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Illinois House Bill HB2470

Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois House Bill HB2470 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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11 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2470 Introduced , by Rep. Edgar Gonzlez, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 110 ILCS 48/20110 ILCS 48/25110 ILCS 48/35.5 new Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. In a provision regarding the selection of grantees, provides that: State appropriations shall be allocated with the intention of providing direct candidate support through consortia; and Grown Your Own Illinois may use no more than 5% of State appropriations for operational expenditures, but may supplement its operational expenditures with private funds. In a provision regarding expenditures under the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative: requires grants to be distributed to consortia from Grow Your Own Illinois in an equitable manner based on candidate needs and in such a way as to provide the required support for a cohort of candidates; and provides that site-based cohort coordinators shall indicate to Grow Your Own Illinois the needs of candidates and shall have the authority to inform the development and operations of the cohort pertaining to certain topics. Allows the Board of Higher Education to create a process to allow cohorts to communicate operational or funding challenges pertaining to the implementation of the Grow Your Own Illinois program. Allows the Board to adopt rules to establish a complaint process. Makes other changes. LRB104 03463 LNS 13486 b A BILL FOR 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2470 Introduced , by Rep. Edgar Gonzlez, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 110 ILCS 48/20110 ILCS 48/25110 ILCS 48/35.5 new 110 ILCS 48/20 110 ILCS 48/25 110 ILCS 48/35.5 new Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. In a provision regarding the selection of grantees, provides that: State appropriations shall be allocated with the intention of providing direct candidate support through consortia; and Grown Your Own Illinois may use no more than 5% of State appropriations for operational expenditures, but may supplement its operational expenditures with private funds. In a provision regarding expenditures under the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative: requires grants to be distributed to consortia from Grow Your Own Illinois in an equitable manner based on candidate needs and in such a way as to provide the required support for a cohort of candidates; and provides that site-based cohort coordinators shall indicate to Grow Your Own Illinois the needs of candidates and shall have the authority to inform the development and operations of the cohort pertaining to certain topics. Allows the Board of Higher Education to create a process to allow cohorts to communicate operational or funding challenges pertaining to the implementation of the Grow Your Own Illinois program. Allows the Board to adopt rules to establish a complaint process. Makes other changes. LRB104 03463 LNS 13486 b LRB104 03463 LNS 13486 b A BILL FOR
22 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB2470 Introduced , by Rep. Edgar Gonzlez, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
33 110 ILCS 48/20110 ILCS 48/25110 ILCS 48/35.5 new 110 ILCS 48/20 110 ILCS 48/25 110 ILCS 48/35.5 new
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77 Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. In a provision regarding the selection of grantees, provides that: State appropriations shall be allocated with the intention of providing direct candidate support through consortia; and Grown Your Own Illinois may use no more than 5% of State appropriations for operational expenditures, but may supplement its operational expenditures with private funds. In a provision regarding expenditures under the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative: requires grants to be distributed to consortia from Grow Your Own Illinois in an equitable manner based on candidate needs and in such a way as to provide the required support for a cohort of candidates; and provides that site-based cohort coordinators shall indicate to Grow Your Own Illinois the needs of candidates and shall have the authority to inform the development and operations of the cohort pertaining to certain topics. Allows the Board of Higher Education to create a process to allow cohorts to communicate operational or funding challenges pertaining to the implementation of the Grow Your Own Illinois program. Allows the Board to adopt rules to establish a complaint process. Makes other changes.
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1313 1 AN ACT concerning education.
