I:  Bylaws

A. Mission - The mission of the Council on Teacher Education is four-fold:

1. formulate, modify, implement, and monitor compliance with policies related to the education of teachers, school service personnel, and school administrators;

2. facilitate communication and promote collaboration among all participants involved in the preparation, employment, and continuing professional development of teachers, school service personnel, and school administrators;

3. formulate policies of student selection, retention, guidance, preparation, and placement in elementary and secondary schools in conformity with educational policies established by the campus Senate;

4. advise and assist students and alumni with career planning and professional development; and to monitor trends and patterns affecting graduates of programs associated with the Council on Teacher Education.

B. Functions - The staff of the Council on Teacher Education is charged with the following responsibilities:

1. advise students and prospective students seeking certification through direct counseling and through regular communication about current policies and changes in policies with advisors, program coordinators, and clinical experience coordinators throughout the campus and in the cooperating school districts;

2. serve the students in programs leading to state certification through timely processing of requests for certification; advising on changes and anticipated changes in state level and campus level policy; and facilitating requests for assistance in alternative ways of meeting certification requirements successfully;

3. promote cooperation and facilitate communication among the campus units that deliver programs leading to state certification; between the campus units and university units that set and implement policies affecting those programs, the off-campus institutions that serve as field based placements within the programs; and state and national agencies that set and implement policies affecting those programs;

4. advise and assist with all aspects of field placement including, but not limited to, advising and assisting clinical experience placement coordinators; supervisors and field based teacher educators; funding field supervision, processing student teaching contracts; processing benefits for cooperating personnel and providing a forum for grievances related to field placements;

A. Defined - For purposes of all rights and responsibilities under these bylaws, membership in the Council on Teacher Education is meant to include the deans of all campus units that sponsor curricula leading to the certification of teachers, school service personnel, or school administrators for the pre-kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools. This includes, but is not limited to, the deans of the Colleges of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences; Applied Health Studies; Education; Fine and Applied Arts; Graduate School of Library and Information Science; Liberal Arts and Sciences; the Graduate College; and the School of Social Work. The Executive Director of the Council on Teacher Education serves ex officio.

B. Duties - The Council on Teacher Education shall:

1. consider issues and future directions that have major implications for the selection, retention, guidance, education and placement of teachers, school service personnel and school administrators;

2. initiate business pertaining to the mission of the Council on Teacher Education;

3. encourage research and evaluation of issues relating to professional preparation.

C. Meetings 

1.    The Council on Teacher Education will meet at least annually.

2.    Meetings will be chaired by the Chair of the Council on Teacher Education.

3.    A majority of voting members or their designated representatives must be present in order to take action.

D. The Executive Committee

1. Membership - The Executive Committee is composed of one representative appointed annually by each of the deans who holds membership on the Council on Teacher Education, one representative from the Office of the Provost who serves as a non-voting member, a representative program coordinator who serves as a non-voting member, and other members of the administrative staff of the Council on Teacher Education who may serve as non-voting members at the request of the Executive Director, with the approval of the Executive Committee.  The Executive Director serves as the chair to convene the meetings of the Executive Committee.  The membership also includes:

a.   two public school representatives;

b.   two student representatives (one graduate, one undergraduate) who are enrolled in a program leading to certification; 

c.   a faculty representative. 

2. Duties of the Executive Committee - The Executive Committee shall:

a. review the probable consequences of major changes in policies and legislation that are likely to affect teacher education;

b. act on behalf of the Council in reviewing course and curriculum proposals;

c. develop and approve policies and procedures pertaining to teacher education;

d. identify items that require the attention of the Council.

 3. Meetings 

a. Frequency - The Executive Committee shall schedule a monthly meeting during the academic year, or more frequently as needed.

b. Agenda - The agenda and order of business for a meeting of the Executive Committee shall be established by the Executive Director.

IV. OFFICERS

A. Chair of the Council on Teacher Education

1. Title - The chief executive officer of the Council on Teacher Education shall be the Chair.

2. Appointment - The Chair of the Council on Teacher Education shall be appointed by the Chancellor of the Urbana campus. 

3. Duties - The Chair shall:

a. preside at meetings of the Council on Teacher Education;

b. supervise and advise the Executive Director of the Council.

B. Executive Director

1. Title - The chief administrative officer of the Council on Teacher Education shall be the Executive Director.

2. Appointment - The Executive Director shall be appointed by the Chair of the Council in consultation with the Council on Teacher Education.

