Bill Text: IL SB1867 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning educator testing, provides that the State Board of Education and the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board are required to approve more than one assessment, not from the same source, and each teacher preparation program in the State may use any evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness that aligns to current State teaching standards. Effective July 1, 2025.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-06 - Referred to Assignments [SB1867 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB1867-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1867 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Chris Balkema SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
105 ILCS 5/21B-30
Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning educator testing, provides that the State Board of Education and the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board are required to approve more than one assessment, not from the same source, and each teacher preparation program in the State may use any evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness that aligns to current State teaching standards. Effective July 1, 2025.
LRB104 10664 LNS 20743 b
A BILL FOR
SB1867 LRB104 10664 LNS 20743 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-30 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.
(d-5) The State Board shall consult with any applicable
vendors within 90 days after July 28, 2023 (the effective date
of Public Act 103-402) to develop a plan to transition the test
of content area knowledge in the endorsement area of
elementary education, grades one through 6, by July 1, 2026 to
a content area test that contains testing elements that cover
bilingualism, biliteracy, oral language development,
foundational literacy skills, and developmentally appropriate
higher-order comprehension and on which a valid and reliable
language and literacy subscore can be determined. The State
Board shall base its rules concerning the passing subscore on
the language and literacy portion of the test on the
recommended cut-score determined in the formal
standard-setting process. Candidates need not achieve a
particular subscore in the area of language and literacy. The
State Board shall aggregate and publish the number of
candidates in each preparation program who take the test and
the number who pass the language and literacy portion.
(e) (Blank).

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(f) Beginning on August 4, 2023 (the effective date of
Public Act 103-488) through August 31, 2025, no candidate
completing a teacher preparation program in this State or
candidate subject to Section 21B-35 of this Code is required
to pass a teacher performance assessment. Except as otherwise
provided in this Article, beginning on September 1, 2015 until
August 4, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 103-488) and
beginning again on September 1, 2025, 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. The State Board of Education
and the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board are
required to approve more than one assessment, not from the
same source. Each teacher preparation program in this State
may use any evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness
that aligns to current State teaching standards in order for a
candidate to meet the requirements of this subsection (f). 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

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assessment under this subsection.
(f-5) The Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force is
created to evaluate potential performance-based and objective
teacher performance assessment systems for implementation
across all educator preparation programs in this State, with
the intention of ensuring consistency across programs and
supporting a thoughtful and well-rounded licensure system.
Members appointed to the Task Force must reflect the racial,
ethnic, and geographic diversity of this State. The Task Force
shall consist of all of the following members:
(1) One member of the Senate, appointed by the
President of the Senate.
(2) One member of the Senate, appointed by the
Minority Leader of the Senate.
(3) One member of the House of Representatives,
appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(4) One member of the House of Representatives,
appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives.
(5) One member who represents a statewide professional
teachers' organization, appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education.
(6) One member who represents a different statewide
professional teachers' organization, appointed by the
State Superintendent of Education.
(7) One member from a statewide organization

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representing school principals, appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education.
(8) One member from a statewide organization
representing regional superintendents of schools,
appointed by the State Superintendent of Education.
(9) One member from a statewide organization
representing school administrators, appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education.
(10) One member representing a school district
organized under Article 34 of this Code, appointed by the
State Superintendent of Education.
(11) One member of an association representing rural
and small schools, appointed by the State Superintendent
of Education.
(12) One member representing a suburban school
district, appointed by the State Superintendent of
Education.
(13) One member from a statewide organization
representing school districts in the southern suburbs of
the City of Chicago, appointed by the State Superintendent
of Education.
(14) One member from a statewide organization
representing large unit school districts, appointed by the
State Superintendent of Education.
(15) One member from a statewide organization
representing school districts in the collar counties of

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the City of Chicago, appointed by the State Superintendent
of Education.
(16) Three members, each representing a different
public university in this State and each a current member
of the faculty of an approved educator preparation
program, appointed by the State Superintendent of
Education.
(17) Three members, each representing a different
4-year nonpublic university or college in this State and
each a current member of the faculty of an approved
educator preparation program, appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education.
(18) One member of the Board of Higher Education,
appointed by the State Superintendent of Education.
(19) One member representing a statewide policy
organization advocating on behalf of multilingual students
and families, appointed by the State Superintendent of
Education.
(20) One member representing a statewide organization
focused on research-based education policy to support a
school system that prepares all students for college, a
career, and democratic citizenship, appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education.
(21) Two members representing an early childhood
advocacy organization, appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education.

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(22) One member representing a statewide organization
that partners with educator preparation programs and
school districts to support the growth and development of
preservice teachers, appointed by the State Superintendent
of Education.
(23) One member representing a statewide organization
that advocates for educational equity and racial justice
in schools, appointed by the State Superintendent of
Education.
(24) One member representing a statewide organization
that represents school boards, appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education.
(25) One member who has, within the last 5 years,
served as a cooperating teacher, appointed by the State
Superintendent of Education.
Members of the Task Force shall serve without
compensation. The Task Force shall first meet at the call of
the State Superintendent of Education, and each subsequent
meeting shall be called by the chairperson of the Task Force,
who shall be designated by the State Superintendent of
Education. The State Board of Education shall provide
administrative and other support to the Task Force.
On or before October 31, 2024, the Task Force shall report
on its work, including recommendations on a teacher
performance assessment system in this State, to the State
Board of Education and the General Assembly. The Task Force is

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dissolved upon submission of this report.
(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 State Board of
Education's rules for scoring the content area knowledge test
may include scoring and retaking of each test section
separately and independently. 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

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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
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. 102-301, eff. 8-26-21; 103-402, eff. 7-28-23;
103-488, eff. 8-4-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-780, eff.
8-2-24; 103-811, eff. 8-9-24; 103-846, eff. 8-9-24.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2025.