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92_HB1025
LRB9206099ACcd
1 AN ACT concerning schools.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
5 Section 21-1 as follows:
6 (105 ILCS 5/21-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 21-1)
7 Sec. 21-1. Qualification of teachers. No one may be
8 certified to teach or supervise in the public schools of this
9 State who is not of good character, good health, a citizen of
10 the United States or legally present and authorized for
11 employment, and at least 19 years of age. If the holder of a
12 certificate under this Section is not a citizen of the United
13 States 6 years after the date of the issuance of the original
14 certificate, any certificate held by such person on that date
15 shall be cancelled by the board of education and no other
16 certificate to teach shall be issued to such person until
17 such person is a citizen of the United States, provided that
18 the 6-year time limit may be waived by the State
19 Superintendent of Education if the individual certifies his
20 or her intention to become a United States citizen and
21 furnishes proof of having initiated the process required for
22 attaining United States citizenship.
23 Citizenship is not required for the issuance of a
24 temporary part-time certificate to participants in approved
25 training programs for exchange students as described in
26 Section 21-10.2. A certificate issued under this plan shall
27 expire on June 30 following the date of issue. One renewal
28 for one year is authorized if the holder remains as an
29 official participant in an approved exchange program.
30 In determining good character under this Section, any
31 felony conviction of the applicant may be taken into
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1 consideration, but such a conviction shall not operate as a
2 bar to registration.
3 No person otherwise qualified shall be denied the right
4 to be certified, to receive training for the purpose of
5 becoming a teacher or to engage in practice teaching in any
6 school because of a physical disability including but not
7 limited to visual and hearing disabilities; nor shall any
8 school district refuse to employ a teacher on such grounds,
9 provided that the person is able to carry out the duties of
10 the position for which he applies.
11 No person may be granted or continue to hold a teaching
12 certificate who has knowingly altered or misrepresented his
13 or her teaching qualifications in order to acquire the
14 certificate. Any other certificate held by such person may
15 be suspended or revoked by the State Teacher Certification
16 Board, depending upon the severity of the alteration or
17 misrepresentation.
18 No one may teach or supervise in the public schools nor
19 receive for teaching or supervising any part of any public
20 school fund, who does not hold a certificate of qualification
21 granted by the State Board of Education or by the State
22 Teacher Certification Board and a regional superintendent of
23 schools as hereinafter provided, or by the board of education
24 of a city having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants
25 except as provided in Section 34-6 and in Section 10-22.34 or
26 Section 10-22.34b. However, the provisions of this Article do
27 not apply to a member of the armed forces who is employed as
28 a teacher of subjects in the Reserve Officer's Training Corps
29 of any school. Sections 21-2 through 21-24 do not apply to
30 cities having a population exceeding 500,000 inhabitants,
31 until July 1, 1988.
32 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the
33 board of education of any school district may grant to a
34 teacher of the district a leave of absence with full pay for
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1 a period of not more than one year to permit such teacher to
2 teach in a foreign state under the provisions of the Exchange
3 Teacher Program established under Public Law 584, 79th
4 Congress, and Public Law 402, 80th Congress, as amended. The
5 school board granting such leave of absence may employ with
6 or without pay a national of the foreign state wherein the
7 teacher on leave of absence will teach, if the national is
8 qualified to teach in that foreign state, and if that
9 national will teach in a grade level similar to the one which
10 was taught in such foreign state. The State Board of
11 Education shall promulgate and enforce such reasonable rules
12 as may be necessary to effectuate this paragraph.
13 (Source: P.A. 88-189; 89-159, eff. 1-1-96; 89-397, eff.
14 8-20-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
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