Stuart-Sponsored Bill to Track Teacher Certification Sent to Governor

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. – To provide better tracking on National Board Certification for teachers in Illinois, State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, sponsored a measure that requires schools to report annually to the Illinois State Board of Education the number of teachers with board certification.

“National Board training helps our teachers develop their skills as educators,” said Stuart. “It can help newer teachers learn skills that veteran teachers already know about student learning, including interacting with the community, which helps teachers better serve their students. Tracking this data will help us better understand how many teachers in the state have this certification.”

Stuart sponsored House Bill 2438, which requires that schools report the number of teachers with a National Board Certification annually. This will be added to the information that schools already provide to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), such as the percentage of students and teachers with fewer than ten absences in a school year, leaves taken, the three-year average of the percentage of teachers returning from the prior years and the number of returning principals in the last six years.

“The state is currently facing a teacher shortage, and retaining quality teachers in the school districts has been a major issue,” said Stuart. “This bill is working with teachers and schools to give them the training they need and put teachers in the best position possible to educate our students.”