Bill Text: IL HB3312 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. Adds as a purpose of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative that the Initiative shall effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders and paraeducators to become effective teachers statewide in non-public special education facilities. Includes Illinois non-public special education facilities under the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code as an "eligible school" under the Act. Makes related changes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB3312 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HB3312-Introduced.html

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97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2011 and 2012 HB3312 Introduced 2/24/2011, by Rep. Rich Brauer SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 48/5
110 ILCS 48/10
110 ILCS 48/20
110 ILCS 48/25
Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. Adds as a purpose of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative that the Initiative shall effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders and paraeducators to become effective teachers statewide in non-public special education facilities. Includes Illinois non-public special education facilities under the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code as an "eligible school" under the Act. Makes related changes.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is
amended by changing Sections 5, 10, 20, and 25 as follows:
(110 ILCS 48/5)
Sec. 5. Purpose. The Grow Your Own Teacher preparation
programs established under this Act shall comprise a major new
statewide initiative, known as the Grow Your Own Teacher
Education Initiative, to prepare highly skilled, committed
teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools, including
within the Department of Juvenile Justice School District, and
hard-to-staff teaching positions, and non-public special
education facilities and who will remain in these schools for
substantial periods of time.
The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall
effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders
and paraeducators to become effective teachers statewide in
hard-to-staff schools serving a substantial percentage of
low-income students, and hard-to-staff teaching positions in
schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
students, and in non-public special education facilities.
Further, the Initiative shall increase the diversity of

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teachers, including diversity based on race and ethnicity.
The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative shall ensure
educational rigor by effectively preparing candidates in
accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching, through
which graduates shall meet the requirements to secure an
Illinois initial teaching certificate.
The goal of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative
is to add 1,000 teachers to low-income, hard-to-staff Illinois
schools and Illinois non-public special education facilities
by 2016.
(Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09; 96-414,
eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
(110 ILCS 48/10)
Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Accredited teacher preparation program" means a
regionally accredited, Illinois approved teacher education
program authorized to prepare individuals to fulfill all of the
requirements to receive an Illinois initial teaching
certificate.
"Cohort" means a group of teacher education candidates who
are enrolled in and share experiences in the same program and
are linked by their desire to become Illinois teachers in
hard-to-staff schools or non-public special education
facilities and by their need for the services and supports
offered by the Initiative.

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"Community organization" means a nonprofit organization
that has a demonstrated capacity to train, develop, and
organize parents and community leaders into a constituency that
will hold the school and the school district accountable for
achieving high academic standards; in addition to
organizations with a geographic focus, "community
organization" includes general parent organizations,
organizations of special education or bilingual education
parents, and school employee unions.
"Developmental classes" means classes in basic skill
areas, such as mathematics and language arts that are
prerequisite to, but not counted towards, degree requirements
of a teacher preparation program.
"Eligible school" means a public elementary, middle, or
secondary school in this State that serves a substantial
percentage of low-income students and that is either hard to
staff or has hard-to-staff teaching positions or an Illinois
non-public special education facility under Section 14-7.02 of
this Code.
"Hard-to-staff school" means a public elementary, middle,
or secondary school in this State that, based on data compiled
by the State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board
of Higher Education, serves a substantial percentage of
low-income students, as defined by the State Board.
"Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching
category (such as special education, bilingual education,

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mathematics, or science) in which statewide data compiled by
the State Board of Education in conjunction with the Board of
Higher Education indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial
teacher shortage or that has been identified as a critical need
by the local school board.
"Initiative" means the Grow Your Own Teacher Education
Initiative created under this Act.
"Paraeducator" means an individual with a history of
demonstrated accomplishments in school staff positions (such
as teacher assistants, school-community liaisons, school
clerks, and security aides) in schools that meet the definition
of a hard-to-staff school under this Section or in Illinois
non-public special education facilities.
"Parent and community leader" means (i) an individual who
has or had a child enrolled in a school or schools that meet
the definition of a hard-to-staff school under this Section and
who has a history of active involvement in the school or who
has a history of working to improve schools serving a
substantial percentage of low-income students, including
membership in a community organization, or (ii) an individual
who has or had a child enrolled in an Illinois non-public
special education facility and who has a history of active
involvement in the school or who has a history of working to
improve non-public special education facilities, including
membership in a community organization.
"Program" means a Grow Your Own Teacher preparation program

