1 educator certificate renewal audits 2008 educator and school development division october 2008

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Educator Certificate Renewal Audits 2008

Educator and School Development Division

October 2008

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The new Vice Principal, made an announcement, over the school intercom "The staff and students would like to congratulate Mr. Green on his forthcoming marriage.“ Later, when she saw him he thanked her for the special attention. He added, that perhaps, for Junior High school, she should use smaller words. It seems 2 or 3 students had asked him about his 3 earlier marriages.

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Beginning September 2008, random audits will be conducted to verify activities listed on Statements of Assurance.

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Three areas of audits will occur:

1. Administrator 2. Teacher3. HOUSSE

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Criteria used to create “pool” of educators eligible for audits:

Certificate Type Administrator 75, 77 Teacher 03, 04, 09, 10

Certificate Level (Standard – for teachers only)

Statement of Assurance – “Approved” during time period September 1, 2007 to August 31, 2008

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Based upon the previous criteria 2 pools of educators were identified.

1. Teachers2. Administrators

A statistical formula was applied to each pool, and “X” number of educators were randomly selected for audit.

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Per the plan ISBE has filed with the feds re: NCLB, an audit must also be completed for teachers who claim HOUSSE for HQ status

This pool of teachers came from those already identified to be audited for the Statement of Assurance, this is not a new pool.

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Educator Audits 2008 Timeline

January 20 - February 9, 2009

ISBE reviews forms/files from

ROEs

September 24, 2008

Notices of Intent to Audit mailed by ISBE

November 6, 2008

Second Notice of Intent to Audit will be sent by ROEs if

no response

January 16, 2009

ROEs send Educator Audit Reporting

forms & appropriate educator files to

ISBE

December 1 – January 15, 2009

ROEs complete review of

documentation

November 28, 2008

Educators must have responded with documentation

January 16, 2009

ROEs notify educators of prelim.

audit results

ROEs retain copies of

documentation for one fiscal year

September 2008

Educators Identified for Random Audits

February 2009

ISBE notifies educators & ROEs of audit results

March 2009

ROEs notify educators of opportunity for a hearing before

suspension

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STEP 1

ISBE will mail “Notices of Intent to Audit” to educators on September 24, 2008. These Notices indicate to the educators that a response is due to the ROE by November 28, 2008.

(A-1; T-1; NCLB-1)

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The response to the Notice should be the actual documentation to support the educator’s professional development activities or arrangements to submit the documents to the ROE.

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If the “Notice of Intent to Audit” is returned to ISBE by the postal service, it will be forwarded to the educator’s current school district address.

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Step 2If the ROE has not heard from the educator by November 5, the ROE should mail a second “Notice of Intent to Audit” letter dated November 6, 2008.

(A-2; T-2)

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The November 6 letter will indicate that the educators must respond by November 28, 2008.

Failure to respond to the audit could result in the suspension of the certificate(s).

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ROE’s will generate a second “Notice of Intent to Audit” letter dated November 6, 2008. (A-2; T-2)

ISBE will send a letter (template) electronically

allowing the letters to be printed on ROE letterhead and signed by the regional superintendent.

This “Second Notice” will be mailed by the ROE only in the event that there is no response from the first notice sent by ISBE.

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Both letters specify the procedures for completing the audit process.

“Notice of Intent to Audit” and the second “Notice of Intent to

Audit” letter

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STEP 3 As ROEs receive the Statements of

Assurance and evidence supporting the professional development activities, they will review them and determine if the documentation is acceptable.

ROEs may wish to contact the individual educators for clarification of documentation.

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Audits are to verify what is listed on the Statement of Assurances. However, documentation for additional activities can be accepted.

Educators verified by signature when submitting the Statement of Assurance that they completed activities listed for credit.

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STEP 4ROEs will complete and send to the Educator and School Development Division at ISBE the completed 2008 ROE “Educator” (Admin or Teacher or HOUSSE) Audit Reporting Form postmarked no later than January 16, 2009.

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STEP 5

ROEs will notify educators of the outcome of the review using the January 16 letter (template) provided by ISBE.

