Effective February 2012, certified teachers in Illinois seeking the Library Information Specialist (LIS) endorsement will have to complete 24 semester hours of coursework – half of which will be required to be taken at the graduate level - and the Library Information Specialist (175) exam. The changes in LIS endorsement requirements will take effect with Public Act 097-0607.
The LIS endorsement prepares state-certified teachers to take positions in school media centers. To see the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) Endorsement Schedule for the February 1, 2012 changes, click here.
Disturbing! Why only half the courses to be graduate level? Trying to dumb down the school librarians, and ultimately, the children they serve? It certainly won’t prepare these folks should they ever want to be a librarian in any other setting – they’d never be hired as a real librarian anywhere else with only half the training under their belt.