FACT SHEET

NCLB Requirements for Teachers and Paraprofessionals

Draft
(Last Revised 9/4/02)

The U.S. Department of Education has issued draft guidance under Title II about teacher and paraprofessional requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and plans to issue additional guidance regularly. This fact sheet reflects guidance we have received to date. Please visit this website frequently, because we will post additional guidance as soon as it becomes available.

Which teachers must meet NCLB requirements?

NEWLY HIRED TEACHERS. Teachers must be "highly qualified" on the first day of school year 2002-2003 if they:

Were hired on or after the first day of school year 2002-2003, defined as each district’s first day of classes for students; and

Teach in a program supported by Title I targeted assistance funds or in a Title I schoolwide program; and

Teach core academic subjects, which include English, reading, language arts, math, the sciences, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, the arts, history and geography.

ALL TEACHERS. Teachers must be "highly qualified" by the end of school year 2005-2006 if they:

Are teaching within the school district served by the local educational agency; and

Teach the core academic subjects listed above.

Which teachers are "highly qualified?"

TEACHERS WITH TEMPORARY LICENSES. Teachers with temporary licenses are not "highly qualified" under either requirement 1 or 2 above. This means that uncertified teachers with temporary licenses assigned to teach core academic subjects in programs or schools supported by Title I (1) cannot be hired on or after the first day of school in school year 2002-2003 and (2) must meet NCLB highly qualified requirements by the end of 2005-2006 if they were hired prior to that date.

Note that, as of September 1, 2003, Regents requirements will prohibit the employment of uncertified teachers with temporary licenses.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS NEW TO THE PROFESSION. Elementary school teachers new to the profession are "highly qualified" if they:

Have a bachelor’s degree; and
Have either a transitional, provisional or permanent Pre-K to Grade 6 certificate; and
Passed a State test of knowledge of the elementary school curriculum, which can be the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST); and
Passed the State test for elementary teaching skills, the Elementary Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (Elementary ATS-W).

MIDDLE AND SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS NEW TO THE PROFESSION. Middle and secondary school teachers new to the profession are "highly qualified" if they:

Have a bachelor’s degree; and
Have a transitional, provisional or permanent Grade 7-12 certificate in the subject(s) they are teaching; and
Demonstrate a high level of competence in the subject(s) they are teaching by either:

Passing a Content Specialty Test in the subject(s); or
Completing an undergraduate major or the equivalent; or
Having a graduate degree; or
Having advanced certification.

We have sought guidance about whether advanced certification can mean a permanent State certificate.

TEACHERS NOT NEW TO THE PROFESSION. Teachers who are not new to the profession are "highly qualified" if they:

Meet the requirements in either 4 or 5 above; or
Meet the requirements in 4 or 5 above by demonstrating competence in the subject(s) they teach through a "high objective uniform State standard of evaluation" which must:

be set by the State for both grade appropriate academic subject matter knowledge and teaching skills;
align with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards and developed in consultation with core content specialists, teachers, principals and school administrators;
provide objective, coherent information about the teacher's attainment of the core content knowledge in the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches;
be applied uniformly to all teachers in the same academic subject and the same grade level throughout the State;
take into consideration, but not be based primarily on, the time the teacher has been teaching in the academic subject;
be made available to the public upon request; and
may involve multiple objectives of teachers’ competencies

The "uniform State standard of evaluation" option could be used to satisfy NCLB requirements for all teachers by 2005-2006. We have sought guidance as to whether professional development provided pursuant to district professional development plans [Section 100.2(o) of the Commissioner’s Regulations] in conjunction with required annual professional performance reviews for teachers [Section 100.2(dd)], would satisfy requirements for a "uniform State standard of evaluation."

CAREER AND TECHNICAL TEACHERS. Career and technical teachers are not considered to be teaching core academic subjects. However, guidance from USDE dated June 6, 2002 states that if a career and technical teacher is teaching a course where a student receives credit in a core academic subject that teacher must meet the definition of "highly qualified." For example, a career and technical teacher who "teaches a course in Applied Physics for which students receive a science credit must hold a four-year degree, be … certified by the State and demonstrate subject matter competency in order to be considered highly qualified." Although the course is taught by a career and technical teacher, "it is counted as a science credit; therefore it is considered a core academic requirement and the teacher must meet the definition of a highly qualified teacher." (page 53)

We will seek further guidance about this issue before the 2005-2006 deadline.

Which paraprofessionals must meet NCLB requirements?

TEACHING ASSISTANTS. Paraprofessionals must meet NCLB requirements if they:

Are certified teaching assistants (who are the only paraprofessionals authorized to assist in instruction under the direction of a certified teacher); and
Work in targeted assistance programs supported by Title I or in school-wide Title I schools; and
Perform activities other than (1) providing translation services or (2) conducting "parental involvement" activities. (These two activities are exempted in NCLB.)

What are the NCLB requirements for paraprofessionals?

NEWLY HIRED TEACHING ASSISTANTS. Teaching assistants hired after January 8, 2002 and working in a program supported with Title I funds, must:

Have a high school diploma; and
Have completed two years of study at an institution of higher education; or
Have an associate's or higher degree; or
Meet a rigorous standard of quality and can demonstrate, through a formal State or local academic assessment, knowledge of, and the ability to assist in, instructing reading, writing and mathematics (or reading readiness, writing readiness and mathematics readiness).

The Regents are requiring all candidates for a teaching assistant certificate after February 1, 2004 to pass a formal State assessment, the Communication and Quantitative Skills Test (CQST), unless they hold a valid teaching certificate. The CQST is expected to be available no later than June 30, 2004. It will meet NCLB requirements by testing candidates’ knowledge of, and ability to assist in, instructing reading, writing and mathematics or instructing for readiness for those subjects. Prior to that date, school districts may use local assessments for teaching assistant candidates who have not completed two years of college study or an associate’s degree to satisfy NCLB requirements. We will provide technical assistance and issue guidance related to local assessments for teaching assistants.

EXISTING TEACHING ASSISTANTS. All existing paraprofessionals hired prior to January 8, 2002 and working in a program supported with Title I funds must meet the requirements listed above no later than January 8, 2006.

DISTRICT ASSURANCES. Districts must require the principal of each school operating a schoolwide or targeted assistance program to attest annually, in writing, as to whether the school is in compliance with paraprofessional certification requirements. Copies of the attestations must be maintained at both the district office and the school and must be available upon request.

What issues remain?

SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS. Will substitute teachers have to satisfy the definition of "highly qualified?"

INCIDENTAL TEACHING. Will the State’s regulation allowing a teacher to teach no more than 20 percent of his/her teaching assignment outside of his/her area of certification be acceptable under NCLB?

SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS. When special education teachers teach academic subjects, will they meet the definition of "highly qualified" if they are fully certified as special education teachers?

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. The U.S. Department of Education has not yet provided detailed guidance on all NCLB reporting requirements for local educational agencies and states.

Please send your questions about this fact sheet
or about NCLB requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals to:
nclbnys@mail.nysed.gov

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