ISBE Induction News

Last updated July 24, 2014

This update has been reviewed and approved on February 20, 2014 by Dr. Jason Helfer, Assistant Superintendent for Teacher and Leader Effectiveness at ISBE. 

Participation in induction and mentoring programs helps new teachers earn PD for license renewal.

According to Jason Helfer, ISBE Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, “Beginning July 1, 2014, all teachers must have 120 hours of professional development, so new teachers may count the hours of participation in a district-approved Induction & Mentoring program.  Since this one activity requires many hours of participation, it is probable that it will satisfy the entire 120 hours or very close to it for renewal…. The new legislation regarding renewal requires a paradigm shift from ‘state-approved’ to ‘locally-approved.’  Districts will decide what types of professional development will benefit their educators and the students they serve.  Since districts know the value of Induction and Mentoring programs to their new teachers, they will have the opportunity to have them participate in the programs and accrue the PD hours for renewal.” 

ISBE is again approving induction programs.

As of October 2013, ISBE is accepting applications from induction programs that wish to receive ISBE approval. The application forms are available here:

Initial Application Document
Continuation Programs Application Document

According to ISBE, there are no real incentives for being an approved program right now because there is no funding available. In the future, if funding were restored for induction programs, being approved may make programs eligible to apply for grant funds. In the past, ISBE-approved programs were able to help new teachers move from their initial certificates to standard certificates, but this is not necessary or possible under the new licensure system. ISBE Assistant Superintendent Helfer’s remarks in the section above show ISBE’s interest in allowing districts local control of their induction programs.

Questions can be addressed to Stephanie Robinson at ISBE, either by phone (217-782-1293) or by email (strobins@isbe.net).

The application forms will soon be available on the ISBE website. At this time, you can access other induction and mentoring-related resources on the ISBE website at http://www.isbe.net/licensure/html/mentoring.htm.

PERA and license renewal may provide justification for induction programs.

In the past, induction and mentoring programs provided one route for new teachers to move from “initial” to “standard” certificates. With the new system of teacher licensure, new teachers will not be issued an “initial certificate”—all novice and veteran teachers will have the same Professional Educator License. Under the new licensure system, all teachers—both new and veteran—will be required to engage in professional development activities in order to qualify for license renewal. The requirements for 2013-14 remain the same as in 2012-13. (See Chris Koch’s letter). It is likely that induction and mentoring programs will provide new teachers with the required amount of professional development. Plus, PERA provides another impetus to districts to provide support to their new teachers. Districts are strongly encouraged to continue providing induction and mentoring support to new teachers to help them achieve the Proficient level in their performance evaluations ratings.

ISBE rules for induction programs would only apply if funding were restored for grants.

At this time, ISBE has no funds for induction and mentoring program grants. However, if such funds are available in the future, eligible programs will be required to abide by the provisions in the Illinois Administrative Code part 65. These rules stipulate that funded programs must: provide a mentor teacher to each beginning teacher for at least two years; provide professional development for new teachers and training to mentors and administrators; incorporate formative assessment for beginning teachers; and align with Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, content area standards, and school improvement plans. The rules also stipulate that mentors must have at least 40 hours of contact with first-year teachers and 30 hours with second-year teachers, and all but 10 hours must be face-to-face. These rules currently have no effect because they only apply to grant applicants. However, they are a signal of what programmatic elements ISBE finds most valuable, and they form the basis for ISBE’s approval process for induction programs (see above).