Good morning.
This week marked the first rally held to urge the
governor and legislators to make public education the number one priority in
As many of
you know,
More
information about the school-funding crisis and video excerpts from the rally
are at http://www.isbe.net/rally.htm#voters.
Other topics in this message include the
following:
At the end of
the message there are two sets of rulemaking
notices:
April
Meeting of the State Board of Education
The April State Board meeting has been rescheduled from
the third week in April to
School
Report Card Data (ISBE Form 86-43) to Be Collected
Online
Districts and schools will
submit data for the school report card online for the first time this
year. ISBE data collection form 86-43, which schools previously submitted on a
paper form, will be available online. To access the form, school personnel must
use their IWAS (ISBE Web Application Security) account. In the next week or so
we will mail information to each principal explaining how to create a personal
IWAS account and how to sign up to use the 2003 e-Report Card system. This
system will be piloted by 12 principals and superintendents during the week
of
The data collection effort has been
modified in several ways:
For elementary and middle schools, attendance
information is the additional academic indicator that will be used in
calculating adequate yearly progress (AYP). For this reason, we strongly
encourage you to check the accuracy of this information before you submit
it.
Call for Presenters to the
Please
share the following information with the appropriate schools and
staff.
The Illinois Education & Technology Conference will
be held
Rulemaking
Information
Invitation
to Comment on Rules
At its March meeting, the State Board released two sets
of proposed amendments for public comment. These rulemaking items have been
posted on the agency’s Web site at www.isbe.net/rules; choose “Proposed Rules
and Amendments.” Please submit any comments or suggestions you may have to rules@isbe.net. Also, note the closing date for another set
of rules released at an earlier State Board
meeting.
Standards
for Certification in Specific Teaching Fields (Part
27)
This rulemaking originated in the determinations issued
on
These proposed standards and indicators emphasize
reading and mathematics but also include fundamental requirements in the natural
and social sciences. They represent a synthesis of selected standards that are
now in place with respect to elementary and special education as well as
reading, mathematics, social science, and natural science. The guiding principle
in their development was to state expectations for content knowledge that would
enable special educators to afford their students access to the general
curriculum as required by IDEA without unduly extending their preparation
programs.
Deadline
for Public Comment:
Certification
(Part 25)
The main group of changes in this set of amendments
pertains to procedural matters connected with accreditation reviews leading to
the approval of programs that prepare educators (found throughout Subpart C of
the rules). Chief among them are incorporation of the 2002 version of the NCATE
standards; a change in the role of the State Board staff member who serves with
each review panel; and a change from “Fifth-Year Review” to “Accreditation
Review” to accommodate the potential for a different review cycle in the future.
The other changes involve technical clean-up and
updating.
Deadline
for Public Comment:
Reminder:
Amendments to the rules for the Alternative Learning
Opportunities Program (Part 240) are also pending. These provide for
the submission of claims for general state aid by regional superintendents who
operate programs on behalf of school districts.
Deadline
for Public Comment:
Notice
of Completed Rulemaking
Two rulemaking items recently adopted by the State Board
of Education are now in effect. Both these rulemaking items have been posted on
the agency’s Web site at www.isbe.net/rules; choose “Rules Currently
in Effect,” and scroll to the relevant Part number. (If you print only the
affected Sections, remember to include the table of contents for the Part, which
changes every time the Part is amended.)
Certification
(Part 25)
New Section 25.444 implements the Illinois Teaching
Excellence Program as amended this year by P.A. 92-796 (HB 1436). The revisions
found in Sections 25.800 through 25.875 reflect several changes in the
certificate renewal requirements enacted as part of P.A. 92-510 and others
enacted in P.A. 92-796. A new Section 25.872 has also been added to deal
specifically with providers of continuing professional development activities
that are electronically mediated. The revisions to Section 25.728 reflect
changes made by P.A. 92-734 regarding institutions’ use of test
results.
Affected Sections: 25.15, 25.444, 25.728,
25.800, 25.805, 25.832, 25.835, 25.845, 25.855, 25.860, 25.865, 25.870, 25.872,
and 25.875
Effective
Date:
Standards
for Administrative Certification (Part 29)
These amendments put in place a new credential that will
eventually be required of all individuals who wish to serve as directors or
assistant directors of special education. The set of standards set forth in
Section 29.140 will be the basis for a new endorsement, “Director of Special
Education.” The remaining provisions in that Section and Section 29.150
describe how individuals may earn this credential and how individuals who are
currently qualified to serve as “State-approved director of special education”
may receive the new endorsement.
Affected Sections: 29.140 and
29.150
Effective
Date:
Robert
Schiller
State
Superintendent
of Education
statesup@isbe.net