Increased Access to School Counselor services by allowing for additions to the current approach for School Counselor Endorsement

To allow more students access to school counselor services we are proposing an additional approach enabling qualified and appropriately trained persons to become certified school counselors. This bill would provide the authority to the Illinois State Board of Education and the Teacher Certification Board to draft rules that would allow for school counselor certification without obtaining an Illinois teaching certificate.

1. School Counselors Certified in other states. It would allow ISBE and the State Teacher Certification Board to establish rules to allow certified school counselors from other states, who have experience as school counselors and equivalent or greater educational experience as Illinois requires, but who do not have teaching certificates in those states, to be certified in Illinois.
2. Counselors who do not have a current teaching certificate. It would allow ISBE and the State Teacher Certification Board to establish rules to allow counselors to become eligible for the Type 73 school counselor certificate if they had a master's degree in counseling and equivalent or greater educational training that meets all current state requirements for school counselors. The person would also need to pass the ISBE School Counselor Examination.

The reasoning behind this additional approach:

• School Counselor positions are currently not filled or filled with less than ideally qualified and experienced individuals, holding temporary certificates, because of a shortage of qualified applicants.
• Current trends show that there will be numerous school counselor retirements in the next 5-10 years creating thousands of job openings.
• Universities cannot keep pace with the job market demand because of limitations on enrollment size; due to budgetary constraints and an uncertain economy.
• To keep pace with 42 other states who have removed the teaching certificate requirement from their certification requirements. Research has shown that school counselors who are appropriately trained and have rigorous internships are as capable and successful in their role in a school setting as those who have been appropriately trained and have a teaching certificate.
• Illinois ranks 45th nationally in its ratio of students to counselors. The minimum recommendation by the American School Counselors Association is 250 students to 1 counselor. The national average is 500:1 and Illinois is 700:1.
• Illinois School Social Workers and Illinois School Psychologists are not required to obtain a teaching certificate.

What this change would NOT do:

• It would not change ANY of the extensive educational or experiential requirements to become a certified school counselor.
• It would not change the process for becoming certified as a school counselor.
• It would not prevent someone with a teaching certificate from becoming a school counselor.

Public comment may be submitted either via e-mail (addressed to rules@isbe.net) or via standard mail (addressed to Sally Vogl, Agency Rules Coordinator, ISBE, 100 North First Street - S-284, Springfield, Illinois 62777-0001). Deadline is December 2, 2002.

Section 29.140 Director of Special Education

Endorsement as a director of special education shall be available on the administrative certificate beginning January 1, 2003, and shall be required beginning July 1, 2005, in order for an individual to serve as either a director or an assistant director of special education. Except as provided in Section 29.150 of this Part, the requirements for this endorsement shall include completion of a program approved pursuant to Subpart C of the State Board’s rules for Certification (23 Ill. Adm. Code 25) based on congruence with the standards set forth in this Section; passage of the relevant test of subject matter knowledge based on the standards set forth in this Section; passage of the test of basic skills if its passage would be required for receipt of a standard certificate pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 25.720 (Applicability of Testing Requirement); and either a valid teaching certificate endorsed with a special education credential or a valid school service personnel certificate endorsed for school psychology, school social work, or speech-language pathology.

(Note this proposed rule does NOT include school counselors)

Proposed Amendments to Part 29 (Standards for Administrative Certification)

These amendments will 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. A companion amendment to the rules for special education establishes the ending date for the current system of approvals.

Full Text of Proposed Amendments to Part 29 (Standards for Administrative Certification)

We urge you to write in with your comments and explain why you believe school counselors have equivalent or greater qualifications than others listed. Public comment may be submitted either via e-mail (addressed to rules@isbe.net) or via standard mail (addressed to:

Sally Vogl

Agency Rules Coordinator

ISBE

100 North First Street - S-284

Springfield, Illinois 62777-0001

Deadline is December 2, 2002.

Full text of Proposed Amendments to Part 226 (Special Education)

These amendments have three purposes. They include a number of wording changes recently identified as necessary by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), and they include revisions to the rule on parental consent (Section 226.540) that respond to recent litigation.

In addition, the amendments to Section 226.800 explain how the current system of issuing State approval for individuals to serve as directors of special education will be closed out in favor of a standards-based endorsement. These changes are necessary to complement concurrent amendments to Part 29 (Standards for Administrative Certification).

Part 29 Proposed changes Special Education Director Certificate

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