Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
By October 1, 2025, all candidates for an endorsement in
Special Education will be required to complete a program aligned to the
standards set forth in Standards for Endorsements in Special Education (see 23
Ill. Adm. Code 28) available at https://www.cec.sped.org/Standards.
(No later amendments to or editions of these guidelines are incorporated.) The
standards effective until September 30, 2025 are as follows:
a) This Section establishes standards
relative to the general curriculum that shall apply to the issuance of special
education teaching endorsements pursuant to Article 21B of the School Code [105
ILCS 5]. The standards set forth in this Part shall apply both to candidates
for the respective endorsements and to the programs that prepare them.
Beginning July 1, 2005, approval of any teacher preparation program in special
education shall be based on the congruence of that program's or course's
content with the standards identified in this Section, and beginning on October
1, 2006, the examinations required for issuance of a special education teaching
endorsement shall cover the standards included in this Section.
b) Mathematics
The competent special education teacher demonstrates
proficiency in the use of mathematics; understands, communicates, and connects
the major concepts, procedures, and reasoning processes of mathematics that
define number systems and number sense, geometry, measurement, statistics,
probability and algebra; and promotes all students' ability to apply,
interpret, and construct mathematical thinking skills in a variety of
situations.
1) Knowledge Indicators -
The competent special education teacher:
A)
understands various approaches used (estimation, mental mathematics,
manipulative modeling, numerical/ geometric/algebraic pattern recognition and
technology) to analyze mathematical ideas, solve problems and investigate
real-world situations.
B)
understands approaches used (estimation, mental mathematics, manipulative
modeling, numerical/geometric/algebraic pattern recognition and technology) to
interpret and communicate mathematical information, reasoning, concepts,
applications and procedures.
C)
understands concepts of math including numeration, geometry, measurement,
statistics/probability and algebra.
2) Performance Indicators - The competent
special education teacher:
A) demonstrates
proficiency in mathematics.
B)
selects and uses a wide range of manipulatives, instructional resources and
technologies to support the learning of mathematics.
C) develops appropriate lesson plans that
incorporate curriculum and instructional strategies with individualized
education goals and benchmarks.
D)
evaluates general curricula and determines the scope and sequence of the
academic content area of mathematics.
E) utilizes resources and materials that are
developmentally and functionally valid.
F) applies principles of instruction for
generalized math skills to teaching domestic, community, school, recreational
or vocational skills that require mathematics.
G) plans and implements individualized,
systematic instructional programs to teach priority mathematic
skills.
H) incorporates the
Illinois Learning Standards in areas of mathematics in the development of
instruction and IEPs.
c) Reading
The competent special education teacher has a general
understanding of reading and reading instruction and knows how to assess, teach
and support the education of students with disabilities.
1) Knowledge Indicators - The competent
special education teacher:
A) knows
theoretical models and philosophies of reading education and their relevance to
instruction.
B) knows the scope and
sequences for reading instruction at all developmental levels.
C) understands, respects and values cultural,
linguistic and ethnic diversity and knows how these differences can influence
learning to read.
D) understands
the differences between reading skills and strategies and the role each plays
in reading development.
E) knows a
wide range of high-quality literature for students.
F) understands models of reading diagnosis
that include students' proficiency with print conventions, word recognition and
analysis, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, self-monitoring and
motivation.
G) knows a wide variety
of informal and formal assessments of reading, writing, spelling and oral
language.
H) is aware of a variety
of individualized and group instructional interventions or programs for
students with reading problems.
I)
plans and models the use of comprehension strategies across content
areas.
2) Performance
Indicators - The competent special education teacher:
A) adjusts reading instruction to meet the
needs of diverse learners (e.g., gifted students, those for whom English is a
second language, those with disabilities, and those who speak non-standard
dialects).
B) locates, evaluates,
and uses literature for readers of all abilities and ages.
C) uses various tools to estimate the
readability of texts.
D) uses
technology to support reading and writing instruction.
E) determines strengths and needs of
individual students in the areas of reading, writing and spelling.
F) determines students' reading levels
(independent, instructional, frustrational).
G) gathers and interprets information for
diagnosis of the reading problems of individual students.
H) develops individual educational plans for
students with severe learning problems related to literacy.
I) interprets and explains diagnostic
information for classroom teachers, families and other specialists to use in
planning instructional programs.
J)
designs, implements and evaluates appropriate reading programs for small groups
and individuals.
K) incorporates
the Illinois Learning Standards in areas of reading in the development of
instruction and IEPs.
d) Natural and Social Sciences
The competent special education teacher understands the
fundamental concepts and principles related to the natural and social
sciences.
1) Knowledge Indicators -
The competent special education teacher:
A)
understands scientific investigation and inquiry skills across the sciences to
conduct experiments and solve problems.
B) understands principles and procedures,
including safety practices, related to the design and implementation of
scientific investigations and the application of inquiry skills and processes
to develop explanations of natural phenomena.
C) understands the relationship among the
social science disciplines.
D)
understands that science is a process involving observation, inference, and
experimentation.
E) understands the
relationship between the social sciences and other learning areas.
2) Performance Indicators - The
competent special education teacher:
A)
demonstrates and uses appropriate strategies to engage students in acquiring
new knowledge through the use of scientific thinking and reasoning.
B) selects and uses a wide range of
instructional resources, modes of inquiry and technologies to support learning
in the natural and social sciences.
C) develops appropriate lesson plans that
incorporate curriculum and instructional strategies with individualized
education goals and benchmarks.
D)
models the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic
society.
E) models and teaches the
appropriate use of scientific methods (e.g., gathering, organizing, mapping,
interpreting, and analyzing).
F)
incorporates the Illinois Learning Standards in areas of natural and social
science in the development of instruction and IEPs.
