IL HB4117

Amends the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act to explicitly include the Department of Juvenile Justice School District as a location where teachers prepared under the program will teach.

Establishes the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative to recruit and prepare parent and community leaders and paraeducators to become teachers in hard-to-staff schools serving low-income students.

Requires preparation through accredited bachelor's degree programs in teaching that meet requirements for securing an Illinois initial teaching certificate.

Sets a goal of adding 1,000 teachers to low-income, hard-to-staff Illinois schools by 2016 with an average retention period of 7 years (compared to current 2.5 years for new teachers in such areas).

Aims to increase teacher diversity based on race, ethnicity, and disability status.