All Educators Now Must Be ‘Highly Qualified’

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (2001), which is the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was signed into law by President Bush on January 8, 2002. NCLB requires all elementary, middle, and secondary teachers (grades 6–12) to be highly qualified. Middle school (grades 6–8) and secondary teachers (grades 7–12) must be highly qualified in each of the core academic subjects to which they are assigned to teach.

To read the Michigan definition of highly qualified teachers, go to www.michigan.gov/mde, click on State Board of Education in the upper left corner of the page, and then click on Policies. There are also “Highly Qualified FAQs,” a “Highly Qualified SBE Policy,” and a “Highly Qualified Teacher Worksheet” located at www.michigan.gov/cepi within the State of Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance & Information (CEPI).

What the Law Means
In order for elementary, middle school, and high school educators to meet the highly qualified requirements of NCLB, teachers must meet one of the following conditions:

• Hold at least a bachelor’s degree and full state certification and have a major in the content/subject they are assigned to teach. If they are teaching a content/subject related to their minor area of study, they must have passed a rigorous state test in the content/subject.
• Hold a master’s or higher degree in the content/subject.
• Have completed the equivalent of a major in the content/subject (30 semester hours).
• Hold National Board Certification in appropriate content and at the appropriate development level or meet a high objective uniform state-standard evaluation.

Highly Qualified Requirements for Michigan Teachers
Meeting NCLB’s requirements for highly qualified through the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) differs depending upon grade level taught. For example, all middle and secondary teachers who have taken and passed the MTTC basic skills and subject area examinations are considered highly qualified.

Elementary teachers, on the other hand, are considered highly qualified under NCLB whether they took the MTTC exam or not. Educators of grades K–5 are considered highly qualified because the elementary preparation is the equivalent to an academic major.

All middle and secondary teachers who did not take the MTTC but are assigned to teach in their academic major(s) are considered “highly qualified” for that content/subject.

Highly Qualified Requirements for the Special Education Field
Not all educators in the field of special education are required to meet NCLB’s highly qualified requirements. Special education teachers who teach core academic subjects (English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography) must meet highly qualified requirements.

Those in the special education field not required to meet NCLB’s highly qualified requirements include teacher consultants; resource room teachers who do not teach core academic subjects for a grade or credit; and special education teachers team teaching in a general education classroom, whether they give the grade or not for that team taught class.

Finally, special educators teaching to alternate achievement standards only need to meet the highly qualified elementary requirements.

Paraprofessionals Also Must Meet Highly Qualified Requirements
In addition to teachers, all paraprofessionals must meet highly qualified requirements under NCLB. To start, all Title I paraprofessionals must have a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent.

Additionally, except as noted below, paraprofessionals hired after January 8, 2002 and working in a program supported with Title I, Part A funds must meet the following requirements: completed two years of study at an institution of higher education; or obtained an associate’s (or higher) degree; or met a rigorous standard of quality and be able to demonstrate, through a formal state or local academic assessment, knowledge of and the ability to assist in instructing, reading, writing, and mathematics (or, as appropriate, reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics readiness).

Paraprofessionals hired on or before January 8, 2002, and working in a program supported with Title I, Part A funds must meet these requirements by January 8, 2006.

Finally, paraprofessionals who only serve as translators, or who only conduct parental involvement activities, must have a secondary school diploma or its equivalent but do not have to meet the additional requirements.

Source: NCLB Title I Paraprofessionals: Non Regulatory Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/paraguidance.doc.

For more information, contact: Michigan Department of Education/Office of Professional Preparation Services, www.michigan.gov/mde. Select “Programs and Services” then “Professional Preparation” or contact: Dr. Frank Ciloski, Michigan Department of Education, Supervisor, Office of Professional Preparation Services, (517) 373-6791, ciloskif@michigan.gov.