Requirements for Certification

III. Professional Teaching Certificates: Requirements for Early Childhood, Elementary, Secondary and Special Certificates

A. Applicants from Other States

Applicants from other states and foreign countries who have completed approved programs in their states or countries or who hold certificates from their states or countries comparable to the certificates they want in Illinois may obtain Illinois certificates when they:

are of good character;
are U.S. citizens, or are legally present and have proof of their eligibility for employment and have forwarded form 73-91, "Notice of Intent to Become a US Citizen";
have a bachelor's degree;
have completed pre-student teaching field experience;*
have completed student teaching;**
have completed coursework addressing the psychology of, the identification of and the methods of instruction for the exceptional child, including without limitation the learning disabled child;
have a major specified on the transcript appropriate to the certificate sought (early childhood education, elementary education, art, music, etc.) or have 32 semester hours in content appropriate to the certificate sought; and
have passed the Illinois basic skills, and content-area tests, where required, and the assessment of professional teaching test required for the grade level of the certificate.

*Waiver Provided
Elementary and secondary certificates: Teaching experience at the grade level, as verified by the employer.
Early childhood certificate: Teaching experience at the K-3 level as verified by the employer
Special certificate: Teaching experience in the area of specialization as verified by the employer

**Waiver Provided: Student teaching credit and successful teaching experience as verified by the employer will permit a waiver of another student teaching experience. Those without student teaching credit may obtain a waiver of student teaching when they present proof of five years' teaching experience on a valid certificate.

Holders of Special Certificates May Obtain Additional Endorsements

Teachers who obtain special certificates may now have endorsements at various grade levels added to the certificate by applying on the 'Request for Endorsement of Issued Certificate," form ISBE 73-52.

Supervisory Endorsement on Special Certificates

Individuals with special certificates who have two years of teaching experience, a master's degree, with eight semester hours of graduate work in professional education that includes one course primarily and explicitly in the supervision of personnel and one course primarily and explicitly in the organization and administration of schools may, upon application, be issued a certificate valid for teaching and for supervising teachers who are assigned to teach in the same subject area in which the Special certificate is endorsed.

Application Requirements

A person holding a special certificate may apply on the "Application for Endorsement of Issued Certificate", ISBE 73-52, by enclosing transcripts and letters of experience showing the above requirements have been met.

Additionally, a person with a valid secondary certificate may receive a special K-12 certificate by submitting an application for a teaching certificate, along with the required fee and evidence of having passed

the test of basic skills and
the applicable content-area test and
the assessment of professional teaching relevant to the special certificate.

An endorsement valid for Grades K-12 shall be affixed to the certificate, reflecting the area in which the individual has completed a major area of specialization. The holder may then seek to have a supervisory endorsement added by following the procedures for special certificates above.

Information on Special Education Requirements

For persons wanting a Special, Pre-School to Age 21 certificate in special education, see the special education transition rules required by federal court action, Part 25 Final Transition Rules and Part 226, Final Transition Rules, as well as Part 25 Certification and Part 226 Special Education rules at http://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/default.htm.

Applicants for Initial Special Certificates May Split to an Elementary and Secondary
Applicants for an Initial Special certificate have been given the option by law to split the single special certificate into two certificates-an elementary certificate and a secondary certificate-each endorsed for the area of specialization for which the applicant qualified on the single special certificate.

There is only one $30 application fee charged.
Each certificate may be given additional endorsements.
The choice of splitting or not splitting can be made only once.
Persons who move from an Initial to Standard certificate do not have the option of splitting.

B. Illinois Applicants Seeking Subsequent Professional Teaching Certificates: January 1, 2005

Applications for subsequent certificates filed on and after January 1, 2005, will not be eligible for transcript evaluation for elementary, secondary, early childhood or special certificates. After December 31, 2004, applicants will be required to attend a university or college with an approved program for the type of certificate and teaching subject of interest to the applicant. The institutions with approved programs in Illinois are obligated to publish in their certification information any policies relative to mandatory requirements.

Institutions are authorized by the State Board of Education to assess previous work completed by teachers, including their teaching experience, for meeting the requirements of their program, but they are not obligated to do so. They are authorized to create programs tailor-made to the individual needs of each student. Persons seeking subsequent certificates are advised to carefully review the policies of any institution they might wish to attend to discern in advance the policies and requirements the institution may have adopted. Upon completion of these tailor-made programs, applicants are recommended for certification through the entitlement process.

C. Provisional Professional Certificates

Applicants who hold current, valid certificates from other states or countries and apply for a comparable Illinois certificate may be issued a provisional version of the professional certificate when an evaluation indicates the applicant has some deficiency that must be removed before the Initial or Standard certificate may be issued. Provisional versions of elementary, early childhood, secondary, special, school service personnel and administrative certificates are valid for two fiscal years, with the first fiscal year ending on June 30 following the issue date. Individuals with testing deficiencies, however, must pass the tests within the first nine months of the certificate's validity or, by law, the certificate must be canceled.

No provisional certificate will be issued unless applicants submit form ISBE 73-63, "Request for Issuance of Provisional Certificate." Individuals with testing deficiencies may wish to have the provisional certificate issued after August 15 in order to have a full school year to complete the testing requirement.

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Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street
Springfield, IL 62777