Implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Highly Qualified Teacher & Paraprofessional Requirements

1. Implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Highly Qualified Teacher & Paraprofessional Requirements December 2010

2. State vs. Federal Requirements • STATE licensure:educators must hold the appropriate license for the area they are teaching. • Teachers need to be appropriately licensed in order to be legally employable. Teachers can teach out-of-field for up to 20% of their time without their employment being affected. • STATE renewal (Recertification):educators with a Professional (Standard) license need to renew their license every 5 years through an individual professional development plan. • FEDERAL:NCLB requires all teachers of the core academic subjects (including Title I) to be highly qualified at the time of hire.

3. Responsibility for Highly Qualified • In Massachusetts, the highly qualified teacher (HQT) designation is made at the school/district level and not at the state level. • School district central administration and school principals should work together to: • Inform teachers of the requirements. • Make the highly qualified determination for their teachers. • Provide written documentation to teachers, and maintain on file, the HQT status of all core content teachers. • Help teachers whom still need to meet the requirements. • Assist teachers in understanding the differences between the federal HQT requirements and the state licensure requirements.

4. Who Must Meet the HQ Requirements? • The HQT requirements apply to all core academic teachers employed by the school district, regardless of funding source. • Core academic subjects: • English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts (theater, visual art, dance and music), history, geography.

5. HQT Requirements • In order to be considered HQ, teachers of the core academic subjects must: • Possess a Bachelor’s Degree; and • Possess a Massachusetts teaching license (license can be at the Preliminary, Initial, or Professional level); and • Demonstrate subject matter competency in each of the core academic subjects that the teacher is teaching.

6. Current Options for Demonstrating Subject Matter Competency • NCLB legislation outlines options for demonstrating subject matter competency. • Elementary School Teachers: • Passing the General Curriculum MTEL; OR • Special education and veteran ESL teachers (teachers with at least one year of experience teaching ESL) only: Completion of the Massachusetts HOUSSE plan.

7. Current Options for Demonstrating Subject Matter Competency (cont.) • Middle and Secondary School Teachers: • Passing the MTEL appropriate Subject Matter Test; OR • Completion of an appropriate: academic major, graduate degree, or coursework equivalent to an undergraduate academic major; OR • Advanced certification or credentialing; OR • Special education and veteran ESL teachers only: Completion of the Massachusetts HOUSSE plan.

8. HOUSSE • NCLB allows States to define a High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE) to provide educators with an additional option to demonstrate subject matter competency. • In MA, HOUSSE allows educators to obtain PDPs for purposes of meeting the NCLB HQT subject matter competency requirements. • Currently, special education and veteran ESL teachers can work on HOUSSE plans in demonstrating subject matter competency, so long as the teachers are already HQ in English, reading/language arts, math or science at the time of hire.

9. HOUSSE for Non-Generalist Teachers • Non-generalist teachers: teachers who are licensed to teach a core academic subject or subjects, and who are teaching those subjects. • These teachers would need to complete the 96 content PDPs in the core subject that they teach.

10. HOUSSE for Generalist Teachers • Generalist teachers: licensed in a specific area, but are teaching more than one core academic subject (Elementary, Middle School Generalist, ESL and special education teachers). • PDPs may be flexibly distributed as long as the distribution ensures that the teacher has at least 10 PDPs in each of the core academic subjects that he/she teaches for a total of 96 PDPs across the core subjects included in the plan.

11. Special Education Teachers • Teachers who provide direct instruction in the core academic subjects: • Need to be licensed in special education • Need to demonstrate subject matter competency • Teachers who are serving in a consultative capacity • Need to be licensed in special education • Do not need to demonstrate subject matter competency * Note: Distinction is made based on the role of the individual, and not the setting in which the teacher teaches.

12. Commonwealth Charter School Teachers • The requirements for Charter School teachers include: • Possession of a bachelor’s degree • Demonstration of subject matter competency in each of the areas that they teach. • The licensure component of the highly qualified definition is waived for these teachers, since Massachusetts law does not require Commonwealth charter school teachers to be licensed.

13. Vocational School Teachers • Vocational teachers who teach the core academic subjects need to meet the following highly qualified requirements: • Hold a Bachelor’s degree • Posses a Massachusetts teachers license • Demonstrate subject matter competency in the areas that they teach

14. Certification/Licensure Waivers • The law states that, to be considered highly qualified, the teacher must not have “had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency or temporary basis”. • Massachusetts teachers who are on waivers should not be considered as having met the HQ requirements for purposes of federal goal setting and reporting.

15. Out-of-field Teaching • Massachusetts allows teachers to teach out-of-field for up to 20% of their time. • NCLB requires a teacher to demonstrate “a high level of competency in each of the [core] academic subjects” in which he or she teaches. • A teacher who is teaching out-of-field will not be considered HQ in the out-of-field subject area until he or she has demonstrated subject matter competency in that area.

16. Parent Notification – District Responsibility • Districts that receive Title I, Part A funds are required to notify the parents of students attending any school that receives funds under Title I, Part A that a parent may request, and the district will provide the parent on request, information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teacher(s).

17. Parent Notification – School Responsibility • Schools that receive Title I funding shall provide each individual parent timely notice that the parent’s child has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks, by a teacher who is not highly qualified.

18. Title I Instructional Paraprofessionals • Paraprofessionals in Title I programs who provide instructional support must meet minimum qualification requirements. • Qualification requirements must be met as a condition of employment for instructional paraprofessionals hired after January 8, 2002. • Those hired before January 8, 2002 had until January 8, 2006 to meet the requirements.

19. Title I Instructional Paraprofessionals (cont.) • For school-wide programs, the requirements apply to all paraprofessionals carrying out instructional duties, without regard to how their position is funded. • For targeted assistance programs, the requirements apply to any instructional paraprofessional who is paid with Title I funds. • Title I translators (who are proficient in English and another language), and individuals working on parental involvement activities do not need to meet the requirements.

20. Qualification Requirements • A high school diploma or equivalent; AND • An Associate’s (or higher) degree; OR • Completion of 48 credit hours at an Institution of Higher Education; OR • Completion of one of the formal Massachusetts-endorsed Assessments: Parapro or WorkKeys **Note: Title I paraprofessionals must also work under the direct supervision of a teacher.

21. Formal State Assessment: ParaPro • Multiple choice questions that test knowledge and skills in the area of reading, writing, and mathematics and the ability to assist in instruction in these areas. • Passing score is 464. • Test cost to is $40 per person. • In MA, only a computer-based test available. There is no paper and pencil test as was once reported. If this changes, the Department will inform districts. • School districts must register to administer test. School districts are the only testing sites. • ParaPro Study Guide available on the ETS website (www.ets.org/parapro).

22. Formal State Assessment: WorkKeys • Test consists of Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, Business Writing and an Instructional Support Inventory. • Five participating community colleges (Holyoke, Middlesex, Bunker Hill, Bristol, and Springfield Technical) administer the assessments. • Assessments also can be administered at local schools via a computer or paper and pen based assessment Test cost is $40. • Passing scores: • Reading for Information: Skill Level 5. • Applied Mathematics: Skill Level 4. • Business Writing: Skill Level 3.

23. Additional Information ParaPro http://www.ets.org/parapro WorkKeys http://www.act.org/workkeys/

24. Additional Policy Guidance http://www.doe.mass.edu/nclb/hq

25. HQTHelp@doe.mass.edu Contact Information