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established by a consortium under this Act.
"Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income
students" means schools that maintain any of grades
pre-kindergarten through 8, in which at least 35% of the
students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches
and schools that maintain any of grades 9 through 12, in which
at least 25% of the students are eligible to receive free or
reduced price lunches.
"State Board" means the Board of Higher Education.
(Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09;
96-1393, eff. 7-29-10.)
(110 ILCS 48/20)
Sec. 20. Selection of grantees. The State Board shall award
grants to qualified consortia that reflect the distribution and
diversity of hard-to-staff schools, and hard-to-staff
positions, and non-public special education facilities across
this State. In awarding grants, the State Board shall select
programs that successfully address Initiative criteria and
that reflect a diversity of strategies in terms of serving
urban areas, serving rural areas, the nature of the
participating institutions of higher education, and the nature
of hard-to-staff schools, and hard-to-staff teaching
positions, and non-public special education facilities on
which a program is focused.
The State Board shall select consortia that meet the

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following requirements:
(1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one
4-year institution of higher education with an Illinois
approved teacher preparation program, at least one school
district or group of schools, and one or more community
organizations. The consortium membership may also include
a 2-year institution of higher education, a school employee
union, or a regional office of education.
(2) The 4-year institution of higher education
participating in the consortium shall have past,
demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary
or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of
low-income students or for non-public special education
facilities.
(3) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined set
of eligible schools that will participate in the program.
The consortium shall articulate the steps that it will
carry out in preparing teachers for its participating
schools and in preparing teachers for one or more
hard-to-staff teaching positions in those schools.
(4) A candidate in a program under the Initiative must
hold a high school diploma or its equivalent, must meet
either the definition of "parent and community leader" or
the definition of "paraeducator" contained in Section 10 of
this Act, must not have attended college right after high
school or must have experienced an interruption in his or

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her college education, and does not hold a bachelor's
degree.
(5) The consortium shall employ effective procedures
for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare
highly competent teachers. Professional preparation shall
include on-going direct experience in target schools and
evaluation of this experience.
(6) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts
of candidates, as defined in Section 10 of this Act, on a
schedule that enables candidates to work full time while
participating in the program and allows paraeducators to
continue in their current positions. In any fiscal year in
which an appropriation for the Initiative is made, the
consortium shall guarantee that support will be available
to an admitted cohort for the cohort's education for that
fiscal year. At the beginning of the Initiative, programs
that are already operating and existing cohorts of
candidates under this model shall be eligible for funding.
(7) The institutions of higher education participating
in the consortium shall document and agree to expend the
same amount of funds in implementing the program that these
institutions spend per student on similar educational
programs. Grants received by the consortium shall
supplement and not supplant these amounts.
(8) The State Board shall establish additional
criteria for review of proposals, including criteria that

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address the following issues:
(A) Previous experience of the institutions of
higher education in preparing candidates for
hard-to-staff schools and positions and for non-public
special education facilities and in working with
students with non-traditional backgrounds.
(B) The quality of the implementation plan,
including strategies for overcoming institutional
barriers to the progress of non-traditional
candidates.
(C) If a community college is a participant, the
nature and extent of existing articulation agreements
and guarantees between the community college and the
4-year institution of higher education.
(D) The number of candidates to be educated in the
planned cohort or cohorts and the capacity of the
consortium for adding cohorts in future cycles.
(E) Experience of the community organization or
organizations in organizing parents and community
leaders to achieve school improvement and a strong
relational school culture.
(F) The qualifications of the person or persons
designated by the 4-year institution of higher
education to be responsible for cohort support and the
development of a shared learning and social
environment among candidates.

