History of the STCB

The State Teacher Certification Board (STCB) is an integral part of the process to attract, train, support and retain the highest quality educators for Illinois students.

The STCB has been a more prominent partner in that process in recent years. But it has played an important role in teacher certification since at least 1874, when local Boards of Examiners recommended candidates to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The original six-member Examining Board for Teachers grew proportionately with its responsibilities. Now, the 19-member STCB includes five faculty or administrative members of public or private colleges or universities; 10 classroom teachers including three from Chicago Public Schools; three school administrators with at least one representing the Chicago Public Schools; and one regional superintendent of education.

The STCB advises the State Superintendent of Education about certification issues such as certificate suspension and revocation; certification criteria; and high quality teacher preparation programs and systems. The STCB has worked to maintain teaching excellence and meet emergency needs as the supply and demand for teachers has fluctuated.

In that regard, the state began issuing Provisional certificates in the 1960s, instituted testing a candidate's literacy skills and content knowledge as that criteria for teaching became a greater concern in the 1980's and established alternative routes to certification to ease the supply of teachers in critical fields.

More recently, the state has worked to improve teaching through the establishment of new levels of certification, the addition of language proficiency tests for bilingual educators and by requiring continuing professional development for renewal of the Standard teaching certificate.

The STCB now meets eight to 10 times annually. Members act on audit committee reports for initial and continuing accreditation of teacher preparation programs; review proposals for new programs of educator preparation; hold hearings regarding suspension and revocation of certificates; and advise the State Board of Education on administrative rules and legislation related to certification.