Teacher Shortage Bill

CTU Explains New Teacher Shortage Law
By Jim Vail

CTU policy adviser Kurt Hilgendorf

The Illinois Governor signed a new law this summer that addresses teacher shortage problems so that retired teachers can sub more days, more people can qualify to substitute teach and teachers from out of state will be able to more easily transition to teach in Illinois.

When I first wrote up the story for a local publication called the News-Star, I sent an email to the Chicago Teachers Union Communications Director Christine Geovanis. She never answered my question about what the CTU position was on this bill now law.

I then received several conflicting reports from people who read my story posted on Facebook. One stated that the CTU opposed the bill, and another who served on the union's political action committee said it doesn't affect Chicago.

So I then sent an email to Kurt Hilgendorf, CTU's policy advisor who followed the bill, asking him to explain.

He replied with the following explanation:

Thanks for the question. Here's what happened on HB 5627.

That bill was introduced as ISBE's "big licensure reform". Included in the proposal were several things that we didn't like, such as easier access for for-profit charter operator grad schools (e.g. Noble Street's Relay) to the state licensure board, a sped-up alternative certification process (one year instead of 2), and a total deregulation of substitute teacher rules. CTU, along with the IFT and the IEA, opposed the bill as introduced, and discussions about how to change it moved forward.

The version that passed is substantially different.

1.  Retirees can now sub 120 days (instead of 100) without incurring pension penalties (CTU supports).

2.  Illinois will have licensure reciprocity with other states (getting an IL license has been a big issue for many CTU members).

3.  Many CTU paras pushed out via budget slashing want to sub but don't have a bachelor's degree. HB 5627 creates a short-term sub license for folks w/ 60 hours of college credit or an associate's degree, so the law creates a path for our displaced paras to get back into schools.