HB4688 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 19197 NHT 44932 b

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4688

Introduced 02/04/04, by Marlow H. Colvin

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Grow Our Own Teacher Education Act. Establishes the Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative to prepare highly skilled, committed teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff positions and who will remain in these schools for substantial periods of time. Provides that the Board of Higher Education shall administer the Initiative as a grant competition to fund consortia that will carry out Grow Our Own Teacher preparation programs. Provides for an independent program evaluation. Effective July 1, 2004.

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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Grow Our Own Teacher Education Act.

Section 5. Purpose. The Grow Our Own Teacher preparation programs established under this Act shall comprise a major new statewide initiative, known as the Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative, to prepare highly skilled, committed teachers who will teach in hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff teaching positions and who will remain in these schools for substantial periods of time. These teachers shall reduce costly teacher turnover. Evaluation of these programs' impact shall provide the knowledge base for further expansion of teacher preparation strategies that are employed in the Initiative and that prove most effective. This on-going effort shall create a national model for bringing about major progress in placing highly qualified teachers in the classrooms of schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students.

The Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative shall effectively recruit and prepare parent and community leaders and paraeducator leaders to become effective teachers and teacher leaders statewide in hard-to-staff schools and hard-to-staff teaching positions, particularly in schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students. Further, the Initiative shall increase the diversity of teachers, including diversity based on race, ethnicity, and disability. The Initiative shall become a national model for preparing skilled dedicated teachers with a comprehensive understanding of effective educational practice who will remain in their teaching positions for sustained time periods.

The Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative shall ensure educational rigor by effectively preparing students in accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching, through which graduates shall meet the requirements to secure an Illinois standard teaching certificate. Programs carried out under the Initiative shall prepare their graduates to carry a comprehensive approach to elementary and secondary teaching that is grounded in an understanding of the learning and developmental needs and strengths of low-income students, racial and ethnic minorities, English-language learners, and students with disabilities. In addition, the Initiative shall develop the capabilities of student participants as future teacher leaders.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Accredited teacher preparation program" means a State or regionally accredited higher education program authorized to prepare individuals to fulfill all of the requirements to receive an Illinois standard teaching certificate.

"Hard-to-staff school" means an elementary or secondary school that, based on data compiled by the State Board of Education, ranks in the upper third of schools in this State on a combined index measuring the percentage of the school's teachers who are not fully certified and the percentage of the school's teachers who leave their positions annually.

"Hard-to-staff teaching position" means a teaching position (such as special education, mathematics, or science) in which statewide data compiled by the State Board of Education indicates a multi-year pattern of substantial teacher shortage.

"Initiative" means the Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative created under this Act.

"Paraeducator leaders" means individuals with a history of demonstrated accomplishments in school staff positions (such as teacher assistants, school-community liaisons, school clerks, and security aides) in schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students.

"Parent and community leaders" means individuals with a significant history of involvement, in one or more communities, in improving schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students, including involvement focused on aiding one or more groups of students who are most at-risk for school failure.

"Partner organization" means a not-for-profit organization with experience (i) in effectively organizing and assisting the types of parent and community leaders or paraeducator leaders who are the target participants in a Grow Our Own Teacher preparation program and (ii) in helping to improve schools that enroll a substantial percentage of low-income students. These organizations may include without limitation parent organizations, organizations of special education and bilingual education parents, community organizations, advocacy organizations for at-risk students and families, and teacher unions and organizations.

"Program" means a Grow Our Own Teacher preparation program established by a consortium under this Act.

"Schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students" means schools that rank in the top one-third of Illinois schools in their percentage of students eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches.

Section 15. Creation of Initiative. The Grow Our Own Teacher Education Initiative is created. The Board of Higher Education shall administer the Initiative as a grant competition to fund consortia that will carry out Grow Our Own Teacher preparation programs.

Section 20. Selection of grantees. The Board of Higher Education shall award grants to up to 10 qualified consortia that reflect the distribution and diversity of target hard-to-staff schools across this State. In awarding grants, the 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, types of partner organizations, nature of the participating institutions of higher education, and nature of hard-to-staff teaching positions on which a program is focused.

