Implementation of NCLB’s Highly Qualified Teacher & Paraprofessional Requirements

1. Implementation of NCLB’s Highly Qualified Teacher & Paraprofessional Requirements November 2006

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 to be highly qualified by the end of the 2006-2007 school year. Title I teachers hired after January 2002 need to be highly qualified upon being hired.

3. Responsibility for HQ • NCLB requires the highly qualified designation to be made at the school/district level and not at the state level. • Principals should attest in writing to the HQ status of the teachers within their schools. • School district central administration and school principals should work together to: • Inform teachers of the requirements. • Make the highly qualified determination for their teachers. • Inform teachers of their current status with regard to HQ and help those that still need to meet the requirements. • Assist teachers in understanding the differences between the federal HQ requirements and the state licensure requirements.

4. Who Must Meet the HQ Requirements? • The “highly qualified” teacher 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, history, geography.

5. “Highly Qualified” Requirements • In order to be considered “highly qualified,” teachers of the core academic subjects must: • Possess a Bachelor’s Degree • Possess a Massachusetts teaching license • License can be at the Preliminary, Initial, or Professional level (Equivalent to Provisional, Provisional w/ Advanced Standing and Standard certificates) • Demonstrate Subject Matter Competency in each of the core academic subjects that the teacher is teaching.

6. Options for Demonstrating Subject Matter Competency • NCLB legislation outlines options for demonstrating subject matter competency. • Elementary School Teachers: • Passing the MTEL Elementary Subject Matter Test; OR • Completion of the Massachusetts HOUSSE (an approved Individual Professional Development Plan aligned with HOUSSE requirements). *Only available to educators licensed prior to 1999*

7. Options for Demonstrating Subject Matter Competency • Middle and Secondary School Teachers: • Passing the MTEL appropriate Subject Matter Test; • Completion of an appropriate: academic major, graduate degree, or coursework equivalent to an undergraduate academic major; • Advanced certification or credentialing; OR • Completion of the Massachusetts HOUSSE (an approved Individual Professional Development Plan aligned with HOUSSE requirements). *Only available to educators licensed prior to 1999*

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 “highly qualified” subject matter competency requirements. • A teacher at any level of certification, who was licensed prior to 1999, can use the HOUSSE option to meet the highly qualified requirements, until July 2007 (with the exception of SPED and ELL teachers).

9. HOUSSE Requirements • HOUSSE must contain 120 PDPs in total. • 80% of 120 PDPs (96 PDPs) must focus on the content or pedagogy related to the core academic subject(s) that the teacher teaches. • Implicit expectation is that the content PDPs (96) will be completed by the end of June 2007.

10. Modifications to the MA HOUSSE The USDE has asked that all states phase out the use of HOUSSE. Below is a list of changes for the use of HOUSSE for Elementary and Middle/Secondary schoolteachers. • Districts can no longer count teachers as HQT in the District and School Staffing Report (DSSR) based upon completion of 50% of their content PDPs in their HOUSSE Plans/logs. • Any teacher that was previously counted as HQT, but who has not yet completed their HOUSSE requirements, must have their HQT designation changed to non-HQT until the HOUSSE requirements are fully met. 

11. Modifications to the MA HOUSSE (cont.) • The Department has previously stated that the remaining 50% of the PDPs had to be completed by June 30, 2006.  Since June 30, 2006 has passed, the Department is now requiring that all districts count only those teachers who have completed all of their HOUSSE requirements by October 2, 2006 as HQT. • Effective July 1, 2007, HOUSSE will be completely phased out for all teachers except the specific population of teachers in the shortage areas of English Language Learners and Special Education teachers. The HOUSSE option will enable teachers from these categories to meet the HQT subject matter competency requirements so long as they are highly qualified in language arts, mathematics, or science at the time of hire.

12. 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. • They would add an additional 30 for the other subject(s) that they teach – much like they would do for recertification.

13. 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). • Must distribute 80% of the 120 PDPs across the core academic subjects that they teach. • Distribution should ensure that a teacher has at least 10 PDPs in each core academic subject.

14. Generalist Teachers • To meet HOUSSE requirements, they will have to: • Create a supplemental “log” that documents how they are meeting their HOUSSE requirements. • “Log” will allow teachers to draw PDPs from multiple rounds of recertification dating back to 1999 through the end of 2007 to meet HOUSSE requirements.

15. 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 Distinction is made based on the role of the individual, and not the setting in which the teacher teaches.

16. 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 charter school teachers to be licensed.

17. 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.

18. 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 highly qualified requirements for purposes of federal goal setting and reporting.

19. 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 highly qualified in the out-of-field subject area until he or she has demonstrated subject matter competency in that area.

20. 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).

21. 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.

22. 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, 2002had until January 8, 2006 to meet the requirements.

23. 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.

24. 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 a formal Local Assessment Program that is aligned with DOE Guidelines; OR • Completion of one of the formal Massachusetts-endorsed Assessments: Parapro or WorkKeys **Title I paraprofessionals must also work under the direct supervision of a teacher.

25. Local Assessment Program • Professional Development Program administered at the local level. • Paraprofessionals need to obtain 360 Paraprofessional Training Points (PTPs) in order to meet NCLB requirements. • PTPs are earned for successful completion of a professional development activity (minimum of 10 hours on a topic) with an observable assessment or product.

26. Local Assessment Program • System for PTPs provides points for: • undergraduate and graduate coursework; • school/district-based activities; • previous relevant work experience outside public education; and • previous successful employment as a paraprofessional in a public school. • PTPs should be equally distributed across the literacy, numeracy and instruction domains outlined in the DOE’s Learning Guidelines. • For additional information about PTP Point System and Learning Guidelines, please refer to http://www.doe.mass.edu/nclb/hq/paraprof_policy.pdf

27. 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).

28. 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.

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

30. HQTHelp@doe.mass.edu Contact Information