New Laws Provide Reductions for License Renewal Requirements

​The following information is provided by the Illinois State Board of Education:
 
Governor Pritzker recently signed two laws that reduce educator license renewal requirements for the 2021-2022 school year (fiscal year 2022). Each law is effective immediately.

• Public Act 102-0730 waives the Administrator Academy requirement for administrators.

 

• Public Act 102-0852 reduces the professional development hours required for renewal by 20% for any renewal cycle that includes the 21-22 school year (FY 22.)

 
Below are responses to commonly asked questions for each law.
 
Q&A for PA 102-0730

1. Should educators renew now to take advantage of the AA waiver? The ELIS developers are working on the coding changes in ELIS and plan to have changes in place by May 23, 2022.  The change requires ELIS to be re-coded to accept a waiver during this fiscal year. Educators should not renew their licenses until the ELIS update is complete.
2. When will ELIS be updated to reflect the new law?  ELIS will be updated by May 23, 2022. In the meantime, educators who login to ELIS will see a banner of text on their home page and Professional Development page that alerts them of the new laws and urges them to wait to renew until after May 23, 2022. Educators who renew prior the ELIS updates will not receive the AA waiver. If the ELIS changes are completed early, the banner will be removed by ISBE and communication will be sent to the field.
3. If an administrator already took an AA this fiscal year, can this AA rollover to next year? No. The School Code does not permit Administrator Academies to roll over to the following fiscal year.
4. If an administrator already took an AA this fiscal year, can this AA convert to PD? Yes. The PD will also be eligible to rollover to the next fiscal year if the academy was taken between April 1 and June 30, 2022 of the last year of the educator’s renewal cycle.
5. How does this law impact administrators who owe a penalty AA from the last fiscal year? Administrators who owe a penalty AA from FY 21 still owe that penalty AA and their FY 21 AA for a total of two AAs that need to be completed.  Without the new law, they would need to complete three. 
6. What if an educator already renewed their license during this fiscal year? The law is only applicable to individuals who have not yet renewed their license.
7. Does the Administrator Academy exemption apply to Illinois principal and superintendent program completers? No, the exemption is only for license renewal. Individuals going through principal and superintendent programs must still complete the evaluator training Administrative Academy since it is part of their preparation program.

 
 
 
Q&A for PA 102-0852:

• Should educators renew now to take advantage of the PD Reduction? The ELIS developers are working on the coding changes in ELIS and plan to have changes in place by May 23, 2022.  The change requires ELIS to be re-coded to provide educators with a 20% reduction of the hours they owe. Educators should not renew their licenses until the ELIS update is complete.
• When will ELIS be updated to reflect the new law?  ELIS will be updated by May 23, 2022. In the meantime, educators who login to ELIS will see a banner of text on their home page and Professional Development page that alerts them of the new laws and urges them to wait to renew until after May 23, 2022. Educators who renew prior the ELIS updates will not receive the PD reduction. If the ELIS changes are completed early, the banner will be removed by ISBE and communication will be sent to the field.
• What if an educator already renewed their license during this fiscal year? The law is only applicable to individuals who have not yet renewed their license.
• What will this change look like in ELIS?  Educators who work in a teaching, administrative, or school support personnel position during the 2021-2022 school year will receive a credit on their professional development page that is a 20% reduction based on the professional development hours.
• Who is eligible for the reduction? Any educator who meets the following criteria will receive a PD credit for FY 22 (SY 21-22):
  • Educator holds a professional educator license (PEL)
  • License was issued on or before June 30, 2021 and includes FY 22 as part of their 5-year cycle
  • Educator was employed in a public, charter, or state-operated school during FY 22 (school year 2021-2022) and reported by their district as a teacher, administrator, or school support personnel for FY 22/SY 2021-2022
  • If the license is up for renewal this year, the license has not yet been renewed.
• If an educator holds a renewable license or approval other than a professional educator licensure (PEL), (e.g., an Educator License with Stipulations endorsed for Transitional Bilingual Educator or an Educator License with Stipulations endorsed for Career and Technical Educator) what reduction do they receive? The law is specific to PEL holders. If educators do not hold a PEL, they are not eligible for a reduction.
• Are holders of substitute teaching licenses or paraprofessional licenses eligible for a waiver? These licenses do not require PD, so no reduction will be given to these license holders.
•  By how many hours will educators’ professional development requirements be reduced?
  • Teachers: 24 hours
  • School Support Personnel: 24 hours
  • Administrators: 20 hours (because administrators need 100 hours for renewal)
  • Educators who hold active National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification at any time during their license cycle: 12 hours (because these educators need 60 hours for renewal)
• What if an educator’s employment position is listed incorrectly in ELIS? Educators must contact their school district and ask them to update the position in the Employment Information System. Educators should then email pdprovider@isbe.net and include their name, IEIN, and a request for the PA 102-0852 20% PD reduction be added to their ELIS account.
• If an educator already completed all required PD hours for their cycle, how does this waiver impact them? PD completed by the educator between April 1 and June 30 of the last year of their license cycle can be rolled over to the next license cycle if the 20% reduction caused the educator to have more than the required hours of PD necessary for renewal.
• How does this reduction impact educators who are retired, part-time (less than 50% full-time equivalent), or exempt in FY 22/SY 2021-2022? These educators are not required to complete PD this year, so they will not receive a reduction.

 
 
 
New Laws Provide Flexibility for Educators and Districts
 
In addition to the previous information, Governor Pritzker recently signed a suite of bills that reduce burdens or provide greater flexibility to educators and districts in specific situations. See a summary of each new law below.
 
Public Act 102-0710 reduces the license reinstatement penalty fee from $500 to $50. The law is effective immediately. Educators can reinstate their license by logging into their ELIS account and applying for reinstatement.
 
Public Act 102-0711 allows educators enrolled in approved preparation programs to be eligible for a substitute teaching license if they have completed 90 semester hours of credit. The law is effective January 1, 2023. Applications received on or after this date will be evaluated under the new requirements.
 
Public Act 102-0712 allows an individual holding a short-term substitute teaching license to teach up to 15 consecutive days (instead of 5) per licensed teacher during a disaster proclamation. The law is effective immediately.
 
Public Act 102-0713 allows individuals to obtain an Educator License with Stipulations endorsed for Paraprofessional (ELS-PARA) at age 18 (instead of 19) if the educator will be working with students in grades PK-8. The law is effective January 1, 2023 and ELIS will be updated on that date to allow individuals who are age 18 to apply for paraprofessional licensure.