Illinois teachers will have their licenses extended for a year under legislation signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker Thursday.

Part of the General Assembly’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Senate Bill 1569 also allows students to take mandatory tests remotely and provides schools with flexibility in using remote learning methods.

Although schools used remote learning to close out the 2019-2020 school year because of the pandemic, the new law stipulates that schools are allowed to use remote learning during public health emergencies. The law also waives student assessment requirements if the state has received a waiver from the federal government.

For teachers, there is a one-year extension of licenses that are set to expire on June 30. With the state facing an ongoing teacher shortage, the bill also has provisions to make recruitment of educators easier.

Because classroom education was suspended, some schools dispensed with letter grades and instead awarded "pass," "credit," or "satisfactory" designations for successfully completing a course. The law specifies that those designations fulfill the prerequisite requirements for advanced courses.

"Students who worked hard on their classes during unprecedented circumstances should not have to sacrifice that work because they didn’t get a typical letter grade," said Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, D-Shorewood, a principal sponsor of the bill.