1414 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
1515 3 represented in the General Assembly:
1616 4 Section 5. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is
1717 5 amended by changing Sections 20 and 25 and by adding Section
1818 6 35.5 as follows:
1919 7 (110 ILCS 48/20)
2020 8 Sec. 20. Selection of grantees. The Board of Higher
2121 9 Education shall, subject to appropriation, allocate funds to
2222 10 Grow Your Own Illinois for the purpose of administering the
2323 11 program and awarding grants as needed to qualified consortia
2424 12 that reflect the distribution and diversity of hard-to-staff
2525 13 schools and hard-to-staff positions across this State. In
2626 14 awarding grants, Grow Your Own Illinois shall select programs
2727 15 that successfully address Initiative criteria and that reflect
2828 16 a diversity of strategies in terms of serving urban areas,
2929 17 serving rural areas, the nature of the participating
3030 18 institutions of higher education, and the nature of
3131 19 hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff teaching positions on
3232 20 which a program is focused. State appropriations shall be
3333 21 allocated with the intention of providing direct candidate
3434 22 support through consortia. Grow Your Own Illinois may use no
3535 23 more than 5% of State appropriations for operational
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4040 110 ILCS 48/20110 ILCS 48/25110 ILCS 48/35.5 new 110 ILCS 48/20 110 ILCS 48/25 110 ILCS 48/35.5 new
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4343 110 ILCS 48/35.5 new
4444 Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. In a provision regarding the selection of grantees, provides that: State appropriations shall be allocated with the intention of providing direct candidate support through consortia; and Grown Your Own Illinois may use no more than 5% of State appropriations for operational expenditures, but may supplement its operational expenditures with private funds. In a provision regarding expenditures under the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative: requires grants to be distributed to consortia from Grow Your Own Illinois in an equitable manner based on candidate needs and in such a way as to provide the required support for a cohort of candidates; and provides that site-based cohort coordinators shall indicate to Grow Your Own Illinois the needs of candidates and shall have the authority to inform the development and operations of the cohort pertaining to certain topics. Allows the Board of Higher Education to create a process to allow cohorts to communicate operational or funding challenges pertaining to the implementation of the Grow Your Own Illinois program. Allows the Board to adopt rules to establish a complaint process. Makes other changes.
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7474 1 expenditures; however, Grow Your Own Illinois may supplement
7575 2 its operational expenditures with private funds.
7676 3 Grow Your Own Illinois shall select, manage, and oversee
7777 4 consortia that meet the following requirements:
7878 5 (1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one
7979 6 4-year institution of higher education with an Illinois
8080 7 approved teacher preparation program, at least one school
8181 8 district or group of schools, and one or more community
8282 9 organizations. The consortium membership may also include
8383 10 a 2-year institution of higher education, a school
8484 11 employee union, or a regional office of education.
8585 12 (2) The 4-year institution of higher education
8686 13 participating in the consortium shall have past,
8787 14 demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary
8888 15 or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of
8989 16 low-income students.
9090 17 (3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined
9191 18 set of eligible schools that will participate in the
9292 19 program. The consortium shall articulate the steps that it
9393 20 will carry out in preparing teachers for its participating
9494 21 schools and in preparing teachers for one or more
9595 22 hard-to-staff teaching positions in those schools.
9696 23 (4) The consortium shall recruit potential candidates
9797 24 for the program and shall take into consideration when
9898 25 selecting a candidate whether the candidate:
9999 26 (A) holds a high school diploma or its equivalent
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110110 1 or is a high school student enrolled in a dual credit
111111 2 course offered by a participating institution of
112112 3 higher education;
113113 4 (B) meets either the definition of "parent and
114114 5 community leader" or the definition of "para educator"
115115 6 contained in Section 10 of this Act;
116116 7 (C) (blank);
117117 8 (D) exhibits a willingness to be a teacher in a
118118 9 hard-to-staff school with the goal of maintaining
119119 10 academic excellence;
120120 11 (E) shows an interest in postsecondary education
121121 12 and may hold an associate's degree, a bachelor's
122122 13 degree, or another postsecondary degree, but a
123123 14 postsecondary education is not required;
124124 15 (F) is a parent, a para educator, a community
125125 16 leader, or any other individual from a community with
126126 17 a hard-to-staff school;
127127 18 (G) commits to completing and passing all State
128128 19 standards, including the licensure test to obtain an
129129 20 educator license;
130130 21 (H) shows a willingness to set high standards of
131131 22 performance for himself or herself and students; and
132132 23 (I) demonstrates commitment to the program by:
133133 24 (i) maintaining a cumulative grade point
134134 25 average of at least a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale (or the
135135 26 equivalent as determined by the Board of Higher
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146146 1 Education);
147147 2 (ii) attending monthly cohort meetings; and
148148 3 (iii) applying for financial aid from all
149149 4 other financial aid resources before applying for
150150 5 assistance from the program.
151151 6 (5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures
152152 7 for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare
153153 8 highly competent teachers. Professional preparation shall
154154 9 include on-going direct experience in target schools and
155155 10 evaluation of this experience.
