Possible New Teacher Preparation Regulations & the Definition of “Highly Qualified Teacher”

Possible New Teacher Preparation Regulations & the Definition of “Highly Qualified Teacher” Jane E. West Senior Vice PresidentPolicy, Programs & Professional Issues jwest@aacte.org

Teacher Preparation Regulations • Negotiated rulemaking held January – April 2012 • No consensus reached • Regulations would implement Title II of the Higher Education Act and the TEACH grants (a form of federal student financial aid for aspiring teachers)

Teacher Preparation Regulations (cont’d) • State would evaluate every teacher preparation program annually and rate each on a 1-4 rating scale • Only those in a high category (1, possibly 2) would be eligible for federal student financial aid (TEACH grants)

Teacher Preparation Regulations (cont’d) • K-12 student learning outcomes, value-added • Annual employer and graduate surveys • Employment outcome – place of employment, retention • Professional accreditation of program or state approval that includes clinical preparation, candidate qualifications and pedagogical and content skills of graduate • Value-added would carry the most weight

Big Concern for K-12 • The language used in the NCLB waivers would be in these regulations requiring states to develop assessments in all non-tested grades and subjects • For the first time this language would appear in a binding policy framework – a regulation. It currently does not exist in either statute or regulation

Other Concerns • Criteria not documented to be valid and reliable measures of program effectiveness • Impossible to implement • Students won’t know from year to year if they are eligible for financial aid • States have no capacity to implement • Higher education has no capacity to gather data • Violates statutory authority which gives state program evaluation authority • Represents major policy shift better suited for reauthorization • Makes state arbiter of student aid eligibility – precedent setting • Disproportionate impact on minority serving institutions and programs that prepare teachers for high needs schools & fields

Next Steps • Vigilance and education • Higher Education Task Force on Teacher Preparation • Generate robust response from the field

Definition of a “Highly Qualified” Teacher • 2010 Appeals Court Decision (Renee v. Duncan) found that NCLB regulations violated the statute • Decision said “teachers in training” should not be considered highly qualified • Congress attached a rider to an appropriations bill overturning the ruling • The provision is set to expire

Definition of a “Highly Qualified” Teacher (cont’d) • The Coalition for Teaching Quality (CTQ) formed to challenge the provision – 89 education, disability, civil rights, higher education groups – ACE, AAPD, CEC, Easter Seals, NCLD, HECSE, TED, NAACP, School Principals groups, NCTM, NCTE, NEA, National PTA, Rural School and Community Trust, TESOL, Native Americans, Latino groups, state and local organizations • The vehicle for possible extension is the FY 2012 Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill • The Senate version does not include the provision • The House version extends the provision for 2 more years

Definition of a “Highly Qualified” Teacher (cont’d) • CTQ effort to add data collection, parental notification to the amendment • Aggressive lobbying by TFA and allies (Great City Schools, NCTQ, Eli Broad, Chiefs for Change, Democrats for Education Reform, Fordham Institute, New Schools Venture Fund, Relay Graduate School of Education) • Respond to alerts; communicate with policy makers; educate your colleagues

And remember… If you are not at the table, you are probably on the menu.

Possible New Teacher Preparation Regulations & the Definition of “Highly Qualified Teacher”