Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter



CAT Tracks for July 1, 2004
TRIP & RECERTIFICATION

BREAKING NEWS***BREAKING NEWS***BREAKING NEWS

SENATE VOTE EXTENDS TRIP, APPROVES CERTIFICATION CHANGES SOUGHT BY IEA

Great News for Thousands of IEA Members

TRIP IS SAVED

Illinois lawmakers Wednesday took action to ensure that 42,000 Illinois teachers and their dependents will continue to have insurance coverage.

The Illinois Senate approved and sent to Gov. Blagojevich legislation preventing the expiration of the Teachers' Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP).

TRIP had been scheduled to expire on July 1, but fierce lobbying by retired teachers and IEA lobbyists won the eleventh hour reprieve for TRIP. Today's action means all teachers covered by TRIP will maintain insurance coverage.

IEA-BACKED CERTIFICATION CHANGES APPROVED

Illinois elementary and secondary teachers who have been demanding changes in the cumbersome and complicated teacher certification process have won a major victory.

Final approval came Wednesday for legislation that streamlines and simplifies the teacher certification process, eliminating the cause of concern for scores of teachers who were unsure whether they would have teaching certificates in the next school year.

The legislation, which will become law upon the governor's signature, was shaped with input from IEA members who have grown increasingly frustrated with various aspects of the teacher certification process, including:

  • The failure of the State Board of Education (ISBE) to create programs that would allow scores of current teachers to move from initial to standard teaching certificates

  • The overly complicated recertification process involving a Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC)

  • Cumbersome ISBE-required paperwork.

    • Armed with this information, IEA lobbyists sought changes. Thanks to vigorous lobbying, the bill Gov. Blagojevich is expected to sign will include many elements demanded by teachers:

    Initial to Standard

    Members of the "Class of 2004" will have an extra year in which to complete their requirements.

    Additional options for moving from initial to standard include:

  • Participation in a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) candidacy program

  • Earning a subsequent education degree and becoming "highly qualified," as defined under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), in an additional teaching field.

    • Recertification

  • Teachers no longer will be required to submit plans for achieving recertification.

  • Local school districts will be allowed, but will not be required, to form or maintain a Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC).

  • Teachers will be responsible for meeting recertification requirements and for submitting proof of completion to their Regional Superintendent of Schools.

  • The avenues for meeting recertification requirements will be expanded.

    • Paperwork Reduction

  • Both the "reflective practices" and ISBE evaluation form will be eliminated as requirements.

    • These significant and positive changes in the certification process resulted from the strategic work of IEA members and staff. Several teachers and LPDC members testified about the need for a streamlined and simplified certification process at education committee hearings. As a direct result of these testimonials, discussions began that weredesigned to develop remedies for the problems so many IEA members were facing.

    This important victory is the result of IEA members expressing themselves in a clear and direct manner and IEA staff and governance listening and then taking action.

    For full details of the legislation, use this link:

    http://www.ieanea.org/legislative/capitolReport/newsArticle.asp?did=761

    This message was sent from:

    IEA-NEA
    100 East Edwards
    Springfield, Illinois 62704

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