Illinois teacher licensing clouded by corruption, needs reform

Illinois’ public schools are in trouble. As if shuttering schools, the faltering Chicago Public Schools system and unfunded pension liabilities weren’t enough, it seems the teacher licensing system is mired in clout and corruption. A front page story from the Chicago Tribune on July 12 details findings of “nearly 100 cases in the past five...

Illinois’ public schools are in trouble. As if shuttering schools, the faltering Chicago Public Schools system and unfunded pension liabilities weren’t enough, it seems the teacher licensing system is mired in clout and corruption.

A front page story from the Chicago Tribune on July 12 details findings of “nearly 100 cases in the past five years in which lawmakers got involved in the system that determines who can work as classroom aides, teachers, and school administrators.”

Yes, Illinoisans should be outraged that lawmakers have attempted to influence the Illinois State Board of Education’s, or ISBE, licensing decisions. More than that though, the Tribune mainly details cases steeped in ambiguity. Because standards and education trends are so dynamic, ISBE is constantly reassessing courses that can count towards a teaching license.

The Tribune tells the story of Elaine O’Shaughnessy, a special education teacher who was ready to switch to teaching math. ISBE had originally accepted her college classes for licensing purposes, but later rescinded this decision. Her solution? She contacted friend and lawmaker, Rep. Chad Hays, and four weeks later received approval for her mathematics courses.

But what about the hundreds of qualified individuals like O’Shaughnessy who can’t call up an old high school friend to have their cases heard? There’s no shortage of them.

“I have constituents who walk in the door and call daily with frustrations about the bureaucracy in Springfield,” Hays said.

A recent study, which claims that corruption cost Illinoisans $1,308 per person from 1997-2008, doesn’t take into account these smaller, incremental costs of an inefficient bureaucracy. These are costs that won’t show up for years, when children are performing even further below grade level and when underqualified teachers are collecting overly generous pensions from a severely underfunded system. All while many qualified teachers remain tangled in Springfield’s red tape.

How does Illinois expect to draw the best teachers from around the country when they can barely make out what’s required of them to teach here? Simply, the less streamlined teacher licensing is in Illinois, the more the system is vulnerable to arbitrary decisions and favorable treatment for the well connected. ISBE must make a better effort to establish clear and consistent requirements for the thousands of men and women each year who want to teach our state’s children.