Requirements to Become a Special Education Teacher in Illinois
Special education teachers focus on helping adults and children with disabilities. Keep reading this article to learn about the education and testing needed to become a special education teacher in Illinois.
Illinois Special Education Teacher Overview
To teach in Illinois, you need the state's professional educator license. To get licensed as a special education teacher, you need to earn a bachelor's degree and complete a relevant, accredited teacher preparation program. Then, you need to take licensing exams that depend on your specialization area, which can include teaching students with physical, emotional or mental disabilities.
<table border="1"><tr><td> Education/Experience Required </td><td> Bachelor's degree and teacher program approved by the state</td></tr>
<tr><td> Exams Required </td><td> Basic skills test (SAT or ACT); edTPA or APT; Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) tests depending on grade level and specialization</td></tr>
<tr><td> License Renewal Period</td><td> Five years</td></tr>
<tr><td> CEU Credits Required for Renewal </td><td> 120 hours of professional development</td></tr>
<tr><td> Mean Salary (2018) </td><td> $57,280 (preschool); $63,740 (kindergarten and elementary school); $63,330 (middle school); $69,840 (high school)*</td></tr>
<tr><td> Estimated Job Growth (2016-2026) </td><td> 8 percent nationwide*</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
</i></p><h3 id="section---SpecialEducationTeacherJobDescription">Special Education Teacher Job Description</h3><p>Special education teachers work with students who need to learn in different ways because they have a disability. For example, these teachers could help students with physical disabilities who use a wheelchair or are vision-impaired, or students who have emotional disabilities, like anxiety. These teachers develop lessons for students to help them learn in ways best suited to them. In Illinois, special education teachers can become licensed in early childhood special education, which covers newborn through third-grade children. Licensure is also available in special education for preschool through age 21.
</p><h3 id="section---RequiredEducationAndExperience">Required Education and Experience</h3><p>To be eligible for the Illinois teaching license in special education, you need to have completed a teaching program in special education approved by the state, and in most cases, you need a bachelor's degree. The one exception is speech language pathology teaching, which requires a master's degree from an institution accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
</p><p>You also need to have student teaching experience and have completed courses related to reading instruction, English language learning and special education.
</p><h3 id="section---RequiredTests">Required Tests</h3><p>Special education teachers need to meet basic skills testing requirements by submitting high enough SAT or ACT scores. The required score depends on when you took the exam. Teachers also need to take the edTPA performance evaluation. (If you completed student teaching before September 2015, you also have the option to take the Assessment of Professional Teaching, or APT, exam.)
</p><p>Those who specialize in early childhood special education must take ILTS test 152, Early Childhood Special Education. The fee is $99 and the test time is four hours.
</p><p>Those who specialize in preschool to age 21 special education need to complete ILTS test 163, Special Education General Curriculum, which costs $99 and lasts for three hours. They also need to complete one of the following ILTS tests, which last for four hours and have the noted fees:
</p><ul><li>155 - Learning Behavior Specialist ($99)
</li><li>150 - Teacher of Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired ($122)
</li><li>151 - Teacher of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing ($122)
</li><li>153 - Speech Language Pathologist: Teaching ($122)
</li></ul><p>Register for any of these tests online at the ILTS website; all fees mentioned are as of 2019.
</p><h3 id="section---CompleteTheApplicationProcess">Complete the Application Process</h3><p>Once you've taken the tests and have completed the other education requirements, apply for your professional educator license online through the state Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS). You will need to send your transcript and completed forms from your university verifying that you have completed the required coursework.
</p><p>Once the state approves your license, it's not valid until you register it in the region where you teach. As of 2019, the registration fee was $10 each year. The license is valid for five years, and you can renew it as long as you complete 120 hours of professional development.</p>