The 2014-2015 Application for Recognition of Schools (ARS) is now available and open on
IWAS for public school administrators, school district personnel, and Regional Office of Education personnel to submit their applications electronically. As part of the ARS:
- Each school district must submit a list of all paraprofessionals it employs to the State Superintendent of Education with the application as per
23 Ill Admin. Code 1.630 (b) (5) (A)
.
- School districts must submit information concerning first and second year principals eligible for the Illinois New Principal Mentoring Program as per
Public Act 94-1039.
- School districts must respond to questions regarding teacher and principal evaluations. Each item, which includes the applicable statutory reference, must be answered either "yes" or "no". Though implementation dates of PERA and Senate Bill 7 may vary, the items in this section apply to all school districts in Illinois.
Important note: due to confusion in the previous application submission, a district will not be able to submit the ARS for its schools [see paragraph (a) above] until it has submitted the Teacher and Principal Evaluation responses to the Regional Superintendent of Schools.
The following timelines apply to the submission of the ARS:
- Each public school is required to submit the ARS electronically to its district office prior to
September 30, 2014. In the case of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), each school is required to submit the ARS electronically to the CPS Office of Education Policy and Procedures by the close of business on
September 30, 2014.
- Each school district must submit the ARS for each of its schools to the respective Regional Office of Education by the close of business on
September 30, 2014.
- The Regional Offices of Education and the CPS Office of Education Policy and Procedures are then required to electronically transmit the ARS to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) by the close of business on
October 15, 2014.
All components of the ARS must be formally approved by the applicable local board of education before submitting to the Regional Superintendent of Schools. The ARS User Guide is available for your reference below. For your convenience links to the relevant sections of the 23 Illinois Administrative Code are highlighted in blue. To access the ARS system in
IWAS, login to your account and click the System Listing button (located in the menu on the left-hand side). The ARS is located under the heading "Survey."