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(G) The consortium's plan for collective
consortium decision-making, involving all consortium
members, including mechanisms for candidate input.
(H) The consortium's plan for direct impact of the
program on the quality of education in the eligible
schools.
(I) The relevance of the curriculum to the needs of
the eligible schools and positions, and the use in
curriculum and instructional planning of principles
for effective education for adults.
(J) The availability of classes under the program
in places and times accessible to the candidates.
(K) Provision of a level of performance to be
maintained by candidates as a condition of continuing
in the program.
(L) The plan of the 4-year institution of higher
education to ensure that candidates take advantage of
existing financial aid resources before using the loan
funds described in Section 25 of this Act.
(M) The availability of supportive services,
including, but not limited to, counseling, tutoring,
transportation, technology and technology support, and
child care.
(N) A plan for continued participation of
graduates of the program in a program of support for at
least 2 years, including mentoring and group meetings.

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(O) A plan for testing and qualitative evaluation
of candidates' teaching skills that ensures that
graduates of the program are as prepared for teaching
as other individuals completing the institution of
higher education's preparation program for the
certificate sought.
(P) A plan for internal evaluation that provides
reports at least yearly on the progress of candidates
towards graduation and the impact of the program on the
target schools and their communities.
(Q) Contributions from schools, school districts,
and other consortia members to the program, including
stipends for candidates during their student teaching.
(R) Consortium commitment for sustaining the
program over time, as evidenced by plans for reduced
requirements for external funding, in subsequent
cycles.
(S) The inclusion in the planned program of
strategies derived from community organizing that will
help candidates develop tools for working with parents
and other community members.
(Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09.)
(110 ILCS 48/25)
Sec. 25. Expenditures under the Initiative.
(a) Every program under the Initiative shall implement a

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program of forgivable loans to cover any portion of tuition,
books, and fees of candidates under the program in excess of
the candidates' grants-in-aid. All students admitted to a
cohort shall be eligible for a forgivable student loan. Loans
shall be fully forgiven if a graduate completes 5 years of
service in hard-to-staff schools, or hard-to-staff teaching
positions, or Illinois non-public special education facilities
under Section 14-7.02 of the School Code, with partial
forgiveness for shorter periods of service. The State Board
shall establish standards for the approval of requests for
waivers or deferrals from individuals to waive this obligation.
The State Board shall also define standards for the fiscal
management of these loan funds.
(b) The State Board shall award grants under the Initiative
in such a way as to provide the required support for a cohort
of candidates for any fiscal year in which an appropriation for
the Initiative is made. Program budgets must show expenditures
and needed funds for the entire period that candidates are
expected to be enrolled.
(c) No funds under the Initiative may be used to supplant
the average per-capita expenditures by the institution of
higher education for candidates.
(d) Where necessary, program budgets shall include the
costs of child care and other indirect expenses, such as
transportation, tutoring, technology, and technology support,
necessary to permit candidates to maintain their class

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schedules. Grant funds may be used by any member of a
consortium to offset such costs, and the services may be
provided by the community organization or organizations, by any
other member of the consortium, or by independent contractors.
(e) The institution of higher education may expend grant
funds to cover the additional costs of offering classes in
community settings and for tutoring services.
(f) The community organization or organizations may
receive a portion of the grant money for the expenses of
recruitment, community orientation, and counseling of
potential candidates, for providing space in the community, and
for working with school personnel to facilitate individual work
experiences and support of candidates.
(g) The school district or school employee union or both
may receive a portion of the grant money for expenses of
supporting the work experiences of candidates and providing
mentors for graduates. Notwithstanding the provisions of
Section 10-20.15 of the School Code, school districts may also
use these or other applicable public funds to pay participants
in programs under the Initiative for student teaching required
by an accredited teacher preparation program.
(h) One or more members of the consortium may expend funds
to cover the salary of a site-based cohort coordinator.
(i) Grant funds may also be expended to pay directly for
required developmental classes for candidates beginning a
program.

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(Source: P.A. 95-476, eff. 1-1-08; 96-144, eff. 8-7-09.)