(A-3; T-3; NCLB-2)

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ROEs need not return any documents to the educators.

Documentation must be retained by ROEs through the next fiscal year should it be required for due process.

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STEP 6

In February 2009 ISBE will send letters to educators who did not meet minimum requirements informing them of any further action.

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Step 7

In March 2009 ROEs will send letters to educators who did not meet minimum requirements informing of their opportunity for a hearing before certificate is suspended.

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Any educator who receives “Notice of Opportunity for Hearing” has 10 days to request a hearing before the ROE.

If no hearing is requested, the certificate is suspended for one year.

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If the hearing at the ROE results in the suspension of the certificate, the educator may appeal to the State Teacher Certification Board.

That Board may not waive renewal requirements.

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Step 9If the professional development requirements were not met, the educator’s certificate will be suspended for one year.

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Working on a certificate that is not registered is illegal and is a great liability for the school district in many ways. Educators who do not have current valid certificates should not be employed in positions requiring teacher certification.

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Administrator Audits

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2007 Administrator Audits

360 administrators were audited 24 reported by ROEs as not meeting requirements 14 received letters allowing additional

documentation 7 received Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing 3 requested a hearing 4 administrators administrative certificate(s)

suspended

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2008 Administrator Audits 90 administrators being audited

21 ROEs have no audits to conduct

3 ROEs have 10 or more audits to conduct

17 ROEs have 1 or 2 audits to conduct

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Review TSR data

Review exemption status

Include copy of district letter regarding TSR data in audit file(if TSR/exemption status are different)

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Determine how many CPD hours are required (can be as few as 10 or as many as 100)

List the number of required CPD hours on the administrator audit reporting form

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Review SOAs for creditable activities (i.e. a number of approved administrator SOAs contain some activities that are not creditable)

Review evidence/paper documentation for SOA activities that appear to be creditable

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Ensure that evidence/paper documentation confirms creditable SOA activities(i.e. serving on district committees/teams, reporting to school boards, training teachers or parents, etc. are not creditable – they are considered job duties)

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Evidence/documentation should clearly be associated with each specific SOA activity

or

Evidence/ documentation for activities not listed on SOA (i.e. additional activities administrator completed but did not list)

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List exact number of CPD hours documented on administrator audit reporting form

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Teacher Audits

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2007 Teacher Audits

396 teachers were audited 28 reported by ROEs as not meeting

requirements 27 received letters allowing additional

documentation 14 received Notice of Opportunity for a Hearing 1 requested a hearing (still pending) 13 teachers certificate(s) suspended

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2008 Teacher Audits 94 teachers being audited


2 ROEs have more than 10 audits to conduct


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Statements of Assurance

Electronically submitted Statements will be included with copies of the letters of intent, and these will be mailed by ISBE.

Paper statements will not be included but should be on file at the ROE.

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Evidence of Completion

All evidence of completion required is listed in the administrative rules. Subpart J of Part 25

Teachers will receive Teacher Certificate Audit Information, which contains requirements for all evidence of completion

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Evidence of Completion

Teachers have been asked to number the evidence submitted to correspond with their Statement entries.

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Teacher/HOUSSE Audits

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2007 Teacher HOUSSE Audits 125 teachers were audited 30 reported by ROEs as not verifying

p.d. 25 entered professional development

not related to TSR assignment 5 teachers had HQ HOUSSE data

deleted from file - these teachers will be required to move to the HQ status if still in the assignment

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2008 Teacher HOUSSE Audits 15 teachers being audited


1 ROE has 5 audits to conduct


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Why Audit for NCLB

NCLB requires accountability at both the State and LEA level.

DOE will be sending a team to IL this fall to audit the agency and selected school districts.

Feds need to know we are making a good faith effort to comply.

$600M in aid at stake.

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ROE NCLB Audits – Why?

Many discussions with the Cert Committee of the IARSS concerned the audit responsibility issue. No great pleasure at the thought but

acceptance that it must be done. Only 15 NCLB audits across the state.

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Who Is Audited?

