J-CAR Allows "Culturally Responsive Teaching" Proposal to Advance

On a party-line vote, the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules Wednesday allowed the State Board of Education to move forward with new rules calling on colleges and universities in the state to change the way prospective teachers and administrators are trained. Proponents say the goal is to make them more accommodating to diverse students.

J-CAR declined to block the new "Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards" from going into effect, despite objections by Republicans who argued the rules would ultimately require licensed teachers and administrators to adhere to a particular political ideology.

Specifically, the new standards, which will take effect in 2025, define a culturally responsive educator as, among other things, one who will "critically think about the institutions in which they find themselves, working to reform these institutions whenever and wherever necessary", as well as one who will "assess how their biases and perceptions affect their teaching practice and how they access tools to mitigate their own behavior."

Amanda Elliott, executive director of legislative affairs for the state board, said the new rules do not change the way licensed teachers or administrators are evaluated, only the way they are trained in schools of education.