3. Duties - The Executive Director:

a. is responsible for completion of the staff work necessary for the Council on Teacher Education and the Executive Committee to function effectively, and serves as Chair of the Executive Committee;

b. is responsible for implementation of Council policy;

c. coordinates the work of the Clinical Experience Program Coordinators in all curricula for the preparation of teachers, school service personnel, and school administrators for the pre-kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools;

d. serves as liaison among the individual programs, departments, schools, and colleges involved in the preparation and placement of teachers, school service personnel, and school administrators; and between the campus and the schools;

e. administers the Council budget and oversees the daily operations of the Council staff.

4. Tenure and Evaluation - The Executive Director shall: 

a.   report to the Chair of the Council on Teacher Education;

b.   be reviewed annually by the Chair of the Council, who may solicit input from members of the Council on Teacher Education;

V. FACULTY ON TEACHER EDUCATION

The Council on Teacher Education will identify a Faculty on Teacher Education from all university faculty and staff and public school personnel to serve on the Council Executive Committee.

Program liaisons (Curriculum and Clinical Experience Coordinators) are responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and making recommendations regarding all programs leading to licensure.

A. Curriculum Coordinator responsibilities:

1. Collaborate with the Area of Specialization Committee chair, department head, and/or the appropriate college administrator to ensure that all professional, state, and institutional standards are implemented, monitored, and assessed according to CoTE policy. 

2. Inform program faculty, clinical experience coordinators, university supervisors and/or cooperating personnel of current developments and requirements pertaining to professional preparation. 

3. Complete an annual program evaluation and submit a report of findings, conclusions and program adjustments to CoTE.

4. Ensure prompt and accurate completion of reports required by government and non-government entities (e.g. ISBE Annual Program Reports).  

5. Provide candidate admission information and updates of changes in admission status (e.g. withdrawal, drops, etc.) to CoTE.

6. Monitor candidates to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Transition Points and any additional requirements of their program. Monitor and clear candidates for clinical placements as stated in the Common Assessment Plans, www.cote.illinois.www.cote.illinois.edu/home/cote-policy-handbook/appendices.

7. Recommend candidates for certification based on the assessment of their performance on all elements on the Transition Points and any additional requirements of the program. Notify CoTE of all candidates who will not be recommended for certification as stated in CoTE policy, www.cote.illinois.www.cote.illinois.edu/home/cote-policy-handbook/IV-procedures/withholding-a-recommendation-for-licensure.

8. Others as required

B. Clinical Experience Coordinator responsibilities:

1. Ensure that candidates are placed in diverse clinical settings and have opportunities to utilize technology for instruction. 

2. Ensure that candidates are placed only in schools that hold a contract with the University. Secure written documentation approving candidate placements from a school administrator.

3. Ensure that all cooperating personnel and clinical sites meet CoTE standards and any additional requirements of the program.

4. Ensure that placement information is entered into CoTE database(s). 

5. Ensure that candidates have met requirements for entry to early field and student teaching (i.e. CBC, BBP, safety training, TB test, etc.)

6. Ensure that early field experiences and student teaching evaluations are completed and approved.

7. Ensure student teaching time reports are submitted and approved.

8. Communicate with partner school personnel regarding specific placement information, expectations of cooperating personnel, assignments to be completed by the candidate, and criteria for candidate assessment. 

9. Others as required. 

C. Joint Responsibilities

1. Evaluate candidates prior to student teaching per CoTE policy, www.cote.illinois.www.cote.illinois.edu/home/cote-policy-handbook/IV-procedures/evaluating-teacher-education-candidates.

2. Review candidates’ student teaching evaluations, academic program requirements, and results of State tests to determine if student is ready to be recommended for certification.

VII. ADMINISTRATION OF THE COUNCIL BUDGET

The Executive Director of the Council on Teacher Education shall administer the funds allocated to the Council for activities related to the preparation, certification, and placement of teachers, school service personnel, and school administrators; to the promotion of continuing professional development; and of collaboration between programs and between programs and the schools.

VIII. AMENDMENTS OR ADDITIONS TO THE BYLAWS

Proposals for amendments or additions to these bylaws may be made by any member of the Faculty on Teacher Education who submits a proposed change to the Chair or Executive Director of the Council on Teacher Education.

The Bylaws may be amended by a simple majority vote of the members of the Council on Teacher Education if the proposed amendment has been circulated among the members of the Council at least one week prior to the meeting at which the amendment is to be considered.