The Illinois State Board of Educationis exploring changes to expand the grade range of elementary education endorsement from Grades 1 through 6 to kindergarten through Grade 6.
The potential 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.
ISBE has, and continues to meet, with education community members to discuss potential implications for grade band changes. Meeting presentation decks can be found below.
