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Illinois Senate Bill SB1867

Illinois 2025-2026 Regular Session

Illinois Senate Bill SB1867 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 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 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-30 105 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 LRB104 10664 LNS 20743 b A BILL FOR
22 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB1867 Introduced 2/5/2025, by Sen. Chris Balkema SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
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55 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.
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1111 1 AN ACT concerning education.
1212 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
1313 3 represented in the General Assembly:
1414 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
1515 5 21B-30 as follows:
1616 6 (105 ILCS 5/21B-30)
1717 7 Sec. 21B-30. Educator testing.
1818 8 (a) (Blank).
1919 9 (b) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the
2020 10 State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall design
2121 11 and implement a system of examinations, which shall be
2222 12 required prior to the issuance of educator licenses. These
2323 13 examinations and indicators must be based on national and
2424 14 State professional teaching standards, as determined by the
2525 15 State Board of Education, in consultation with the State
2626 16 Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. The State Board of
2727 17 Education may adopt such rules as may be necessary to
2828 18 implement and administer this Section.
2929 19 (c) (Blank).
3030 20 (c-5) The State Board must adopt rules to implement a
3131 21 paraprofessional competency test. This test would allow an
3232 22 applicant seeking an Educator License with Stipulations with a
3333 23 paraprofessional educator endorsement to obtain the
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4040 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.
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6868 1 endorsement if he or she passes the test and meets the other
6969 2 requirements of subparagraph (J) of paragraph (2) of Section
7070 3 21B-20 other than the higher education requirements.
7171 4 (d) All applicants seeking a State license shall be
7272 5 required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area
7373 6 of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. There
7474 7 shall be no exception to this requirement.
7575 8 (d-5) The State Board shall consult with any applicable
7676 9 vendors within 90 days after July 28, 2023 (the effective date
7777 10 of Public Act 103-402) to develop a plan to transition the test
7878 11 of content area knowledge in the endorsement area of
7979 12 elementary education, grades one through 6, by July 1, 2026 to
8080 13 a content area test that contains testing elements that cover
8181 14 bilingualism, biliteracy, oral language development,
8282 15 foundational literacy skills, and developmentally appropriate
8383 16 higher-order comprehension and on which a valid and reliable
8484 17 language and literacy subscore can be determined. The State
8585 18 Board shall base its rules concerning the passing subscore on
8686 19 the language and literacy portion of the test on the
8787 20 recommended cut-score determined in the formal
8888 21 standard-setting process. Candidates need not achieve a
8989 22 particular subscore in the area of language and literacy. The
9090 23 State Board shall aggregate and publish the number of
9191 24 candidates in each preparation program who take the test and
9292 25 the number who pass the language and literacy portion.
9393 26 (e) (Blank).
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104104 1 (f) Beginning on August 4, 2023 (the effective date of
105105 2 Public Act 103-488) through August 31, 2025, no candidate
106106 3 completing a teacher preparation program in this State or
107107 4 candidate subject to Section 21B-35 of this Code is required
108108 5 to pass a teacher performance assessment. Except as otherwise
109109 6 provided in this Article, beginning on September 1, 2015 until
110110 7 August 4, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 103-488) and
111111 8 beginning again on September 1, 2025, all candidates
112112 9 completing teacher preparation programs in this State and all
113113 10 candidates subject to Section 21B-35 of this Code are required
114114 11 to pass a teacher performance assessment approved by the State
115115 12 Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
116116 13 Preparation and Licensure Board. The State Board of Education
117117 14 and the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board are
118118 15 required to approve more than one assessment, not from the
119119 16 same source. Each teacher preparation program in this State
120120 17 may use any evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness
121121 18 that aligns to current State teaching standards in order for a
122122 19 candidate to meet the requirements of this subsection (f). A
123123 20 candidate may not be required to submit test materials by
124124 21 video submission. Subject to appropriation, an individual who
125125 22 holds a Professional Educator License and is employed for a
126126 23 minimum of one school year by a school district designated as
127127 24 Tier 1 under Section 18-8.15 may, after application to the
128128 25 State Board, receive from the State Board a refund for any
129129 26 costs associated with completing the teacher performance
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140140 1 assessment under this subsection.
141141 2 (f-5) The Teacher Performance Assessment Task Force is
142142 3 created to evaluate potential performance-based and objective
143143 4 teacher performance assessment systems for implementation
144144 5 across all educator preparation programs in this State, with
145145 6 the intention of ensuring consistency across programs and
146146 7 supporting a thoughtful and well-rounded licensure system.
147147 8 Members appointed to the Task Force must reflect the racial,
148148 9 ethnic, and geographic diversity of this State. The Task Force
149149 10 shall consist of all of the following members:
150150 11 (1) One member of the Senate, appointed by the
151151 12 President of the Senate.
152152 13 (2) One member of the Senate, appointed by the
153153 14 Minority Leader of the Senate.
154154 15 (3) One member of the House of Representatives,
155155 16 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
156156 17 (4) One member of the House of Representatives,
157157 18 appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
158158 19 Representatives.
159159 20 (5) One member who represents a statewide professional
160160 21 teachers' organization, appointed by the State
161161 22 Superintendent of Education.
162162 23 (6) One member who represents a different statewide
163163 24 professional teachers' organization, appointed by the
164164 25 State Superintendent of Education.
165165 26 (7) One member from a statewide organization
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176176 1 representing school principals, appointed by the State
177177 2 Superintendent of Education.
178178 3 (8) One member from a statewide organization
179179 4 representing regional superintendents of schools,
180180 5 appointed by the State Superintendent of Education.
181181 6 (9) One member from a statewide organization
182182 7 representing school administrators, appointed by the State
183183 8 Superintendent of Education.
