Education (Teachers)

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. By June 1, 2026, requires the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, to establish, by rule, a Montessori education endorsement to be added to a Professional Educator License. Requires the rules adopted by the State Board of Education to outline the requirements for obtaining the endorsement. Provides that these provisions are inoperative on and after January 1, 2027.

Amends the State Board of Education Article of the School Code. Provides that the State Board shall use the State and federal programs, grants, and subsidies that are available to assist in paying for student teachers as appropriate funds are made available.

Amends the School Code. Allows a teacher to grieve the issuance of a warning regarding causes that are considered remediable pursuant to the applicable collective bargaining agreement to determine whether the school district had just cause in issuing the warning. Requires notice of remedial warnings to be narrowly specify the nature of the alleged misconduct that needs to be remedied. Provides that general allegations of unprofessional conduct are insufficient to link together otherwise unrelated offenses as related. Provides that under no circumstances shall a notice of remedial warning remain effective or within a teacher's personnel file or record for longer than 3 years from the date of the occurrence which gave rise to the issuance of the notice of remedial warning. Effective immediately.

Amends the State Board of Education Article of the School Code. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall pay one-half of the salary of an employee that is employed by a manufacturing company and working within a school district at a high school as a licensed career and technical education teacher.

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. Adds 5 administrative or faculty members of community colleges to the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board. For a Professional Educator License: provides that the requirements to successfully complete specified coursework are only required until July 1, 2027 or the date that the revised test for a particular content area is implemented, whichever is later; and exempts persons seeking a school support personnel or chief school business official endorsement from the requirement that a person must successfully complete specified coursework. Requires, by July 1, 2027, the State Superintendent of Education to begin incorporating specified topics into revised examinations for individuals seeking a Professional Educator License endorsed in teaching or administration, excluding a chief school business official endorsement. Exempts, for educator licenses, applicants seeking a school support personnel endorsement who hold an active and valid professional license in the same subject matter as the endorsement sought from being required to pass a test of content area knowledge for each area of endorsement for which there is an applicable test. Creates the Teacher Performance Assessment Advisory Committee to aid in operationalizing and creating a pilot, State-developed, teacher performance assessment. Establishes the Paraprofessional to Teacher Pathway Program to provide an expedited pathway for paraprofessionals to earn a Professional Educator License in a specific content area. Sets forth the Program criteria, the requirements for individuals for entry into the Program, and the adoption of rules by the State Board of Education. Provides that an institution of higher education approved to offer educator preparation programs may enter into a partnership agreement with a community college to offer an approved educator preparation program leading to educator licensure for individuals who already hold a bachelor's degree. Makes other changes.

Amends the School Code and the Public Higher Education Act. Provides that in fixing the salaries of employees, the school board or the governing board of each public institution of higher education shall pay to employees an hourly rate of not less than: (i) $20 for the 2026-2027 academic year; (ii) $21 for the 2027-2028 academic year; and (iii) $22 for the 2028-2029 academic year. Provides that the minimum hourly rate for each academic year thereafter shall equal the minimum hourly rate for the previous academic year increased by a percentage equal to the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for all items published by the United States Department of Labor for the previous academic year. Effective immediately.

Affirms the importance of adopting a statewide strategy to develop teachers as leaders and to leverage teacher leadership to recruit and retain excellent educators of diverse identities and backgrounds, strengthen school leadership, and support continuous school improvement to improve educational outcomes. Urges the Illinois State Board of Education to (1) prioritize teacher leadership investments in future fiscal years in order to build greater capacity to conduct research and collect data, highlight and share best practices for distributed leadership, offer technical assistance to schools and districts, and provide strategic leadership to support the expansion of teacher leadership across Illinois, (2) to collaborate with educators, districts, educator preparation programs, and other state agencies to build a strategy for the development of a statewide ecosystem that grows, recognizes, supports, and sustains teacher leadership in diverse contexts throughout the State, (3) to include in its strategy multiple pathways to recognize, support, and sustain diverse teacher leadership throughout the State, including through collaborative partnerships, expanded inclusion of teacher voice in educational decision-making, and classroom teacher leadership development programs, and (4) to embed teacher leadership as a fundamental component of the school improvement process. Urges each school district in Illinois to develop systems that provide teachers equitable access to ongoing leadership development and encourage them to take teacher leadership roles.

SB 2599 allocates $7,047,506,738 in state funds for teacher retirement system contributions during fiscal year 2025. The bill specifies funding from multiple state accounts - including the General Fund, Common School Fund, and Education Assistance Fund - to cover existing obligations for public school teachers' retirement benefits and health insurance. It directly affects Illinois public school teachers by ensuring state contributions to their retirement systems as required by current pension laws. The funding takes effect July 1, 2025, and does not create new policies or alter benefit calculations.

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to the monetary award program. Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year through the 2030-2031 academic year, provides that an applicant who is otherwise eligible for grant assistance under the program may receive grant assistance for an additional academic year after receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours if he or she (i) enrolls in a State-approved educator preparation program and (ii) within 5 years after receiving a Professional Educator License, teaches in this State for a minimum of 3 years. Requires repayment if at any time a person fails to meet the requirements. Effective immediately.

Amends the Evaluation of Certified Employees Article of the School Code. Requires the teacher evaluation plan to include a description of the standards described in the Illinois Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards in Part 24 of Title 23 of the Illinois Administrative Code and be aligned to the Illinois Professional Educator Standards.