Education (Teachers)

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.

Amends the School Code. In a provision concerning teacher evaluation plans, provides that for teachers not in contractual continued service who participate in a new teacher induction and mentoring program established by the school district in which they are employed, non-evaluative mentor observation and feedback may be used in place of one evaluation observation.

Amends the Educator Licensure Article of the School Code. In provisions concerning educator testing, provides that the State Board of Education and the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board are required to approve more than one assessment, not from the same source, and each teacher preparation program in the State may use any evidence-based assessment of teacher effectiveness that aligns to current State teaching standards. Effective July 1, 2025.

Amends the School Code. Requires school districts with a population of 3,000 or more students to interview a minimum percentage of minority candidates for teaching positions. Exempts teaching positions within an English as a Second Language program from the requirement. Sets forth the formula for the school district to use to calculate the minimum percentage required. Provides that if the school district is unable to interview the required minimum percentage of minority candidates for 2 consecutive years, the school district must implement a program for school district employees interested in obtaining a Professional Educator License. Effective immediately.

Amends the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education shall establish a teacher recruitment and retention program, which shall encourage both new and experienced teachers to seek employment with qualifying public schools by providing for a refundable income tax credit to each participating teacher in the amount of $3,000 per school year for no more than 5 consecutive school years. Provides that the number of participating teachers in the program in any school year shall be limited to 1,000. Contains requirements for participating school districts and participating teachers. Amends the Illinois Income Tax Act establishing the $3,000 tax credit for individuals designated by the State Board of Education as a participating teacher in the teacher recruitment and retention program. Effective July 1, 2025.

Urges the Illinois State Board of Education to initiate and complete a research study to examine the application and use of the Danielson Framework for Teaching, including ways to confront ideological barriers to socially just teacher performance evaluation. Urges the Illinois State Board of Education to deliver this report to the legislature by June 30, 2026.