184184 9 (10) One member representing a school district
185185 10 organized under Article 34 of this Code, appointed by the
186186 11 State Superintendent of Education.
187187 12 (11) One member of an association representing rural
188188 13 and small schools, appointed by the State Superintendent
189189 14 of Education.
190190 15 (12) One member representing a suburban school
191191 16 district, appointed by the State Superintendent of
192192 17 Education.
193193 18 (13) One member from a statewide organization
194194 19 representing school districts in the southern suburbs of
195195 20 the City of Chicago, appointed by the State Superintendent
196196 21 of Education.
197197 22 (14) One member from a statewide organization
198198 23 representing large unit school districts, appointed by the
199199 24 State Superintendent of Education.
200200 25 (15) One member from a statewide organization
201201 26 representing school districts in the collar counties of
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212212 1 the City of Chicago, appointed by the State Superintendent
213213 2 of Education.
214214 3 (16) Three members, each representing a different
215215 4 public university in this State and each a current member
216216 5 of the faculty of an approved educator preparation
217217 6 program, appointed by the State Superintendent of
218218 7 Education.
219219 8 (17) Three members, each representing a different
220220 9 4-year nonpublic university or college in this State and
221221 10 each a current member of the faculty of an approved
222222 11 educator preparation program, appointed by the State
223223 12 Superintendent of Education.
224224 13 (18) One member of the Board of Higher Education,
225225 14 appointed by the State Superintendent of Education.
226226 15 (19) One member representing a statewide policy
227227 16 organization advocating on behalf of multilingual students
228228 17 and families, appointed by the State Superintendent of
229229 18 Education.
230230 19 (20) One member representing a statewide organization
231231 20 focused on research-based education policy to support a
232232 21 school system that prepares all students for college, a
233233 22 career, and democratic citizenship, appointed by the State
234234 23 Superintendent of Education.
235235 24 (21) Two members representing an early childhood
236236 25 advocacy organization, appointed by the State
237237 26 Superintendent of Education.
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248248 1 (22) One member representing a statewide organization
249249 2 that partners with educator preparation programs and
250250 3 school districts to support the growth and development of
251251 4 preservice teachers, appointed by the State Superintendent
252252 5 of Education.
253253 6 (23) One member representing a statewide organization
254254 7 that advocates for educational equity and racial justice
255255 8 in schools, appointed by the State Superintendent of
256256 9 Education.
257257 10 (24) One member representing a statewide organization
258258 11 that represents school boards, appointed by the State
259259 12 Superintendent of Education.
260260 13 (25) One member who has, within the last 5 years,
261261 14 served as a cooperating teacher, appointed by the State
262262 15 Superintendent of Education.
263263 16 Members of the Task Force shall serve without
264264 17 compensation. The Task Force shall first meet at the call of
265265 18 the State Superintendent of Education, and each subsequent
266266 19 meeting shall be called by the chairperson of the Task Force,
267267 20 who shall be designated by the State Superintendent of
268268 21 Education. The State Board of Education shall provide
269269 22 administrative and other support to the Task Force.
270270 23 On or before October 31, 2024, the Task Force shall report
271271 24 on its work, including recommendations on a teacher
272272 25 performance assessment system in this State, to the State
273273 26 Board of Education and the General Assembly. The Task Force is
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284284 1 dissolved upon submission of this report.
285285 2 (g) The content area knowledge test and the teacher
286286 3 performance assessment shall be the tests that from time to
287287 4 time are designated by the State Board of Education, in
288288 5 consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure
289289 6 Board, and may be tests prepared by an educational testing
290290 7 organization or tests designed by the State Board of
291291 8 Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation
292292 9 and Licensure Board. The test of content area knowledge shall
293293 10 assess content knowledge in a specific subject field. The
294294 11 tests must be designed to be racially neutral to ensure that no
295295 12 person taking the tests is discriminated against on the basis
296296 13 of race, color, national origin, or other factors unrelated to
297297 14 the person's ability to perform as a licensed employee. The
298298 15 score required to pass the tests shall be fixed by the State
299299 16 Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator
300300 17 Preparation and Licensure Board. The State Board of
301301 18 Education's rules for scoring the content area knowledge test
302302 19 may include scoring and retaking of each test section
303303 20 separately and independently. The tests shall be administered
304304 21 not fewer than 3 times a year at such time and place as may be
305305 22 designated by the State Board of Education, in consultation
306306 23 with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board.
307307 24 The State Board shall implement a test or tests to assess
308308 25 the speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills of
309309 26 applicants for an endorsement or a license issued under
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320320 1 subdivision (G) of paragraph (2) of Section 21B-20 of this
321321 2 Code in the English language and in the language of the
322322 3 transitional bilingual education program requested by the
323323 4 applicant.
324324 5 (h) Except as provided in Section 34-6 of this Code, the
325325 6 provisions of this Section shall apply equally in any school
326326 7 district subject to Article 34 of this Code.
327327 8 (i) The rules developed to implement and enforce the
328328 9 testing requirements under this Section shall include, without
329329 10 limitation, provisions governing test selection, test
330330 11 validation, and determination of a passing score,
331331 12 administration of the tests, frequency of administration,
332332 13 applicant fees, frequency of applicants taking the tests, the
333333 14 years for which a score is valid, and appropriate special
334334 15 accommodations. The State Board of Education shall develop
335335 16 such rules as may be needed to ensure uniformity from year to
336336 17 year in the level of difficulty for each form of an assessment.
337337 18 (Source: P.A. 102-301, eff. 8-26-21; 103-402, eff. 7-28-23;
338338 19 103-488, eff. 8-4-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-780, eff.
339339 20 8-2-24; 103-811, eff. 8-9-24; 103-846, eff. 8-9-24.)
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