SB3111 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 20341 NHT 35973 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
SB3111

Introduced 2/8/2010, by Sen. James A. DeLeo

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/14-9.01

from Ch. 122, par. 14-9.01

Amends the Special Education Article of the School Code. Sets forth specific areas in which special education teacher assistants must be trained. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

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 14-9.01 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/14-9.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-9.01)

Sec. 14-9.01. Qualifications of teachers, other professional personnel and necessary workers. No person shall be employed to teach any class or program authorized by this Article who does not hold a valid teacher's certificate as provided by law and unless he has had such special training as the State Board of Education may require. No special certificate or endorsement to a special certificate issued under Section 21-4 on or after July 1, 1994, shall be valid for teaching students with visual disabilities unless the person to whom the certificate or endorsement is issued has attained satisfactory performance on an examination that is designed to assess competency in Braille reading and writing skills according to standards that the State Board of Education may adopt. Evidence of successfully completing the examination of Braille reading and writing skills must be submitted to the State Board of Education prior to an applicant's examination of the subject matter knowledge test required under Section 21-1a. Beginning July 1, 1995, in addition to other requirements, a candidate for a teaching certification in the area of the deaf and hard of hearing granted by the Illinois State Board of Education for teaching deaf and hard of hearing students in grades pre-school through grade 12 must demonstrate a minimum proficiency in sign language as determined by the Illinois State Board of Education. All other professional personnel employed in any class, service, or program authorized by this Article shall hold such certificates and shall have had such special training as the State Board of Education may require; provided that in a school district organized under Article 34, the school district may employ speech and language pathologists who are licensed under the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act but who do not hold a certificate issued under the School Code if the district certifies that a chronic shortage of certified personnel exists. Nothing contained in this Act prohibits the school board from employing necessary workers to assist the teacher with the special educational facilities, except that all such necessary workers must have had such training as the State Board of Education may require. The training for special education teacher assistants must include, without limitation, the following:

(1) Training on the legal requirements of the individualized education program (IEP), including access to general education curriculum and access to general education classrooms for students who receive special education services. This should include the importance of confidentiality and the legal requirements for individuals who are working within a school system.

(2) Training on specific disabilities and the potential impact these disabilities may have on a student's ability to access the various components of their education. This should include the physical needs, academic needs, communication needs, functional needs, health needs, social or emotional needs, and cognitive needs of those specific disabilities. This training should be individualized for the teacher assistant, according to their duties and students. It should also include specific elements of instruction related to the individual students to which that assistant is assigned, and those students' needs.

(3) Training on specific curriculum needs and how that curriculum might be modified for individual students. The training should include an understanding of the difference between accommodations that are specific to the needs of students and modifications of the curriculum should be part of that training. The training should provide assistants with information and strategies on how to make those modifications so that they are appropriate for the student and meet the requirements of the teacher. Having a general knowledge about the various types and formats of making modifications is important to the success of that assistant, and ultimately their students.

(4) Training on specific specialized strategies that might be used with an individual student, according to that student's needs. This training on strategies should be specific to the students with whom that assistant is assigned, and their specialized needs. These strategies might be implementation of academic materials and programs, social strategies, behavior strategies, or physical strategies.

(5) Training on the medical needs of students as needed. This might include training on the feeding, positioning, lifting, and care of body needs for specific students.

(6) Training on the elements of data collection and how it is used within the individualized education program process to document progress. Teacher assistants are often a part of the daily contact with students and are asked to provide feedback and information on progress that might be connected to individualized education program goals. The training on effective data collection is important for teacher assistants to understand. This training should include specific information related to the needs of the students to which that assistant is assigned to teach.

(7) Training on the teaming process and how working within a team to be an effective and valued member is important to the success of the student. This training should include specific information on how the team functions and the expectations and roles that are defined for each individual assistant.

No later than January 1, 1993, the State Board of Education shall develop, in consultation with the Advisory Council on the Education of Children with Disabilities and the Advisory Council on Bilingual Education, rules governing the qualifications for certification of teachers and school service personnel providing services to limited English proficient students receiving special education and related services.

The employment of any teacher in a special education program provided for in Sections 14-1.01 to 14-14.01, inclusive, shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 24-11 to 24-16, inclusive. Any teacher employed in a special education program, prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1987, in which 2 or more districts participate shall enter upon contractual continued service in each of the participating districts subject to the provisions of Sections 24-11 to 24-16, inclusive.

(Source: P.A. 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.