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Illinois Teaching Certificates

ISBE Certificate-to-Educator License Update

May 24, 2013

The change from ISBE Certificates to Educator Licenses is scheduled to occur on July 1, 2013.  Those SLPs that have school credentials will be automatically switched.  This will be done electronically; you will not be receiving a paper license.  It is up to each person to check the ISBE website and make sure he or she is given an Educator License that reflects all current certification.

The legislation that ISBE proposed related to Educator License renewal and the continuing education requirements for different types of Educator Licenses did not pass both houses.  Until legislation is passed outlining these requirements, ISBE will be relying on Section 21B-45 of the existing School Code to govern renewal.  Section 21B-45 refers to Sections 21-14 and 21-25 for the specific rules regarding continuing education.  In both of these sections it states that “a speech-language pathologist or audiologist who is licensed under the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act and who has met the continuing education requirements of that Act and the rules promulgated under that Act shall be deemed to have satisfied the continuing professional development requirements established by the State Board of Education and the Teacher Certification Board.”  At this time, ISHA advises all speech-language pathologists and audiologists who hold ISBE certificates to continue to meet the continuing education requirements as outlined by IDFPR and ASHA. 

The Legislative and Regulatory Affairs committees will continue to monitor the developments that occur with the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and keep the ISHA membership informed.


The information that follows will likely change as soon as more information becomes available from ISBE.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) certifies who can work in the IL public schools. Their certificates are issued through the local regional offices of Education (ROEs) and are required of all Master’s degreed speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and Bachelor’s degreed SLP Paraprofessionals (SLPPs) who work in public schools.

Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathology Assistants (SLPAs) do not need certificates from ISBE to work in the schools.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) must hold a Master’s or Doctorate degree from an ASHA-accredited program to be eligible for a school certificate in IL. IL has several certification options for SLPs:

  1. Type 10 – Special Ed Teaching Certificate endorsed for speech/language
  2. Type 03 – Elementary Teaching Certificate and Type 09 – Secondary Teaching Certificate
  3. Type 73 – Non-teaching Pupil Personnel Services Certificate
  4. Type 79 – Interim non-teaching Pupil Personnel Services Certificate

1. Type 10 - This person has graduated from an ISBE-approved program, or a comparable out-of-state program. The program included school practicum and coursework in education as well as the speech-language pathology coursework. This person can perform all the functions of a school SLP, including acting as the sole teacher of a self-contained Communications Disorders Classroom. This certificate is renewable every five years.
If the SLP has no license, s/he is required to complete 80 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) every 5 years to renew this certificate. If the SLP has no license but holds ASHA’s Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC), s/he is required to complete 80 CPDUs every ten years, but must renew the certificate every five years.

2. Type 03/09 - A person with both these certificates can serve students from preschool through high school. This person has graduated from an ISBE-approved program. The program included school practicum and coursework in education as well as the speech-language pathology coursework. This person can perform all the functions of a school SLP, including acting as the sole teacher of a self-contained Communications Disorders Classroom. She can also get an endorsement on one of these certificates to teach other academic subjects. So this pair of certificates is a good choice for an SLP who is also qualified to teach elementary or secondary school in other subjects.

If the SLP has no IL license, s/he is required to complete 80 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) every 5 years to renew this certificate. If the SLP has no license but holds ASHA’s Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC), s/he is required to complete 80 CPDUs every ten years, but must renew the certificate every five years.

3. Type 73 - This certificate is renewable every five years. A person with this certificate can serve students from preschool through high school. This person graduated from an ISBE-approved program, and holds a license (regular or temporary) from IDFPR. This is a non-teaching certificate, the same type that psychologists, social workers, counselors and school nurses get. This person can perform all the functions of a school SLP, except for acting as the teacher of record for a self-contained Communication Disorders Classroom. Additional endorsements for teaching other subjects cannot be attached to this certificate. The Type 73 is valid for five years and is renewable.

4. Type 79 - This is an interim certificate that an SLP can hold while fulfilling the requirements for the Type 73 certificate. If an IL-licensed SLP wants to work in the schools but holds no school certificate, s/he can apply for this interim Type 79 certificate and use it to work in the schools, with pay, while s/he completes the other requirements for the Type 73. These requirements include taking the Non-teaching SLP Certification Test and proving that s/he has worked for 150 clock hours in a school setting. If s/he has not done so, s/he can work for 150 clock hours in a school setting using this certificate. When the hours are completed, the building administrator or designee must write a letter to ISBE explaining how the applicant has competently completed “activities related to the aspects of practice that are addressed in the content-area standards for speech-language with respect to:

A) planning and intervention;
B) the learning environment;
C) service delivery;
D) professional conduct and ethics; and
E) facilitation and advocacy”

This fulfills the obligation for the Corey H. standards, and allows the applicant to qualify for the Type 73 non-teaching certificate. The Type 79 is valid for three years and is not renewable.

Link to the Illinois State Board of Education site: www.isbe.net