Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) The requirements of this Section apply to
teachers employed in departmentalized grades 6-8 ("middle-grade teachers").
Teachers employed in non-departmentalized grades 6-8 and who hold a K-9
elementary education endorsement issued by September 1, 2019, are subject to
the requirements of Section
1.710.
b) Requirements for Assignability
1) The requirements of this subsection (b)(1)
apply to teachers licensed prior to July 1, 1997.
A) Teachers must hold a junior high
endorsement in the content area of major teaching assignment (e.g., language
arts, mathematics, general science, social science, music);
B) Teachers must have completed 16 semester
hours of coursework in the content area taught; or
C) Career and Technical Educators must have
met the requirements of Section
1.730(b).
2) The requirements of this subsection (b)(2)
apply to teachers licensed between July 1, 1997 and January 31, 2018.
A) Teachers must hold a content-specific
junior high endorsement issued pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A);
B) Teachers must hold a content-specific
middle school endorsement in the content area of major teaching assignment
(e.g., language arts, mathematics, general science, social science, music) and
the following coursework:
i) 3 semester hours
of coursework, approved by the college of education or other institutional unit
governing teacher education, that includes middle-grade philosophy,
middle-grade curriculum and instruction, and instructional methods for
designing and teaching developmentally appropriate programs (i.e., addressing
the cognitive, emotional, and physical development of each child) in the middle
grades, including content area (e.g., science, social sciences) reading
instruction; and
ii) 3 semester
hours of coursework, approved by the college of education or other
institutional unit governing teacher education, that includes educational
psychology focusing on the developmental characteristics of early adolescents,
the nature and needs of early adolescents, and the role of the middle-grade
teacher in assessment, coordination, and referral of students to health and
social services; or
C)
Career and Technical Educators must have met the requirements of Section
1.730(b).
3) When a middle-grade teacher is assigned to
deliver instruction in two or more areas (e.g., language arts and social
science or mathematics and science), the teacher shall meet the requirements of
subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2) for the major teaching assignment and shall have no
fewer than 5 semester hours in each other subject taught. The "major teaching
assignment" is the subject taught for more time than any other
subject.
c) The
requirements of this subsection (c) apply to individuals licensed on or after
February 1, 2018. On or after February 1, 2018, any individual first assigned
to teach in grade 7 or 8, whether departmentalized or self-contained, or in
departmentalized grade 6 shall meet the requirements of 23 Ill. Adm. Code
25.99
(Endorsement for the Middle Grades (Grades 5 through 8)) for the major teaching
assignment and have no fewer than 5 semester hours in each other subject
taught, subject to the exception stated in subsection (a) for assignment in
self-contained grades 6 through 8. The requirements of this subsection (c) do
not apply to individuals who are first endorsed in agricultural education;
business, marketing, and computer education; business, marketing, and computer
education (computer programming); computer applications; computer science;
family and consumer sciences; health science technology; and technology
education on or after February 1, 2018.
1) On
or after February 1, 2018, no individual may be assigned to teach in
departmentalized grades 6-8 unless that individual holds a professional
educator license and:
A) holds a
middle-grades endorsement applicable to the content area;
B) meets the relevant requirements of
subsection (a), (b) or (c);
C) has
received an elementary endorsement issued pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code
25.97
(Endorsement for Elementary Education (Grades 1 through 6)) and has met the
relevant requirements of this subsection (c) on or before January 31,
2018;
D) is assigned pursuant to 23
Ill. Adm. Code
25.430
(Short-Term Approval for Teachers at All Grade Levels); or
E) meets the requirements of Section
1.737(a)(1)
and (c).
2) Beginning July 1, 2025, any teacher who is
teaching by virtue of meeting the qualifications set forth in subsection
(b)(1)(B) or (C) shall have a designation for the specific content area and
grade range added to the teacher's ELIS account, prior to being assigned to the
position, by the regional office of education.
3) Previous qualifications can continue to be
added after July 1, 2025 if educators are assigned to new positions by virtue
of being previously qualified.