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Educator Certification

Transitional Bilingual Certificate

The transitional bilingual certificate is valid for a period of six years for teaching subject matter using the languages of endorsement in approved bilingual education programs in grades K-12 of the common schools. The certificate must be registered with the regional superintendent of the county wherein the holder is teaching. Upon the expiration of a transitional bilingual certificate, a regional superintendent may grant a single two-year renewal of that certificate.

General Requirements


The applicants must be legally present in the United States and possess legal authorization for employment.

Requirements of Prior Education or Certification


Applicants must:
  1. Possess a current and valid certificate issued by the State of Illinois, or
  2. Have possessed within five years prior to the date of application a valid teaching certificate or comparable legal authorization issued by a foreign country or by a state or possession or territory of the United States, or
  3. Hold a degree from an institution of higher learning in a foreign country which the Certification Board determines to be the equivalent of a bachelor's degree from a recognized institution of higher learning in the United States. Applicants must submit a certified transcript from he foreign institution. The Certification Board will determine equivalency by comparing the applicants' courses of study to that required for a bachelor's degree from a recognized institution of higher learning in the United States on factors including:
    1. the applicants' length of study at the foreign institution (which shall be equivalent to four years of postsecondary study after the age of eighteen);
    2. the number of credit hours or similar units of instruction which the applicants have successfully completed (which shall be the equivalent of 120 semester hours);
    3. the content of the applicants' courses and the distribution of courses among the various disciplines constituting a bachelor's degree program in the United States (which shall include the equivalent of a 32-semester-hour major field of study);
    4. the applicants' grades or similar evidence of successful academic performance;
    5. the foreign institution's accreditation status, if any.
Language Requirements
  1. Applicants must demonstrate adequate speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills in a non-English language in which transitional bilingual education is offered in Illinois. This requirement may be fulfilled in one of the following ways:
    1. The applicants present evidence of having graduated from a teacher preparation institution or an institution of higher education in which the medium of instruction was a non-English language in which transitional bilingual education is offered in Illinois and for whichcertification is sought.
    2. The applicants successfully complete the required examination in the non-English language in which transitional bilingual education is offered in Illinois and for which certification is sought. If no examination for transitional bilingual education in the target language is provided in the list of available bilingual proficiency examinations, the required examination shall be another examination administered by the State Board of Education. The selection, development, and administration of each such examination shall conform to the requirements of the Illinois Administrative Rules to the extent feasible in light of the rate of incidence of the target language in Illinois.
  2. The applicants must demonstrate adequate speaking, reading, writing, and grammar skills in English. This requirement may be fulfilled in one of the following ways:
    1. Applicants present evidence of having graduated from an institution of higher education in which the medium of instruction was English.
    2. Applicants successfully complete the English Language Proficiency Examination.
  3. Individuals enrolled in an approved bilingual certification program who passed the Spanish language proficiency examination required by the program prior to July 1, 2001, shall be exempt from retaking a Spanish language proficiency test after that date, provided that:
    1. the university that operates the program forwards to the State Board of Education no later than November 1, 2001, a list of the names and Social Security Numbers of those persons in its program who have passed the examination;
    2. the individuals' names appear on the list submitted by the university in whose program they are enrolled; and
    3. the individuals submit an application for bilingual certification based upon the institution's recommendation for certification no later than June 30, 2006.
Appeals — Re-scoring

A limited appeal shall be available to applicants found ineligible for certification because of failure to meet the language requirements on the basis of an examination in a language not listed in the schedule of language proficiency assessments. An affected individual wishing to initiate such an appeal shall notify the State Board of Education in writing within six weeks after release of the test results to candidates. The appeal shall be limited to a request for re-scoring. The State Board of Education shall honor each such request unless no individual who has the necessary language competency and who was not involved in the original scoring is available.