156156 11 (6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts
157157 12 of candidates, as defined in Section 10 of this Act, on a
158158 13 schedule that enables candidates to work full time while
159159 14 participating in the program and allows para educators to
160160 15 continue in their current positions. In any fiscal year in
161161 16 which an appropriation for the Initiative is made, the
162162 17 consortium shall guarantee that support will be available
163163 18 to an admitted cohort for the cohort's education for that
164164 19 fiscal year. At the beginning of the Initiative, programs
165165 20 that are already operating and existing cohorts of
166166 21 candidates under this model shall be eligible for funding.
167167 22 (7) The institutions of higher education participating
168168 23 in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the
169169 24 same amount of funds in implementing the program that
170170 25 these institutions spend per student on similar
171171 26 educational programs. Grants received by the consortium
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182182 1 shall supplement and not supplant these amounts.
183183 2 (8) Grow Your Own Illinois shall establish and oversee
184184 3 additional criteria for review of proposals, including
185185 4 criteria that address the following issues:
186186 5 (A) Previous experience of the institutions of
187187 6 higher education in preparing candidates for
188188 7 hard-to-staff schools and positions and in working
189189 8 with students with non-traditional backgrounds.
190190 9 (B) The quality of the implementation plan,
191191 10 including strategies for overcoming institutional
192192 11 barriers to the progress of non-traditional
193193 12 candidates.
194194 13 (C) If a community college is a participant, the
195195 14 nature and extent of existing articulation agreements
196196 15 and guarantees between the community college and the
197197 16 4-year institution of higher education.
198198 17 (D) The number of candidates to be educated in the
199199 18 planned cohort or cohorts and the capacity of the
200200 19 consortium for adding cohorts in future cycles.
201201 20 (E) Experience of the community organization or
202202 21 organizations in organizing parents and community
203203 22 leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong
204204 23 relational school culture.
205205 24 (F) The qualifications of the person or persons
206206 25 designated by the 4-year institution of higher
207207 26 education to be responsible for cohort support and the
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218218 1 development of a shared learning and social
219219 2 environment among candidates.
220220 3 (G) The consortium's plan for collective
221221 4 consortium decision-making, involving all consortium
222222 5 members, including mechanisms for candidate input.
223223 6 (H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of the
224224 7 program on the quality of education in the eligible
225225 8 schools.
226226 9 (I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs
227227 10 of the eligible schools and positions, and the use in
228228 11 curriculum and instructional planning of principles
229229 12 for effective education for adults.
230230 13 (J) The availability of classes under the program
231231 14 in places and times accessible to the candidates.
232232 15 (K) Provision of a level of performance to be
233233 16 maintained by candidates as a condition of continuing
234234 17 in the program.
235235 18 (L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher
236236 19 education to ensure that candidates take advantage of
237237 20 existing financial aid resources before using the loan
238238 21 funds described in Section 25 of this Act.
239239 22 (M) The availability of supportive services,
240240 23 including, but not limited to, counseling, tutoring,
241241 24 transportation, technology and technology support, and
242242 25 child care.
243243 26 (N) A plan for continued participation of
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254254 1 graduates of the program in a program of support for at
255255 2 least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings.
256256 3 (O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation
257257 4 of candidates' teaching skills that ensures that
258258 5 graduates of the program are as prepared for teaching
259259 6 as other individuals completing the institution of
260260 7 higher education's preparation program for the
261261 8 certificate sought.
262262 9 (P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides
263263 10 reports at least yearly on the progress of candidates
264264 11 towards graduation and the impact of the program on
265265 12 the target schools and their communities.
266266 13 (Q) Contributions from schools, school districts,
267267 14 and other consortia members to the program, including
268268 15 stipends for candidates during their student teaching.
269269 16 (R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the
270270 17 program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced
271271 18 requirements for external funding, in subsequent
272272 19 cycles.
273273 20 (S) The inclusion in the planned program of
274274 21 strategies derived from community organizing that will
275275 22 help candidates develop tools for working with parents
276276 23 and other community members.
277277 24 Subject to the requirements under the Dual Credit Quality
278278 25 Act, a participating institution of higher education may offer
279279 26 a high school student a dual credit course under the program.
