No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
Main
NCLB NYS
Field Memo
#01-2005
Cover letter
Introduction
Part A NCLB Requirements for "Highly Qualified"
Teachers
Part B NCLB Requirements for "Qualified" Title I
Paraprofessionals
Part C NCLB Accountability System for Teachers and
Title I Paraprofessionals
Part D NCLB Requirements for Charter Schools and
Non-public Schools
Part E NCLB Parents Right to Know Requirements
Part F Links to Further Information
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Part A. NCLB Requirements for "Highly
Qualified" Teachers
A1. All public school teachers of "core academic subjects"
must:
-
meet New York State certification standards for each teaching
assignment (with the exception for certain charter school teachers discussed
in Item D1); and
-
be "highly qualified" as defined by the NCLB by the end of
school year 2005-2006 unless extended deadlines apply, as explained in Item
A5 of this Fact Sheet.
A2. Public schools whose teachers are subject to the
NCLB include schools in school districts, Boards of Cooperative Educational
Services (BOCES), County Vocational Education and Extension Boards (CVEEB),
charter schools, the State schools at Batavia and Rome and Special Act School
Districts defined in section 4001 of the Education Law.
A3. "Core academic subjects" for the NCLB are English,
reading, language arts, mathematics, science, history, geography, economics,
civics and government, foreign languages and the arts. In New York State, the
arts include the visual arts, dance, music, theater - including public speaking
- and drama.
A4. The NCLB applies to teachers of record in classes
that cover "core academic subjects" in grades Kindergarten (K) through 12. This
includes, but is not limited to:
-
classes in common branch subjects in grades K through 6;
-
classes in "core academic subjects" in grades 7 through 12;
-
the arts, foreign language and reading in grades K through
12;
-
Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes that students
may use for academic credit in "core academic subjects";
-
classes in "core academic subjects" taught in languages other
than English;
-
classes in "core academic subjects" in alternative education
programs; and
-
"special classes" with specially designed instruction for
students with disabilities with K-12 instructional content in "core academic
subjects."
Teachers who are not teachers of record for "core academic subjects"
in grades K through 12 must meet State certification requirements.
A5. NCLB deadlines for teachers to be "highly qualified"
are as follows.
-
Teachers of "core academic subjects" who are hired after the
first day of class in school year 2002-2003 and who are "supported by Title
I, Part A funds" must be "highly qualified" when hired.
-
All other public school teachers of "core academic subjects,"
regardless of whether they are employed by an LEA that receives Title I funds,
must be "highly qualified" by the end of school year 2005-2006.
There are extended deadlines for a limited number of teachers
of multiple "core academic subjects." The U.S. Secretary of Education extended
deadlines for selected teachers of multiple core academic subjects in eligible
rural LEAs. For further information, please refer to NCLB NYS Field Memo #04-2004,
available at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/nclb042004.htm
.
A6. A teacher "supported by Title I, Part A funds" is
employed by an LEA receiving Title I, Part A funds and:
-
works in a "targeted assistance school" and is paid with Title
I, Part A funds; or
-
works in a "schoolwide program school"; or
-
provides services to eligible private school students.
NOTE: BOCES, CVEEBs, the State schools at Batavia and Rome and
Special Act School Districts are not LEAs receiving Title I, Part A funds. Therefore,
their teachers have until the end of school year 2005-2006 to become "highly
qualified."
A7. The definition of "highly qualified" depends on a
teacher's teaching assignments and "newness" to the profession of teaching.
-
Teaching assignments are either:
-
elementary, defined as grades K-6 in common branch
subjects; or
-
middle and secondary, defined as grades 7-12 and
the arts, foreign languages and reading at all grade levels.
-
"Newness" to the profession of teaching is either:
-
new to the profession, defined as the first year
following the effective date of a teacher's first teaching certificate,
except with respect to charter school teachers who are not certified as
permitted by Education Law § 2854(3)(a-1); or
-
not new to the profession, defined as after the first
year following the effective date of a teacher's first teaching certificate,
except with respect to charter school teachers who are not certified as
permitted by Education Law § 2854(3)(a-1).
