phonological awareness" means the ability to identify and
manipulate the spoken word parts, including syllables and
individual sounds.
"Reading comprehension" means the ability to decode words
in printed text and accurately understand and interpret their
meaning, making connections and drawing conclusions from what
they read.
"Reading fluency" means the ability to read with
appropriate speed, automaticity, accuracy, and expression.
"Research-based practice" refers to methodologies
suspected to affect a desired change. "Research-based
practices" represent a lower standard of evidence when
compared to evidence-based practices.

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"Structured literacy" is an approach to reading
instruction where teachers carefully structure important
literacy skills, concepts, and the sequence of instruction, to
facilitate children's literacy learning and progress.
"Structured literacy" is characterized by the provision of
systematic, explicit instruction that integrates listening,
speaking, reading, and writing and emphasizes the structure of
language across the speech sound system (phonology), the
writing system (orthography), the structure of sentences
(syntax), the meaningful parts of words (morphology), the
relationships among words (semantics), and the organization of
spoken and written discourse.
"Systematic" means an approach to content delivery that
builds sequentially upon prior learning in a strategic manner,
that is, building from simple to complex.
Section 15. Local education provider procedures, plan, and
training.
(a) The Board shall offer support to each public school
district to select evidence-based core reading instruction
programs and implement them using structured literacy
instruction. The curricula shall include phonemic awareness, a
systematic approach to phonics, explicit spelling instruction,
vocabulary development, reading fluency including oral skills,
and reading comprehension. Word recognition strategies shall
rely on orthographic and phonological processes rather than

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cueing. The core reading instruction must include connected
text, such as texts intended to reinforce words with the
phonetic patterns previously taught in sequence. This support
shall include:
(1) creation of a specific set of criteria that core
curricula must meet, as well as a list of evidence-based
literacy core curricula based on the given criteria, with
dissemination of the list to school districts by February
1, 2023; and
(2) establishment of a pilot program to award Early
Literacy Grants to districts that commit to comprehensive
reform of core literacy curriculum and support for
teachers implementing instruction of the new material by
September 1, 2025. At a minimum, grantees of the program
must commit to:
(A) comprehensive professional development
ensuring that each teacher employed to teach kindergarten
or any of grades 1 through 3 and each administrator in an
elementary school successfully completes or has
successfully completed evidence-based training in teaching
reading; and
(B) adoption and implementation of core and
supplemental reading curricula at each grade level from
kindergarten through grade 2 that is designed around
teaching the foundational reading skills.
(b) The Board shall offer support to each early childhood,

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elementary, and special education teacher, reading specialist,
literacy coach, and administrator to complete evidence-based
training in teaching reading. Such training shall focus on
systematic and explicit instruction in the areas of phonemic
awareness, phonics, orthography, morphology, vocabulary
development, reading fluency including oral skills, and
reading comprehension and include rigorous evaluations of
learning throughout and at the end of the course. This support
may include:
(1) development of a microcredential in the Science of
Reading to be affixed to professional educator licenses
upon completion of the required coursework, assessment, or
both;
(2) creation of an advisory list of rigorous
professional development programs related to structured
literacy and dissemination of the list to school districts
and regional offices of education;
(3) evaluation of current, pending, and future
professional development providers approved by the Board
pursuant to Section xx to ensure that training aligns with
evidence-based literacy instruction practices;
(4) completion of a review of current professional
development mandates required by federal or state law or
administrative rules and recommendations of requirements
that could be streamlined, eliminated, or modified to
accommodate more time for professional development in

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literacy; and
(5) development of online training modules on
evidence-based literacy instruction available statewide to
districts and educators free of charge through December
31, 2026 and accepted for continuing professional
development units.
(c) The Board shall annually compile and post on its
website information on the steps it has undertaken to support
school districts to deliver high-quality, evidence-based
literacy instruction, including a list of any Early Literacy
Grant recipients, documentation of how the recipient allocated
the funding to support improved literacy, and what
evidence-based literacy curricula the recipient is utilizing.
Section 20. The School Code is amended by changing
Sections 21B-30 and 21B-35 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

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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
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.
(d-5) All applicants seeking a State license in the areas
of early childhood education, early childhood special
education, elementary education, English language arts, middle
grades language arts, reading specialist, reading teacher,
special education, speech language pathologist, and English
language learner teacher shall be required to pass a test in
reading foundations, which shall include assessment of the
applicant's understanding of phonological and phonemic

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awareness, concepts of print and the alphabetic principle, the
role of phonics in promoting reading development, word
analysis skills and strategies, vocabulary development,
application of reading comprehension skills and strategies,
and methods for assessing reading development. The reading
foundations test must also assess applicants' knowledge of
assessment, differentiation, and intervention with respect to
each component of reading for English learners, students with
special needs, and students with advanced skills in some areas
of reading. 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) 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

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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 tests that from time to
time are designated by the State Board of Education, in
consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing
organization or 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
tests must be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no
person taking the 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 tests shall be fixed by the State
Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
Preparation and Licensure Board. The 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

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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
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 for all tests
except the reading foundations test, 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. The State Board shall base its
rules concerning the passing score of the reading foundations
test upon the results of a formal standard-setting process.
(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-35)
Sec. 21B-35. Minimum requirements for educators trained in
other states or countries.
(a) Any applicant who has not been entitled by an

