Summary of Requirements for Continuing Professional Development under Corey H.

Requirements Affecting Regular Education Teachers

Under rules recently implemented by the State Board of Education, regular education teachers (i.e., all holders of standard or master teaching certificates who are working at the early childhood, elementary, or secondary level but are not assigned to teach special education classes, also referred to as “general education teachers”) are required to devote 20 percent of their continuing professional development credits in each renewal cycle to activities that will help them serve students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. To be creditable, an activity does not have to have the words “special education” in its title. Instead, the allowable activities may address a wide range of topics (see list below). However, in order for the activity to meet this purpose, the evidence of completion must indicate how the activity will help the teacher meet the needs of students with disabilities. Also, some portion of at least one activity must address adapting and modifying curriculum relevant to the Illinois Learning Standards to meet the needs of children receiving special education.

Note: The 20 percent requirement affects only teachers who are accumulating CPDUs and/or CEUs as part or all of their continuing professional development credits. It does not apply to:

• Teachers who use the NBPTS certification process to fulfill the requirement; or
• Teachers who use semester hours of college credit exclusively to fulfill the requirement (two semester hours, or one quarter of the total required, must address Purpose A, and the other purposes need not be addressed).

The teachers who are subject to the 20 percent requirement fall into two groups, according to the date on which their plans for continuing professional development were approved.

Teachers with plans approved on or before January 1, 2002 (regardless of how much activity was completed as of that date):

• are subject to a prorated amount of the 20 percent requirement, according to how many semesters of validity remained on their certificates as of January 1, 2002 (either five, seven, or nine semesters in all cases);
• do not need to revise their plans to include activities relevant to this purpose; and
• may review activities they have already completed and submit revised “reflection statements” (ISBE Form 77-21) along with copies of their original statements for any activities they determine are relevant and can be applied to this requirement.

Teachers whose plans were approved after January 1, 2002:

• are subject to the full 20 percent requirement for this and each subsequent renewal cycle;
• need to include relevant activities in their plans or revise their plans if necessary; and
• may review activities they have already completed and submit revised “reflection statements” as noted above.

Possible Topics: Activities that are applicable to this requirement may address a wide variety of topics, including but not limited to: Multi-modality instruction; Applied learning; Applied techniques for teaching academic content (e.g., mathematics, reading, or other applied work with methods content); Making adaptations, accommodations, and/or modifications to the general education curriculum; Understanding the IEP; Behavior management and discipline (managing students’ behavior); Child and adolescent development; Classroom environment; Counseling; Understanding team teaching. An identified portion of at least one activity must address adapting and modifying curriculum related to the Illinois Learning Standards to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

Requirements Affecting Special Education Teachers

Special education teachers are subject to a different set of requirements. They must accumulate 50 percent of the credits they need with activities relevant to special education, including some credit under “Purpose A” and some for special education as “Purpose B.” (These teachers may also accrue credit under “Purpose B” for activities related to any of the other State Priorities, but their credits under “Purpose A” and their special education credits under “Purpose B,” taken together, must at least equal 50 percent. Credits must be earned or claimed in any order.)

As long as a teacher holds a limited LBS I credential, activities attributed to “Purpose A” must address the needs of students with disabilities other than those for which they previously held endorsements or approvals.

Note: The 50 percent requirement affects only teachers who are using CPDUs and/or CEUs as part or all of their continuing professional development credits. It does not apply to:

• Teachers who use the NBPTS certification process to fulfill the requirement; or
• Teachers who use semester hours of college credit exclusively to fulfill the requirement (two semester hours, or one quarter of the total required, must address Purpose A, and the other purposes need not be addressed).

The 50 percent requirement is reduced for special education teachers who already held standard or master certificates as of July 1, 2001. These teachers fall into two slightly different groups.

Teachers who had already completed all the activities in their approved plans prior to July 1, 2001:

• are subject to a reduced requirement of 25 percent for this renewal cycle (i.e., the equivalent of 3 CPDUs per semester of full-time service; 1.5 CPDUs per semester of part-time service);
• do not need to revise their plans to include the required activities; and
• may review activities they have already completed and submit revised “reflection statements” as discussed above.

Teachers who had not yet completed all the activities in their approved plans prior to July 1, 2001:

• are subject to the 50 percent requirement for the second half of this renewal cycle only (i.e., the requirement amounts to a maximum of 25 percent and may be reduced further if the individual does not serve as a special education teacher for one or more semesters during the second half of the certificate’s period of validity);
• must revise their plans to incorporate the required activities; and
• may review activities they have already completed and submit revised “reflection statements” (ISBE Form 77-21) along with copies of their original statements for any activities they determine are relevant and can be applied to this requirement.