Illinois has endured a teacher shortage for many years. One area where this shortage is especially acute is for special education teachers, a job which requires additional training and skills beyond those of everyday classroom teachers.
This year I am sponsoring a pair of bills to help recruit and train more special education teachers for Illinois classrooms.
House Bill 4631 will create an additional 50 scholarships for aspiring special education teachers. The scholarships will be awarded each year by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to persons who qualify. This is a good way to attract more prospective special education teachers into the field.
I am also sponsoring House Bill 4634, legislation to appropriate $1 million to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to fund the Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver Program for another year. This legislation would also make grants to reimburse universities for unfunded liabilities related to the program.
Both of these good bills are currently waiting in the House Rules Committee, where they will eventually be referred to a substantive committee for further review and action. With only seven session days scheduled at the end of this month before the deadline for bills to move out of committee, many members are growing concerned that too many bills are being overlooked this spring.