The first year of a teacher's first certification ends on the
first anniversary of the effective date of a teach's first teaching credential
from any jurisdiction. Please refer to Item Der2 for definitions of "new" and
"not new" to the profession for teachers in charter schools who are not certified
as permitted by Education Law § 2854(3)(a-1).
A8. Elementary teachers who are new to the profession
(in the first year of their first certification) are "highly qualified"
if they:
-
have a bachelor's or higher degree; and
-
meet State certification standards* for their teaching assignments;
and
-
demonstrate subject knowledge and teaching skills by passing
two New York State Teacher Certification Examinations: the Liberal Arts and
Sciences Test (LAST) and the Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W).
**
*See Item A12 for further information about meeting State certification
standards.
**Teachers in an approved alternative teacher preparation programs
are not required to pass the ATS-W to be "highly qualified" while they are enrolled
in the program.
A9. Elementary teachers who are not new to the profession
(beyond the first year of their first certification) are "highly qualified"
if they meet the qualifications in A8 but they have two additional options for
demonstrating their subject knowledge and teaching skills:
-
passing examinations comparable to the LAST and ATS-W that
qualified them for certification or licensure. A complete list of comparable
examinations appears in Item C4 of NCLB NYS Field Memo #09-2003, available
at http://www.highered.nysed.gov/nclb09-2003c.htm
; or
-
passing the high objective uniform State standard of evaluation
(HOUSSE), defined in Item A13 of this Fact Sheet.
A10. Middle and secondary teachers who are new to
the profession (in the first year of their first certification) are "highly
qualified" if they:
-
have a bachelor's or higher degree; and
-
meet State certification standards* for their teaching
assignments; and
-
demonstrate subject matter competency for each core subject
they teach with one of the following:
-
passing a New York State Teacher Certification Examination
(NYSTCE) Content Specialty Test (CST) in the subject or passing a multi-subject
CST that includes the subject; or
-
completing an undergraduate major in the subject; or
-
completing coursework equivalent to a major (30 credits)
in the subject; or
-
having a New York State permanent certificate in the subject;
or
-
having a graduate degree in the subject.
*See Item A12 for further information about meeting State certification
standards.
A11. Middle and secondary teachers who are not new
to the profession (beyond the first year of their first certification) are
"highly qualified" if they meet the qualifications in A10 but they have two
additional options for demonstrating their subject matter competency:
-
passing examinations comparable to the CST, listed in Item
C6 of NCLB NYS Field Memo #09-2003, available at
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/nclb09-2003c.htm
, that qualified them for certification or licensure; or
-
passing the HOUSSE, defined in Item A13.
A12 State certification standards are met for NCLB purposes
under the following conditions.
-
All subject-appropriate and grade-appropriate credentials
are acceptable for a teaching assignment except (1) modified temporary
licenses and (2) internship certificates held by individuals who have not
passed all applicable certification exams.
-
State certification standards are met when teachers are doing
approved "incidental teaching" or are teaching in accordance with an approved
experiment in organizational change, as provided in sections 80-5.3 and 80-5.12
of the Commissioner's Regulations, which are available online at
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/regulations.htm
.
See Item D1 of this Fact Sheet for a discussion of certification
for teachers in charter schools.
A13. In New York State, the HOUSSE is an evaluation conducted
by an LEA after August 1, 2003 as part of (1) a pre-employment review or (2)
an Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR), as required by section 100.2(o)
of the Commissioner's Regulations, that enables teachers beyond the first year
of their first certification to demonstrate that they have subject matter competency
in each "core academic subject" they teach based on "objective, coherent information"
acceptable to the Commissioner. LEAs should maintain records on each teacher's
local evaluation for the HOUSSE for at least six years from the end of the last
school year in which a teacher is employed. For the latest information and latest
HOUSSE rubric, please refer to NCLB NYS Field Memo #05-2003 (January 2004) and
Addendum #1 (August 2004), available at
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/nclbhome.htm
.
A14. The NCLB does not apply to substitute teachers.
However, when students in a school receiving Title I, Part A funds are assigned,
or taught for four or more consecutive weeks by, a substitute teacher who is
not "highly qualified," the NCLB's parental notification requirements apply,
as explained in Part E. Also, substitute teachers must meet State requirements
in Part 80-5.4 of the Commissioner's Regulations, available online at
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/part80.htm#5.4
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