Teachers with Standard certificates Who are undergoing renewal audit Who are HQ in a subject(s) through

HOUSSE Who have themselves entered the

HOUSSE HQ assertion on ECS or who have entries from CPS.

“HOUSSE” on ECS refers to any HQ subject with proof known only to the teacher.

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How Are Persons Selected?

For each renewing teacher selected, the computer will check for those who have indicated they are HQ through HOUSSE.

All subjects they have claimed will be listed.

Each HOUSSE subject they entered will be audited.

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What Notice Does the Teacher Receive?

Each HQ audited teacher will receive a letter notifying of the audit and listing the HOUSSE subjects for which they must provide proof.

They will receive info telling what makes a teacher HQ and they will receive a HOUSSE copy showing what proof satisfies each activity.

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What Is the Teacher to Provide?

The teacher is to provide a copy of the union worksheet for each subject showing the HQ status and supporting documentation indexed to the worksheet.

In cases where they have a higher degree in a subject, they need only produce the degree.

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An assertion of a major on a transcript can be met by a copy of the transcript showing the major.

An aggregate major claim should show the 32 semester hours of content on transcripts (an ElEd major does not count).

Tests and Master Certificates will show up on TCIS.

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Teaching experience in the subject is demonstrated by a letter from the district superintendent or other appropriate official detailing the experience and duration.

Self contained elementary experience applies to all subjects included in the assignment and at all grade levels.

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NCLB CORE vs State Assignments

Being HQ in the federal broad subjects makes you HQ in the subsumed subjects

Science: Being HQ in science makes a teacher HQ in all sciences.

Reading or language Arts: in Illinois these are both included in Language Arts, so courses count for each. Also Language Arts covers a variety of subjects and if HQ in LA, they are HQ in all assignments.

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NCLB CORE vs State Assignments

Art, theatre/drama and music are separate in Arts; each requires distinct mastery.

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What to Look For

Each HOUSSE subject must have documented proof that the requirement the teacher has claimed has been met.

Each HOUSSE activity claimed, including teaching experience, must be directly related to the specific subject for the points to be applied.

Use a copy of the rules in Part 25, Appendix D, as a guide to the various means of being HQ at grade level/subject; each HQ audited teacher will get a copy of HOUSSE PD.

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HOUSSE Examples

Assertion of a master’s degree in a subject requires proof of the degree.

A master’s degree in elementary education does not make a K-5 teacher HQ

Assertion of coursework requires a transcript showing the credits totaling the claimed points.

Equivalent to a major means 32 semester hours in content

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HOUSSE Examples

A teacher with only a bilingual certificate may be considered HQ if they meet the federal requirement: They must have a letter copy or TCIS “Q---”

approval from ISBE granting them the HQ status for a specific time period and must be within that time period.

ESL teachers must be HQ in English If using ESL to teach other content, then HQ in

the other content.

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HOUSSE Examples

Certain new special educators and small rural school teachers may also have a letter from ISBE approving them for HQ under federal provisions. The service must be within the time

limitations of the approval Also available on TCIS under “Q---”

approvals.

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HOUSSE Evaluations

Guide: Be liberal-as long as the PD can be confirmed to deal with the subject and is within the requirement, grant it. Do not give Carte

Blanche to just any activity.

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HOUSSE Evaluations

If a teacher does not have the proof, they have not met the requirement.

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HOUSSE Evaluations

If a teacher is not HQ after the review, inform the teacher and inform the Educator and School Development Division of the results.

The HQ status for that subject will be deleted and the teacher will be required to move to the HQ status if still in the assignment.

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What Penalties?

Teachers who cannot demonstrate they have the 100 points in a subject will be given two years to obtain the points. They can continue to use HOUSSE as long as it

is still available. If not, they must use one of the other means

provided in law.

If it appears that a teacher deliberately attempted to deceive, the door to more severe penalties is opened.

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NCLB

1 educator certificate renewal audits 2008 educator and school development division october 2008

Documents

educator audits

letter slide

random audits

areas of audits

housse slide

suspension slide

roe educator admin

audit results roes