The Board of Higher Education shall use all of the following criteria to evaluate the merits of program proposals submitted by applicant consortia:

(1) A consortium shall be composed of at least one 4-year institution of higher education with an accredited teacher preparation program and one or more partner organizations. The consortium may also include a 2-year institution of higher education if the 2-year institution of higher education has an agreement with the 4-year institution of higher education to ensure that courses offered at one institution are fully recognized and accepted for credit at the other institution, including the transfer of credits from the 2-year institution to the 4-year institution.

(2) A 4-year institution of higher education participating in the consortium shall carry out a rigorous program for the preparation of teachers and shall have past, demonstrated success in preparing teachers for elementary or secondary schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students.

(3) A partner organization participating in the consortium shall demonstrate experience (i) in effectively organizing and assisting the types of parent and community leaders or paraeducator leaders who are the target participants in the program and (ii) in helping to improve schools that enroll substantial percentages of low-income students.

(4) The consortium shall focus on a clearly defined set of target schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students that will be the primary focus of the program. The consortium shall articulate the steps that it will carry out in preparing teachers for its target hard-to-staff schools and in preparing teachers for one or more hard-to-staff teaching positions in its target schools.

(5) Members of the consortium shall jointly conceptualize and facilitate the implementation of the program, and consortium plans shall be judged, in part, based on the integration of the efforts of all partners.

(6) The consortium shall employ effective procedures for recruiting students for the program, as well as for providing these students with social and academic support during the duration of their educational experience. Student participants must demonstrate the qualities identified in the definitions of "parent and community leaders" and "paraeducator leaders" in Section 10 of this Act. Student participants must hold a high school diploma or its equivalent.

(7) The consortium shall employ effective procedures for teaching the skills and knowledge needed to prepare highly competent teachers. Instruction for mastering critical skills and knowledge shall be tailored to the program's target student body and to the particular characteristics of target schools. Instruction shall include on-going direct experience in target schools and analysis of this experience. Further, the consortium shall teach skills and knowledge to prepare its students to become effective teacher leaders.

(8) The consortium shall employ procedures for effective integration of coursework across specific courses (including course content and methods), as well as for the integration of the academic studies, work experience, and social support activities carried out by the consortium to help ensure the student participants' success. The program shall incorporate principles for effective adult education.

(9) The consortium shall help student participants continue or initiate relevant work experiences in target schools for the entire period during which the students participate in the program, shall provide on-site field support at students' work sites, and shall coordinate the curriculum to link the analysis of work experiences with academic experiences.

(10) The consortium shall offer the program to cohorts of students who begin by moving through the program together. The program shall be offered on a schedule that enables students to work full time while participating in the program.

(11) The institutions of higher education participating in the consortium shall expend the 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. Proposed budgets and related budget narratives shall specify how program funds will be employed to implement priority program elements.

(12) The institutions of higher education participating in the consortium shall specify how they will offer their participating students financial aid packages that will maximize their opportunity to complete the program.

(13) The consortium shall specify processes for conducting its own on-going evaluation of program implementation and impact and for participating in the independent program evaluation under Section 30 of this Act.

(14) The consortium shall aid program graduates in securing employment as teachers in the program's target schools and shall provide support for graduates in making a successful transition to teaching.

Section 25. Implementation of program. Approved consortia shall receive start-up grants for the period from January 2005 through June 2005. Each consortium shall enroll 2 cohorts of approximately 50 students to begin their instructional program in the fall of 2005 and shall expand to 8 cohorts of approximately 200 students on a schedule specified by the Board of Higher Education.

Section 30. Independent program evaluation. 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 student 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.

Section 35. Funding. The Board of Higher Education shall request an appropriation of $1,200,000 for operation of the Initiative in fiscal year 2005, $2,200,000 for fiscal year 2006, $3,200,000 for fiscal year 2007, $3,200,000 for fiscal year 2008, and $3,200,00 for fiscal year 2009. $200,000 of the amount appropriated each fiscal year shall be allocated to carry out the independent program evaluation under Section 30 of this Act, and the remainder shall be allocated to participating consortia.

Section 40. Rules. The State Board of Education and the Board of Higher Education may adopt any rules necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this Act.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2004.