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Illinois-approved educator preparation program at an Illinois
institution of higher education applying for a Professional
Educator License endorsed in a teaching field or school
support personnel area must meet the following requirements:
(1) the applicant must:
(A) hold a comparable and valid educator license
or certificate, as defined by rule, with similar grade
level, reading foundations, and content area
credentials from another state, with the State Board
of Education having the authority to determine what
constitutes similar grade level and content area
credentials from another state;
(B) have a bachelor's degree from a regionally
accredited institution of higher education; and
(C) (blank); or
(2) the applicant must:
(A) have completed a state-approved program for
the licensure area sought, including coursework
concerning methods of instruction of the exceptional
child, methods of reading and reading in the content
area, and instructional strategies for English
learners;
(B) have a bachelor's degree from a regionally
accredited institution of higher education;
(C) have successfully met all Illinois examination
requirements, except that:

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(i) (blank);
(ii) an applicant who has successfully
completed a test of content, as defined by rules,
at the time of initial licensure in another state
is not required to complete a test of content; and
(iii) an applicant for a teaching endorsement
who has successfully completed an evidence-based
assessment of teacher effectiveness, as defined by
rules, at the time of initial licensure in another
state is not required to complete an
evidence-based assessment of teacher
effectiveness; and
(iv) an applicant who has successfully
completed a reading foundations test of at least
comparable rigor to the Illinois reading
foundations test is not required to complete a
reading foundations test; and
(D) for an applicant for a teaching endorsement,
have completed student teaching or an equivalent
experience or, for an applicant for a school service
personnel endorsement, have completed an internship or
an equivalent experience.
(b) In order to receive a Professional Educator License
endorsed in a teaching field or school support personnel area,
applicants trained in another country must meet all of the
following requirements:

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(1) Have completed a comparable education program in
another country.
(2) Have had transcripts evaluated by an evaluation
service approved by the State Superintendent of Education.
(3) Have a degree comparable to a degree from a
regionally accredited institution of higher education.
(4) Have completed coursework aligned to standards
concerning methods of instruction of the exceptional
child, methods of reading and reading in the content area,
and instructional strategies for English learners.
(5) (Blank).
(6) (Blank).
(7) Have successfully met all State licensure
examination requirements. Applicants who have successfully
completed a test of content, as defined by rules, at the
time of initial licensure in another country shall not be
required to complete a test of content. Applicants for a
teaching endorsement who have successfully completed an
evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness, as
defined by rules, at the time of initial licensure in
another country shall not be required to complete an
evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness.
Applicants who have successfully completed a reading
foundations test of at least comparable rigor to the
Illinois reading foundations test shall not be required to
complete a reading foundations test.

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(8) Have completed student teaching or an equivalent
experience.
(9) (Blank).
(b-5) All applicants who have not been entitled by an
Illinois-approved educator preparation program at an Illinois
institution of higher education and applicants trained in
another country applying for a Professional Educator License
endorsed for principal or superintendent must hold a master's
degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher
education and hold a comparable and valid educator license or
certificate with similar grade level and subject matter
credentials, with the State Board of Education having the
authority to determine what constitutes similar grade level
and subject matter credentials from another state, or must
meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Have completed an educator preparation program
approved by another state or comparable educator program
in another country leading to the receipt of a license or
certificate for the Illinois endorsement sought.
(2) Have successfully met all State licensure
examination requirements, as required by Section 21B-30 of
this Code. Applicants who have successfully completed a
test of content, as defined by rules, at the time of
initial licensure in another state or country shall not be
required to complete a test of content.
(2.5) Have completed an internship, as defined by

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rule.
(3) (Blank).
(4) Have completed coursework aligned to standards
concerning methods of instruction of the exceptional
child, methods of reading and reading in the content area,
and instructional strategies for English learners.
(4.5) (Blank).
(5) Have completed a master's degree.
(6) Have successfully completed teaching, school
support, or administrative experience as defined by rule.
(b-7) All applicants who have not been entitled by an
Illinois-approved educator preparation program at an Illinois
institution of higher education applying for a Professional
Educator License endorsed for Director of Special Education
must hold a master's degree from a regionally accredited
institution of higher education and must hold a comparable and
valid educator license or certificate with similar grade level
and subject matter credentials, with the State Board of
Education having the authority to determine what constitutes
similar grade level and subject matter credentials from
another state, or must meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Have completed a master's degree.
(2) Have 2 years of full-time experience providing
special education services.
(3) Have successfully completed all examination
requirements, as required by Section 21B-30 of this Code.

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Applicants who have successfully completed a test of
content, as identified by rules, at the time of initial
licensure in another state or country shall not be
required to complete a test of content.
(4) Have completed coursework aligned to standards
concerning methods of instruction of the exceptional
child, methods of reading and reading in the content area,
and instructional strategies for English learners.
(b-10) All applicants who have not been entitled by an
Illinois-approved educator preparation program at an Illinois
institution of higher education applying for a Professional
Educator License endorsed for chief school business official
must hold a master's degree from a regionally accredited
institution of higher education and must hold a comparable and
valid educator license or certificate with similar grade level
and subject matter credentials, with the State Board of
Education having the authority to determine what constitutes
similar grade level and subject matter credentials from
another state, or must meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Have completed a master's degree in school
business management, finance, or accounting.
(2) Have successfully completed an internship in
school business management or have 2 years of experience
as a school business administrator.
(3) Have successfully met all State examination
requirements, as required by Section 21B-30 of this Code.

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Applicants who have successfully completed a test of
content, as identified by rules, at the time of initial
licensure in another state or country shall not be
required to complete a test of content.
(4) Have completed modules aligned to standards
concerning methods of instruction of the exceptional
child, methods of reading and reading in the content area,
and instructional strategies for English learners.
(c) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, may adopt such
rules as may be necessary to implement this Section.
(Source: P.A. 101-220, eff. 8-7-19; 101-643, eff. 6-18-20;
102-539, eff. 8-20-21.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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INDEX
Statutes amended in order of appearance