Illinois Teacher Licensure Guide for Online Master's Students

Who Licenses Teachers in Illinois, and Which Exams Does It Use?

Illinois licenses teachers through Illinois State Board of Education, and the exams it requires are the ILTS, the Illinois Licensure Testing System.

For the programs themselves, the online master's in education programs at universities in Illinois are ranked at the in-state price, and the national and specialty lists cover schools in other states.

How Do I Get an Illinois Teaching License With an Online Master's?

An online master's leads to an Illinois teaching license by way of the Professional Educator License, which ISBE requires of teachers in public schools, with a teaching endorsement attached for the grade span and subject. A program completed in another state is covered by Option 2 on ISBE's teaching endorsement page.

That option asks for a bachelor's degree or higher, proof of a comparable approved program on ISBE Form 77-41A, verified student teaching, coursework in methods of teaching exceptional children, reading methods, content area reading and methods of teaching English learners, and a content test. Our elementary education and special education rankings cannot tell you whether a program supplies the methods courses.

Which Exams Does Illinois Require for Teacher Licensure?

Illinois requires ILTS content tests for teacher licensure, and since Public Act 103-0846 a candidate in a traditional or apprenticeship program must pass the content test before receiving the Professional Educator License, rather than before student teaching. Scores must be sent from Pearson, and ISBE asks you to allow up to four weeks for them to arrive.

The edTPA performance assessment is waived through August 31, 2029 under Public Act 104-0128, the same testing page says. Illinois runs its own Illinois Licensure Testing System, not Praxis, and language proficiency tests are registered separately from the content tests.

Can I Transfer a Teaching License to Illinois From Another State?

ISBE grants reciprocity to out-of-state educators, so a teaching license from another state transfers to Illinois as a Professional Educator License when ISBE finds it valid and comparable. Option 1 on the teaching page asks for a copy of that license, a bachelor's degree transcript and passing content test evidence. An applicant who passed a content test at initial licensure in another state files Form 77-41B instead of retesting.

ISBE alone decides equivalency under its Part 25 rules and may ask for more documents. The 2020 comparison by the Education Commission of the States recorded full reciprocity for Illinois, with extra coursework and assessments for some teachers, and today's content test and methods courses are where those extras appear.

Does NC-SARA Membership Cover Teacher Licensure for Illinois Online Master's Students?

ISBE, not NC-SARA, decides teacher licensure for Illinois online master's students: membership, which Illinois has held since July 2015, covers a school's authority to offer online programs, and SARA does not address professional licensing board approval for teacher education.

What SARA does demand is a statement from the school on whether its program meets licensure requirements in your state. ISBE's own paper test of that statement is its program-completion forms, 77-41A for teachers and 80-02 or 80-02S for administrators and school support personnel, which an out-of-state completer submits.

What Should I Ask an Online Program Before Enrolling From Illinois?

An online program must tell you in writing, before you enroll from Illinois, whether its curriculum meets Illinois requirements: 34 CFR 668.43 compels a school that advertises licensure preparation to list qualifying and non-qualifying states and to give notice ahead of enrollment if yours falls short or was never assessed.

Illinois items to raise: is it an approved program in its own state, will it document completion on ISBE's forms, does the coursework include the four methods areas, does a principal or counselor program include an internship, and which ILTS test does it prepare you for?

Which License Do Illinois Principals and School Counselors Need?

Illinois principals and school counselors need the Professional Educator License with a Principal or School Counselor endorsement, both for Pre-K through age 22, and a master's degree or higher either way. A principal reciprocity applicant sends a comparable license, the master's and a passing content test.

The program route, Form 80-02, adds an approved preparation program, an internship or equivalent experience and the four methods areas. A school counselor follows a similar pattern under Form 80-02S, and holders of certain valid IDFPR licenses are waived from the content test in the same area. An online master's in educational leadership or school counseling has to deliver those pieces.