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290290 1 The Board of Higher Education may not adopt rules
291291 2 regarding candidate eligibility that are more restrictive than
292292 3 this Section.
293293 4 (Source: P.A. 101-122, eff. 7-26-19.)
294294 5 (110 ILCS 48/25)
295295 6 Sec. 25. Expenditures under the Initiative.
296296 7 (a) Every program under the Initiative shall implement a
297297 8 program of forgivable loans to cover any portion of tuition,
298298 9 books, and fees of candidates under the program in excess of
299299 10 the candidates' grants-in-aid. All students admitted to a
300300 11 cohort shall be eligible for a forgivable student loan. Loans
301301 12 shall be fully forgiven if a graduate completes 5 years of
302302 13 service in hard-to-staff schools or hard-to-staff teaching
303303 14 positions, with partial forgiveness for shorter periods of
304304 15 service. Grow Your Own Illinois shall establish standards for
305305 16 the approval of requests for waivers or deferrals from
306306 17 individuals to waive this obligation and shall also define
307307 18 standards for the fiscal management of these loan funds.
308308 19 (b) Grants Grow Your Own Illinois shall award grants under
309309 20 the Initiative shall be distributed to consortia from Grow
310310 21 Your Own Illinois in an equitable manner based on candidate
311311 22 needs as described by the site-based cohort coordinator and in
312312 23 such a way as to provide the required support for a cohort of
313313 24 candidates for any fiscal year in which an appropriation for
314314 25 the Initiative is made. Program budgets must show expenditures
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325325 1 and needed funds for the entire period that candidates are
326326 2 expected to be enrolled.
327327 3 (b-5) Site-based cohort coordinators shall indicate to
328328 4 Grow Your Own Illinois the needs of candidates and shall have
329329 5 the authority to inform the development and operations of the
330330 6 cohort pertaining to:
331331 7 (1) site needs, including budget requests related to
332332 8 child care and other indirect expenses, such as
333333 9 transportation, tutoring, technology, and technology
334334 10 support necessary to maintain class schedules;
335335 11 (2) cohort size, including the number of candidates
336336 12 the site can support;
337337 13 (3) whether the site-based cohort is applying for a
338338 14 planning, implementation, or continuation grant;
339339 15 (4) partnerships with other schools or community-based
340340 16 organizations;
341341 17 (5) participation in research studies and surveys; and
342342 18 (6) local marketing and outreach.
343343 19 (c) No funds under the Initiative may be used to supplant
344344 20 the average per-capita expenditures by the institution of
345345 21 higher education for candidates.
346346 22 (d) Where necessary, program budgets shall include the
347347 23 costs of child care and other indirect expenses, such as
348348 24 transportation, tutoring, technology, and technology support,
349349 25 necessary to permit candidates to maintain their class
350350 26 schedules. Grant funds may be used by any member of a
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361361 1 consortium to offset such costs, and the services may be
362362 2 provided by the community organization or organizations, by
363363 3 any other member of the consortium, or by independent
364364 4 contractors.
365365 5 (e) The institution of higher education may expend grant
366366 6 funds to cover the additional costs of offering classes in
367367 7 community settings and for tutoring services.
368368 8 (f) The community organization or organizations may
369369 9 receive a portion of the grant money for the expenses of
370370 10 recruitment, community orientation, and counseling of
371371 11 potential candidates, for providing space in the community,
372372 12 and for working with school personnel to facilitate individual
373373 13 work experiences and support of candidates.
374374 14 (g) The school district or school employee union or both
375375 15 may receive a portion of the grant money for expenses of
376376 16 supporting the work experiences of candidates and providing
377377 17 mentors for graduates. Notwithstanding the provisions of
378378 18 Section 10-20.15 of the School Code, school districts may also
379379 19 use these or other applicable public funds to pay participants
380380 20 in programs under the Initiative for student teaching required
381381 21 by an accredited teacher preparation program.
382382 22 (h) One or more members of the consortium may expend funds
383383 23 to cover the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator.
384384 24 (i) Grant funds may also be expended to pay directly for
385385 25 required developmental classes for candidates beginning a
386386 26 program.
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397397 1 (Source: P.A. 101-122, eff. 7-26-19.)
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