Updated Summary of Transition Rules to Implement Special Education Certification Structure --
December 14, 2001

Overview

On August 15, 2001, Judge Robert Gettleman, federal district court judge, ordered the State Board of Education to implement and disseminate the Final Transition Rules in the Corey H. case, effective July 1, 2001. These certification and special education rules have been designed to guide the transition from the present system of certification for special education teachers to the new system, with particular emphasis on how current special education teachers will be affected by the move to a cross-categorical credential called Learning Behavior Specialist I (LBS I). The LBS I teacher will serve students with all disabilities except visual, hearing, and speech/language impairments. That endorsement will replace current endorsements for serving students with learning disabilities or social/emotional disorders, and students who are educable mentally handicapped, trainable mentally handicapped or physically handicapped (LD, S/ED, EMH, TMH, and PH). Depending on current endorsements and approvals, the LBS I endorsement will be either "limited" or "unlimited."

In contrast to the rules proposed earlier, teachers are not required to complete specific training activities or coursework, or pass an assessment in order to remove the limitations on the LBS I/limited credential. Instead, the limitations on the LBS I credential remain in place for three years for special education teachers and seven years for those holding the LBS I credential but not teaching on it, after which time the limitations automatically expire.

Another change from previously proposed rules is the timeframe for the introduction of the new assessments for teacher candidates who graduate from approved programs. The approval of teacher preparation programs will become contingent upon their conformance with relevant standards (see Part 28) beginning July 31, 2002. Standards-based assessments will replace the current tests of subject matter knowledge for new graduates beginning July 1 (instead of January 1), 2003. Individuals who graduate in the meantime will take the tests of subject matter knowledge that correspond to their fields of preparation and will receive the LBS I endorsement. That endorsement will be limited or unlimited, according to the fields covered.

The Transition Rules also contain changes in certificate renewal requirements for special education teachers. Such teachers must complete 50% of the continuing professional development they need for certificate renewal in the area of special education, and their renewal plans must address adapting and modifying curriculum to meet the needs of children receiving special education. Those teachers with the LBS I/limited credential must address disabilities other than the ones for which they hold-pre-existing endorsements. For an explanation of these changes in continuing professional development requirements, see Revision to Certificate Renewal Manual dated October 2001.

New Special Education Certification Structure

When these rules go into effect, the following special education endorsements will be available on the initial, standard, or master Special Preschool-Age 21 Certificate:

• Learning Behavior Specialist I (LBS I)
• Teacher of Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
• Teacher of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Speech-Language Pathologist

The LBS I endorsement will replace certain disability-specific endorsements that have been used to describe the categories of students a teacher may be assigned to serve: learning disabilities, social/emotional disorders (also called behavior disorders), trainable mentally handicapped, educable mentally handicapped, and physically handicapped.

An endorsement in early childhood special education will be available on the early childhood certificate.The Learning Behavior Specialist II (LBS II) is an optional, advanced credential that will be available beginning July 1, 2003, to holders of standard or master Special Preschool-Age 21 Certificates with any of the endorsements listed above. To receive such an endorsement, an individual will be required to complete an approved program and pass a standards-based exam.

The LBS II endorsement will be available in the areas of: Transition Specialist, Technology Specialist, Bilingual Special Education Specialist, Deaf/Blind Specialist, Behavior Intervention Specialist, Curriculum Adaptation Specialist, and Multiple Disabilities Specialist.

Summary of Corey H. Transition Rules

The following is a summary of the major provisions of the Transition Rules:

• Individuals holding current endorsements in special education (LD, S/ED, EMH, TMH, and PH) will receive the LBS I endorsement, either upon exchange of their current certificates for standard certificates or through reissuance. Sec. 25.46(a).
• The LBS I endorsement will be either "limited" or "unlimited", depending on pre-existing endorsements and approvals. The "unlimited" LBS I will be issued to those who hold credentials in LD or S/ED, and EMH, TMH or PH. The "limited" LBS I will be issued to individuals who do not meet that criterion. At least one of the two credentials must be an endorsement. Sec. 25.46(b).
• The LBS I approval will be either "limited" or "unlimited", depending on pre-existing approvals as listed above. Sec. 25.47(a). Beginning January 1, 2002, special education teaching approval will be valid for three years and will be nonrenewable. Individuals must make a transition to an unlimited LBS I endorsement by the end of the three years in order to continue teaching students with disabilities. Sec. 25.47(b).
• The limitations on the LBS I credential remain in place for three years and then automatically expire. When they expire, a teacher will be assignable to the entire group of students covered by the LBS I. The three-year clock starts when the person begins using the credential. Special education administrators are considered to be "using the credential." For teachers who hold other certificates and are teaching on those, the limitations will automatically expire after seven years of certification as an LBS I. For holders of initial certificates, the clock starts with receipt and use of the standard certificate. Secs. 25.46(f) and 25.47(a).
• While a person holds a "limited" LBS I credential, he or she may be assigned to teach only students for whom he or she holds a pre-existing credential, except that students with one additional disability may be taught at the same time. Secs. 25.46(c) and 25.47(a).
• Teachers who wish to remove the limitations before they automatically expire will have several options for doing so. Two new avenues have been added to the five previously proposed, i.e., completion of a training sequence developed by ISBE, completion of college coursework covering "missing" characteristics and methods, passage of the test of subject matter knowledge relevant to a "missing" disability, presentation of qualifications for additional endorsements or approvals, or passage of the LBS I test of subject matter knowledge when available. Under the final rules, a teacher may submit evidence of three years' teaching experience with students having a disability for which he or she does not hold an endorsement or approval; three years' experience teaching students with autism or traumatic brain injury will be counted as well. Sec. 25.46(g).
• Holders of the LBS I endorsement will not be able to serve students in early childhood special education programs without an additional early childhood special education approval. Secs. 25.43(e) and 226.810(f). The remaining special education endorsements (blind or visually impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, and speech-language pathology) will be valid for pre-kindergarten through age 21.
• All special education teachers must complete 50% of the continuing professional development they need for certificate renewal in the area of special education. Sec. 25.807(b).
• Some portion of the required continuing professional development activities for all special education teachers must address adapting and modifying curriculum to meet the needs of children receiving special education. Sec. 25.807(b).
  The requirement to address disabilities other than the ones for which teachers hold pre-existing endorsements applies to those persons with "limited" LBS I credentials. After the limitations no longer exist, the "other disability" requirement expires. Sec. 25.807(b).
• Beginning January 1, 2002, a short-term emergency certification, valid for three years, will replace the current "authorization for assignment" (PZZ approval). Secs. 25.48 and 226.820. Those with the short-term emergency certification must submit a plan for moving toward an unlimited LBS I approval, and that plan must be validated by the college or university that the teacher intends to attend and the teacher's employer.
• Current authorizations for assignment (PZZ approvals) are valid until they expire. Individuals who hold current approvals for LD, S/ED, EMH, TMH or PH without expiration dates will receive LBS I approvals that will be either "limited" or "unlimited", depending on pre-existing approvals. Sec. 25.47(a). The limitations on the limited LBS I approvals will ultimately expire and the holders will retain those approvals. They will not be required to obtain an LBS I endorsement as is required of those who receive LBS I approvals on or after January 1, 2002.
• Individuals who hold teaching certificates (Type 10 or Types 03 and 09) endorsed for speech and language impaired will be able receive a school service personnel certificate (Type 73) endorsed for non-teaching speech-language pathology. Sec. 25.250. Individuals holding such teaching certificates may exchange them for the Type 73 by requesting this exchange on or before June 30, 2002, to be effective July 1, 2002.
• Individuals who hold standard or master certificates endorsed as LBS I, teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired or who are deaf or hard of hearing, or speech-language pathologist are eligible to receive the LBS II endorsement. This credential will be available beginning July 1, 2003 to those who complete an approved program and pass the relevant examination. The LBS II endorsement will be available in the areas of: Transition Specialist, Technology Specialist, Bilingual Special Education Specialist, Deaf/Blind Specialist, Behavior Intervention Specialist, Curriculum Adaptation Specialist, and Multiple Disabilities Specialist.
• Individuals who complete approved programs before July 1, 2003 will be eligible to receive the LBS I endorsement, either "limited" or "unlimited". They will take the tests of subject matter for current endorsements that correspond to their fields of preparation. Those who pass the tests for the type and number of endorsements leading to receipt of the unlimited LBS I endorsement, will receive that endorsement on their initial certificates. Secs. 25.43(a), 25.46(b), 25.46(e).
• The State Board of Education must take all necessary steps to ensure that the test for the LBS I endorsement be developed and available for use no later than January 1, 2003. As of that date, individuals who wish to remove the limitations on their LBS I credential may take that test. Sec. 25.11(c). However, teacher candidates completing approved programs will not take the LBS I exam until July 1, 2003.
• Teacher preparation programs will be required to conform to the standards filed last October as Part 28, Standards for Certification in Special Education. These may be reviewed on the State Board's web site (www.isbe.net). Program approval will be contingent upon conformance with these standards beginning July 31, 2002.

