Course Approval Guidance: 

Beginning in the 2026-27 school year

• Teachers will no longer receive retroactive pay for courses approved for salary/lane movement. 

• To receive salary advancement credit, a teacher must earn a grade of B or better. 

• The salary adjustment will follow the transcript filing and associated payroll process dates.

• Official transcripts must be filed according to the following schedule:

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to establish consistent expectations for course and program approval, approved providers, transcript submission, and salary lane advancement in accordance with Article 19 of the BEA Collective Bargaining Agreement and 105 ILCS 5/24-8.2 (Public Act 104-0795 / HB 5321), as applicable to coursework completed on or after July 1, 2026. Course or program approvals granted by the District prior to July 1, 2026, will continue to be recognized to the extent permitted by Article 19 and applicable law. Coursework completed on or after July 1, 2026, remains subject to any statutory requirements applicable at the time of completion, including 105 ILCS 5/24-8.2. 

1. Approved Coursework and Providers

Graduate semester hours may be used for salary schedule placement or horizontal advancement only when they satisfy Article 19 and applicable Illinois law. For licensed classroom teachers covered by the BEA agreement, coursework completed on or after July 1, 2026 must constitute graduate-level, degree-eligible credit offered through a regionally accredited institution of higher education, documented on an official academic transcript, and include an instructor of record as defined by 105 ILCS 5/24-8.2.

To qualify for salary advancement, coursework must:

• Be offered through a regionally accredited institution of higher education.

• Result in graduate-level, degree-eligible credit documented on an official academic transcript and capable of being applied toward a master's degree, education specialist degree, or doctoral degree.

• Include an instructor of record responsible for academic oversight, including instruction, evaluation, and feedback of participant work, and assignment of grades. The instructor must be a credentialed educator holding a master's degree or higher, be academically qualified to teach the continuing education course with demonstrated experience in the applicable content area, provide substantive instructional support throughout enrollment, and evaluate participant work with individualized written feedback aligned to the course objectives. 

• Be directly related to improving professional practice, educational responsibilities, student learning, or expanding educational credentials.

Non-graduate coursework is not eligible for graduate-credit lane advancement under 105 ILCS 5/24-8.2. Consistent with 105 ILCS 5/24-8.2, qualifying continuing education coursework may also include professional development sequences approved by ISBE or an industry-recognized credential, including credentials for career and technical educators, when otherwise eligible for compensation advancement under the applicable agreement 

The District may deny coursework or providers that do not satisfy applicable statutory, contractual, accreditation, documentation, quality, or relevance requirements.

2. Pre-Approval Requirement and KickUp Learning Application Process

Requests for approval of graduate coursework, CTE coursework, or other eligible coursework must be submitted prior to enrollment through the District's KickUp Learning Application.

Employees may submit:

• One application for an approved program of study when multiple courses are part of the same degree, endorsement, certificate, or other approved program; or

• A separate application for each standalone course that is not part of an approved program of study.

The employee is responsible for providing sufficient information and documentation for Human Resources to determine whether the proposed coursework meets District, contractual, and applicable statutory requirements for salary advancement.

A. Creating a Submission in KickUp

From the KickUp Home page:

Your Log → New Event Request

After submission, the request can be found under Out of District Event Requests at the top of the employee's Log.

B. Completing the Application

Complete the following fields:

1. Event Name: Course name and course number.

2. Event Description: Describe the purpose of the course and how it relates to improving professional skills, educational responsibilities, student learning, or professional credentials.

3. Start Date: Beginning date of the course or program.

4. End Date: Anticipated completion date.

5. Total Event Length: Enter the total course length in hours, when available, for District review and documentation purposes.

6. Registration Details: Identify the number of Graduate-Level Credits or applicable CTE Hours/Credits.

7. Location: Identify the college, university, institution, or approved provider.

8. Submission Notes: Enter N/A unless additional information is necessary to support the request.

9. Reimbursement Information: Identify who is responsible for payment: District, Self, or Other.

10. Tags: Select the appropriate course/program category.

C. Required Supporting Documentation

After submitting the request, the employee must upload documentation sufficient for Human Resources to evaluate the proposed coursework.

