Bill Text: IL HB5437 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. Transfers the powers and duties under the Act from the Board of Higher Education to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Replaces the requirement that the Board of Higher Education must contract annually for an independent evaluation of program implementation with the requirement that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission monitor and evaluate the implementation of the program. Provides that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission may elect to contract for an independent evaluation with an outside entity. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB5437 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5437-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5437 Introduced , by Rep. Tony M. McCombie SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 48/10
110 ILCS 48/13-1 new
110 ILCS 48/20
110 ILCS 48/35
110 ILCS 48/90
110 ILCS 48/13 rep.
Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. Transfers the powers and duties under the Act from the Board of Higher Education to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Replaces the requirement that the Board of Higher Education must contract annually for an independent evaluation of program implementation with the requirement that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission monitor and evaluate the implementation of the program. Provides that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission may elect to contract for an independent evaluation with an outside entity. Effective immediately.
LRB103 38232 RJT 68366 b
A BILL FOR
HB5437 LRB103 38232 RJT 68366 b
AN ACT concerning higher 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 10, 20, 35, and 90 and by adding
Section 13-1 as follows:
(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 and by their need for the services and
supports offered by the Initiative. A cohort may include a
high school student enrolled in a dual credit course offered
by a participating institution of higher education.
"Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission.
"Community organization" means a nonprofit organization

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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.
"Dual credit course" has the meaning given to that term
under the Dual Credit Quality Act.
"Eligible school" means an early childhood program
licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services in
which no less than 40% of the children it serves are receiving
subsidized care under the Department of Human Services' Child
Care Assistance Program, a Head Start or Early Head Start
Program, a Preschool for All Program, or a prevention
initiative or 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.
"Hard-to-staff school" means an early childhood program
licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services in

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which no less than 40% of the children it serves are receiving
subsidized care under the Department of Human Services' Child
Care Assistance Program, a Head Start or Early Head Start
Program, a Preschool for All Program, or a prevention
initiative or 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 Board of Higher Education.
"Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching
category (such as special education, bilingual education,
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.
"Para educator" 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.
"Parent and community leader" means 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

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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.
"Program" means a Grow Your Own Teacher preparation
program 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.
(Source: P.A. 101-122, eff. 7-26-19.)
(110 ILCS 48/13-1 new)
Sec. 13-1. Transfer of powers and duties to the Illinois
Student Assistance Commission. On July 1, 2024, all powers and
duties of the Board of Higher Education under this Act are to
be transferred to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.
The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Student
Assistance Commission shall assist in transferring these
duties; however, no rules shall be adopted regarding candidate
eligibility that are more restrictive than Section 20.
(110 ILCS 48/20)

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Sec. 20. Selection of grantees. The Commission Board of
Higher Education shall, subject to appropriation, allocate
funds to Grow Your Own Illinois for the purpose of
administering the program and awarding grants as needed to
qualified consortia that reflect the distribution and
diversity of hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff positions
across this State. In awarding grants, Grow Your Own Illinois
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
on which a program is focused.
Grow Your Own Illinois shall select, manage, and oversee
consortia that meet the 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

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low-income students.
(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) The consortium shall recruit potential candidates
for the program and shall take into consideration when
selecting a candidate whether the candidate:
(A) holds a high school diploma or its equivalent
or is a high school student enrolled in a dual credit
course offered by a participating institution of
higher education;
(B) meets either the definition of "parent and
community leader" or the definition of "para educator"
contained in Section 10 of this Act;
(C) (blank);
(D) exhibits a willingness to be a teacher in a
hard-to-staff school with the goal of maintaining
academic excellence;
(E) shows an interest in postsecondary education
and may hold an associate's degree, a bachelor's
degree, or another postsecondary degree, but a
postsecondary education is not required;
(F) is a parent, a para educator, a community

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leader, or any other individual from a community with
a hard-to-staff school;
(G) commits to completing and passing all State
standards, including the licensure test to obtain an
educator license;
(H) shows a willingness to set high standards of
performance for himself or herself and students; and
(I) demonstrates commitment to the program by:
(i) maintaining a cumulative grade point
average of at least a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale (or the
equivalent as determined by the Board of Higher
Education);
(ii) attending monthly cohort meetings; and
(iii) applying for financial aid from all
other financial aid resources before applying for
assistance from the program.
(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 para educators to
continue in their current positions. In any fiscal year in

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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) Grow Your Own Illinois shall establish and oversee
additional criteria for review of proposals, including
criteria that address the following issues:
(A) Previous experience of the institutions of
higher education in preparing candidates for
hard-to-staff schools and positions 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

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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.
(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

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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.
(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.

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(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.
Subject to the requirements under the Dual Credit Quality
Act, a participating institution of higher education may offer
a high school student a dual credit course under the program.
The Board of Higher Education may not adopt rules
regarding candidate eligibility that are more restrictive than
this Section.
(Source: P.A. 101-122, eff. 7-26-19.)
(110 ILCS 48/35)
Sec. 35. Annual Independent program evaluation.
(a) Annually, at a time determined by the Commission in
consultation with Grow Your Own Illinois (GYO-IL), GYO-IL
shall submit a report to assist the Commission in monitoring
GYO-IL's, and each of its participating consortia, performance
and grant activities. The report shall describe the following:
(1) GYO-IL's anticipated expenditures for the next
fiscal year;
(2) the number of qualified students receiving grant

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assistance at each institution of higher learning during
the previous fiscal year;
(3) the total monetary value of grant funds paid to
each institution of higher learning at which a qualified
student was enrolled during the previous fiscal year;
(4) the number of grant recipients who completed a
baccalaureate degree during the previous fiscal year;
(5) the number of grant recipients who fulfilled their
teaching obligation by completing 5 years of service in
hard-to-staff schools or hard-to-staff teaching positions
during the previous fiscal year;
(6) the number of grant recipients who failed to
fulfill their teaching obligation during the previous
fiscal year;
(7) the number of grant recipients granted a waiver or
deferral to waive the 5 years of service requirement
described in subsection (a) of Section 25 during the
previous fiscal year; and
(8) other information that the Commission may
reasonably request.
(b) The Commission may elect to contract for an
independent evaluation of program implementation with an
outside entity if the Commission so chooses. The independent
evaluation must consider and collect all of the information
outlined in this Section.
(c) The Auditor General shall prepare an annual audit of

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the operations and finances of the Grow Your Own Illinois and
each consortium that received any State funds in the previous
fiscal year. This audit shall be provided to the Governor, the
General Assembly, and the Commission.
The Board of Higher Education shall contract for an
independent evaluation of program implementation by each of
its participating consortia and of the impact of each program,
including the extent of candidate persistence in program
enrollment, acceptance as an education major in a 4-year
institution of higher education, completion of a bachelor's
degree in teaching, obtaining a teaching position in a target
school or similar school, subsequent effectiveness as a
teacher, and persistence in teaching in a target school or
similar school. The evaluation shall assess the Initiative's
overall effectiveness and shall identify particular program
strategies that are especially effective.
(Source: P.A. 98-1036, eff. 1-1-15.)
(110 ILCS 48/90)
Sec. 90. Rules. The Commission Board of Higher Education
may adopt any rules necessary to carry out its
responsibilities under this Act.
(Source: P.A. 98-1036, eff. 1-1-15.)
(110 ILCS 48/13 rep.)
Section 10. The Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act is

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amended by repealing Section 13.