(105 ILCS 5/Art. 21A heading)

(105 ILCS 5/21A-5) Sec. 21A-5. Definitions. In this Article: "New teacher" means the holder of an Initial Teaching Certificate, as set forth in Section 21-2 of this Code, who is employed by a public school and who has not previously participated in a new teacher induction and mentoring program required by this Article, except as provided in Section 21A-25 of this Code. "Public school" means any school operating pursuant to the authority of this Code, including without limitation a school district, a charter school, a cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or board of control, and a school operated by a regional office of education or State agency. (Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)

(105 ILCS 5/21A-10) Sec. 21A-10. Development of program required. During the 2003-2004 school year, each public school or 2 or more public schools acting jointly shall develop, in conjunction with its exclusive representative or their exclusive representatives, if any, a new teacher induction and mentoring program that meets the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20 of this Code to assist new teachers in developing the skills and strategies necessary for instructional excellence, provided that funding is made available by the State Board of Education from an appropriation made for this purpose. A public school that has an existing induction and mentoring program that does not meet the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20 of this Code may have school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 to develop a program that does meet those requirements and may receive funding as described in Section 21A-25 of this Code, provided that the funding is made available by the State Board of Education from an appropriation made for this purpose. A public school with such an existing induction and mentoring program may receive funding for the 2005-2006 school year for each new teacher in the second year of a 2-year program that does not meet the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20, as long as the public school has established the required new program by the beginning of that school year as described in Section 21A-15 and provided that funding is made available by the State Board of Education from an appropriation made for this purpose as described in Section 21A-25. (Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)

(105 ILCS 5/21A-15) Sec. 21A-15. When program is to be established and implemented. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, by the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year (or by the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year for a public school that has been given an extension of time to develop a program under Section 21A-10 of this Code), each public school or 2 or more public schools acting jointly shall establish and implement, in conjunction with its exclusive representative or their exclusive representatives, if any, the new teacher induction and mentoring program required to be developed under Section 21A-10 of this Code, provided that funding is made available by the State Board of Education, from an appropriation made for this purpose, as described in Section 21A-25 of this Code. A public school may contract with an institution of higher education or other independent party to assist in implementing the program. (Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)

(105 ILCS 5/21A-20) Sec. 21A-20. Program requirements. Each new teacher induction and mentoring program must be based on a plan that at least does all of the following: (1) Assigns a mentor teacher to each new teacher for

a period of at least 2 school years.

(2) Aligns with the Illinois Professional Teaching

Standards, content area standards, and applicable local school improvement and professional development plans, if any.

(3) Addresses all of the following elements and how

they will be provided:

(A) Mentoring and support of the new teacher. (B) Professional development specifically

designed to ensure the growth of the new teacher's knowledge and skills.

(C) Formative assessment designed to ensure

feedback and reflection, which must not be used in any evaluation of the new teacher.

(4) Describes the role of mentor teachers, the

criteria and process for their selection, and how they will be trained, provided that each mentor teacher shall demonstrate the best practices in teaching his or her respective field of practice. A mentor teacher may not directly or indirectly participate in the evaluation of a new teacher pursuant to Article 24A of this Code or the evaluation procedure of the public school.

(Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)

(105 ILCS 5/21A-25) Sec. 21A-25. Funding. From a separate appropriation made for the purposes of this Article, for each new teacher participating in a new teacher induction and mentoring program that meets the requirements set forth in Section 21A-20 of this Code or in an existing program that is in the process of transition to a program that meets those requirements, the State Board of Education shall pay the public school $1,200 annually for each of 2 school years for the purpose of providing one or more of the following: (1) Mentor teacher compensation. (2) Mentor teacher training or new teacher training

or both.

(3) Release time. However, if a new teacher, after participating in the new teacher induction and mentoring program for one school year, becomes employed by another public school, the State Board of Education shall pay the teacher's new school $1,200 for the second school year and the teacher shall continue to be a new teacher as defined in this Article. Each public school shall determine, in conjunction with its exclusive representative, if any, how the $1,200 per school year for each new teacher shall be used, provided that if a mentor teacher receives additional release time to support a new teacher, the total workload of other teachers regularly employed by the public school shall not increase in any substantial manner. If the appropriation is insufficient to cover the $1,200 per school year for each new teacher, public schools are not required to develop or implement the program established by this Article. In the event of an insufficient appropriation, a public school or 2 or more schools acting jointly may submit an application for a grant administered by the State Board of Education and awarded on a competitive basis to establish a new teacher induction and mentoring program that meets the criteria set forth in Section 21A-20 of this Code. The State Board of Education may retain up to $1,000,000 of the appropriation for new teacher induction and mentoring programs to train mentor teachers, administrators, and other personnel, to provide best practices information, and to conduct an evaluation of these programs' impact and effectiveness. (Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)

(105 ILCS 5/21A-30) Sec. 21A-30. Evaluation of programs. The State Board of Education and the State Teacher Certification Board shall jointly contract with an independent party to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of new teacher induction and mentoring programs established pursuant to this Article. The first report of this evaluation shall be presented to the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2009. Subsequent evaluations shall be conducted and reports presented to the General Assembly on or before January 1 of every third year thereafter. (Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)

(105 ILCS 5/21A-35) Sec. 21A-35. Rules. The State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Teacher Certification Board, shall adopt rules for the implementation of this Article. (Source: P.A. 93-355, eff. 1-1-04.)