For graduate coursework submitted for salary advancement, documentation should establish, when applicable:

• The institution or provider;

• Course title, course number, and description;

• Number of graduate credit hours;

• Degree, endorsement, certificate, or program associated with the coursework;

• That the coursework is graduate-level and degree-eligible;

• That the institution meets applicable regional accreditation requirements;

• The instructor of record;

• Course objectives and instructional expectations;

• Methods used to evaluate participant work; and

• Expectations for instructional support and individualized written feedback.

D. Syllabus or Program of Study

For a standalone course, upload the course syllabus or equivalent course documentation.

Approval of a program of study establishes general approval of the identified program but does not independently establish that every course within the program qualifies for salary advancement. Each course ultimately submitted for lane advancement must satisfy the applicable requirements of Article 19 and Section 1 of this procedure. 

Use Upload Files in KickUp to attach the documentation. Uploaded materials will appear in the activity stream on the event page and will be available to the employee and District administrators.

If a syllabus cannot reasonably be obtained during the pre-approval process, the employee may provide:

1. A direct webpage/link to the official course description; and/or

2. Contact information for the instructor, presenter, facilitator, institution, or program representative.

Human Resources may request additional documentation before issuing final approval.

E. HR Review, Comments, and Approval

Employees and District administrators may use the KickUp event comments to request clarification, provide additional documentation, or communicate regarding the application.

Human Resources or the designated District administrator will review the request and will:

• Approve the request;

• Provide provisional approval pending additional documentation; or

• Deny the request when the coursework does not meet District, contractual, or applicable statutory requirements. Any denial shall include the reason for the determination.

Coursework that begins prior to receiving the required approval may not be eligible for salary advancement consideration.

F. Official Transcript and Lane Advancement

Upon completion of approved coursework, the employee must provide an official transcript to Human Resources within the applicable contractual timeline.

Official transcripts may be:

• Emailed to transcripts@district100.com; or

• Mailed to:

  • Belvidere Community Unit School District 100
    1201 5th Avenue
    Belvidere, IL 61008

Salary lane advancement will not be finalized until the District receives and verifies the required official transcript and determines that the completed coursework satisfies the requirements of Section 2 – Coursework Requirements and HB 5321 Compliance.

G. Sharing Professional Learning

Teachers who receive District funding or salary schedule advancement for coursework are encouraged to share relevant takeaways, strategies, and resources with colleagues as part of the District's professional learning community.

This may include sharing with a grade-level or departmental team and/or presenting during a School Improvement (SIP) Day to extend the benefit of the professional learning across the District.

3. Annual Lane Advancement Limitation

To ensure consistent administration of the salary schedule, employees may advance a maximum of two (2) salary lanes during any single school year through approved coursework.

This limitation shall not apply to placement resulting from the completion of an approved program that moves an individual to a designated salary schedule lane. Upon submission of official transcripts or other required documentation, the employee shall be placed on the appropriate salary lane in accordance with the salary schedule.

Any additional approved coursework beyond that required for placement on the designated salary lane shall remain subject to the two-lane annual advancement limitation and shall be applied in subsequent school years.

Employees shall receive full credit for all approved coursework. Coursework not immediately applied due to the annual lane advancement limitation shall be retained and applied toward future salary schedule movement.

4. Salary Placement Corrections

An employee who demonstrates an error in salary schedule placement shall be moved to the correct placement beginning with the next available pay period.

Any compensation adjustment resulting from the correction shall be retroactive only to the beginning of the current school year and subject to approval by the Superintendent or designee.

5. Recordkeeping

Human Resources shall maintain records of:

• Course approval requests

• Approval and denial determinations

• Verification of institutional accreditation and graduate-level degree eligibility, when applicable

• Supporting documentation used to verify instructor-of-record and course requirements under 105 ILCS 5/24-8.2

• Official transcripts

• Salary lane advancement calculations

• Banked coursework eligible for future lane movement

6. Annual Review

Consistent with Article 19, Section 4, representatives designated by the Superintendent or designee and the Association may meet annually to review salary lane advancement procedures and recommend improvements to ensure consistency, transparency, contractual compliance, and compliance with 105 ILCS 5/24-8.2.