Student Appeals Process in Teacher Education

Teacher education students have a number of rights and responsibilities relative to admission, retention, and recommendation for certification as described in the Rights and Responsibilities website. If a student believes that their rights have been inappropriately or incorrectly denied or abridged, the student should first try to reach an agreement through informal discussions with the instructor or department chair. Where informal recourse fails, the student may contact their content area department for additional appeal rights and explanation. 

After a 3rd unresolved PER/disposition concerns, which causes removal from the program, the student has the right to appeal to the  Teacher Education Review Board (which is comprised of the Executive Board of the Council for Teacher Education).  The Bylaws of the Council for Teacher Education stipulate that the Teacher Education Review Board (TERB) will review cases of students having complaints concerning admission, retention, and evaluation of progress toward licensure in teacher education programs. If the student wishes to carry the appeal beyond the Teacher Education Review Board, the student can appeal to the full Council for Teacher Education. The process for initial and second appeal are described below.

Guidelines for Submitting Initial Teacher Education Student Appeal

If a student would like to file a formal appeal of an act or decision that they believe has denied or abridged their rights (as described in the Rights and Responsibilities website), they do so by submitting a written appeal within 30 days of the act or decision that is  being challenged. The written appeal should be submitted to the Director of the Lauby Teacher Education Center, Dr. Monica Noraian. Prior to submitting the written appeal, the student is strongly encouraged to schedule an appointment with Dr. Noraian to discuss the situation, review the process,  confirm the steps that have already been taken, and determine the steps necessary to complete the initial appeal process.  The student should contact Ms. Kelly Brown to schedule an appointment with Dr. Noraian. 

The written appeal should:

• Clearly state the act or decision  being challenged
• Clearly state why the act or decision  is unauthorized or unjust
• Briefly describe  the student’s attempts to reach an agreement through informal discussions with the involved parties
• Be word processed
• Be signed and dated
• Include the student’s local address and phone number
• Be concise and specific, with names and dates wherever relevant and possible

Along with the letter of appeal, the student may include additional information in support of the appeal  such as, but not limited to, the following: documents from advisors, supervisors or department personnel, letters or statements from those directly involved in the situation, transcripts of interviews, and other supporting evidence that would help clarify the student's position.

Initial Hearing / Review through TERB

The Director of the Lauby Teacher Education Center will forward the student appeal to the Teacher Education Review Board. The Teacher Education Review Board will review the appeal and render a decision within 30 school days of the Director of the Lauby Teacher Education Center’s initial receipt of the appeal. The decision will include whether the TERB agrees that the student’s right and/or responsibility was inappropriately or incorrectly denied or abridged and the remedy  (i.e. readmission, new clinical placement, recommendation for licensure). Upon receipt of the decision of the TERB, the student may submit an appeal to the full Council for Teacher Education.

Guidelines for submitting appeal to the Council for Teacher Education

Students may seek a full review of the Teacher Education Review Board Decision by appealing to the Council for Teacher Education.  The appeal to the Council for Teacher Education will serve as a final review  of decisions made by the Teacher Education Review Board. 

The Council for Teacher Education will make one of following decisions relative to the student's appeal :

• approve the student's request, thereby overruling the Teacher Education Review Board’s decision
• deny the student's request, thereby affirming the Teacher Education Review Board’s decision
   

Students have the right to be supported by legal counsel or accompanied by another individual of the student’s choosing. Legal counsel or the accompanying representative may not speak on behalf of the student  but  may be there to advise the student. If the student  brings legal counsel,  University legal counsel  may be present as well. 

To properly appeal the decision of the Teacher Education Review Board, students must submit a written appeal  to the Chair of the Council for Teacher Education at councilforteachered@ilstu.edu . The appeal must be submitted within 10 business days following the date of the Teacher Education Review Board decision. The student must indicate in writing whether he or she will be bringing legal counsel. The chair of the Council for Teacher Education (CTE) will schedule a date and time for the committee to meet to hear the appeal. A date of a regularly scheduled Council for Teacher Education meeting will be selected for the hearing.

The student and the chair/director of the impacted department/school will be notified of the hearing date and time and will be asked to submit information in writing regarding the appeal  by a specified date which addresses the specific issue or issues for appeal. The impacted chair/director may delegate a designee to prepare the written response regarding the complaint on behalf of the department/school. As part of the information provided to CTE, the Teacher Education Review Board may be requested to  submit a written rationale for its decision. Prior to the hearing, the student and the department/school represented (chair/director and/or designee) will be provided copies of all the information which each have submitted to CTE for the appeal.

For detailed information regarding the format for the Council for Teacher Education hearing, the complainant should contact the dean's office in the College of Education.