The Illinois State Board of Education will be pursuing changes to expand the grade range of elementary education endorsement from Grades 1 through 6 to kindergarten through Grade 6.
The change is in response to district concerns related to difficulty assigning properly licensed teachers to kindergarten positions. It may provide districts with a larger pool of qualified applicants, which could reduce district reliance on substitute teachers or other means of temporarily assigning educators to kindergarten roles due to lack of qualified teachers.
The change will occur in two phases-- one that will be in place for the 2025-26 school year, and one that will be in place for the 2026-27 school year. View the resources below for more information.