Effect on New Teachers

When these rules take effect, all new teachers receiving initial special preschool-age 21 certificates will receive the following endorsements, as applicable:

• Learning Behavior Specialist I (limited" or "unlimited" depending on fields of preparation and passage of applicable exams)
• Teacher of Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
• Teacher of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Speech-Language Pathologist (Master's degree required)

These endorsements will be carried forward when these individuals qualify for standard certificates.

An endorsement in early childhood special education will be available on the early childhood certificate.

Notice to Current Teachers

Teachers who hold current special education certificates endorsed for any of the five former categorical areas (LD, S/ED, EMH, TMH or PH) and who were due to exchange their current certificates for the new standard certificate July 1, 2001, or who are eligible to receive standard pre-kindergarten through age 21 special certificates on or after July 1, 2001, will receive their new standard certificates issued as LBS I or LBS I/ limited. Those teachers who hold at least two credentials, one in LD or S/ED, and one in EMH, TMH or PH will be issued the "unlimited LBS I endorsement. The remainder will receive the LBS I/limited endorsement.

The State Board of Education is sending these newly-exchanged or newly-issued certificates to the regional offices of education for distribution by the regional superintendents. If your regional superintendent has not received your certificates, please contact the Professional Certification Division at 1-800 845-8749. We thank you in advance for your patience as we work through this process.

Those teachers holding the certificates listed above who exchanged for new standard certificates before July 1, 2001, or received standard certificates issued between February 15, 2000 and June 30, 2001, will have their certificates automatically reissued as LBS I or LBS I/limited, depending on the pre-existing endorsements and approvals. The State Board of Education will forward the re-issued certificates to the regional offices of education, and the regional superintendents will distribute these certificates to teachers in their region.

One of the provisions in the Transition Rules is that a teacher may remove the limitations on an LBS I/limited endorsement before they automatically expire by submitting evidence of three-years' teaching experience with students having a disability for which he or she does not hold an endorsement or approval. Three years' experience teaching students with autism or traumatic brain injury will be counted as well for this purpose. The State Board has developed criteria and prepared a form for use in verifying teaching experience. (Three-years' teaching experience means providing instruction to no fewer than three students with the primary disability indicated on a daily basis for no fewer than two hours per day.) Please see ISBE's web site (www.isbe.net) for details on obtaining the verification form or call the number listed above.

An inquiry process is now available to special education teachers who wish to find out if they have the "unlimited" LBS I endorsement or the LBS I/limited in the new certification structure, based on pre-existing credentials. Please visit Teachers May Check LBS I Status Online for more information.

Looking Ahead

According to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the State Board of Education is required to develop a proposal by January 1, 2002, for redesigning the regular education certification system relative to meeting the needs of students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. The draft special education standards that have been developed for regular education teachers form a part of that proposal. In addition to the development of special education content-area standards for regular education teachers, the proposed redesign includes additional requirements for certificate renewal for those teachers. The resulting changes to the regular education certification system must be in place by January 1, 2003.

The State Board has initiated rulemaking on these standards and the certificate renewal requirements. Please see Certification Rules Related to Corey H. Move to Next Phase for the status of these changes and links to the documents involved.

Updated information regarding the Transition Rules and other issues related to Corey H. will be posted on the ISBE web site as it becomes available. Please check the web (www.isbe.net) frequently for any changes.

December 14, 2001