SCH CD-TEACH EXCELLENC PROGRAM Senate SponsorsSen. Meg Loughran Cappel and Karina Villa 2/17/2026SenateAssigned to Appropriations- Education 105 ILCS 5/21B-70Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. In a provision regarding the Illinois Teaching Excellence Program, changes the definition of "hard-to-staff school" to mean a public school that either (i) is identified as hard-to-staff based on data reported on its school report card or (ii) does not have a school report card but serves a student population in which 30% or more of the student enrollment is considered low-income as determined by the State Board of Education using available enrollment or funding data, and provides that the State Board may not deny a National Board certified teacher a retention bonus solely because the public school at which the teacher is employed does not have a school report card. 2/5/2026SenateFiled with Secretary by Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel 2/5/2026SenateFirst Reading 2/5/2026SenateReferred to Assignments 2/17/2026SenateAssigned to Appropriations- Education 2/25/2026SenateAdded as Co-Sponsor Sen. Karina Villa 3/13/2026SenateRule 2-10 Committee Deadline Established As April 24, 2026