No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
Main NCLB NYS
Field Memo
#02-2003
Cover Letter
Introduction
Part A “Highly Qualified” Teachers
Part B “Qualified” Title I Paraprofessionals
Part C Accountability System for Teachers and Title I Paraprofessionals
Part D Charter Schools and Non-public Schools
Part E Parents Right to Know
Part F Links to Further Information
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Part A
“Highly Qualified” Teachers
A1.
The NCLB requires all public school teachers of core academic subjects to be both:
- certified by New York State for each teaching assignment (with the exception for certain charter school teachers discussed in Item D1); and
- “highly qualified” as defined by the NCLB by the deadlines in the NCLB.
A2. Public schools whose teachers are subject to the NCLB include: schools in school districts, BOCES, charter schools and the State schools at Batavia and Rome.
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, including art, dance, music, public speaking, theater, drama.
A4. The NCLB applies to all classes covering core academic subjects, including, but not limited to:
- common branch classes in grades K through 6;
- core subject classes 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 subjects;
- classes in core subjects taught as “incidental teaching” as permitted
by section 80-5.3 of the Commissioner’s Regulations;
- classes in core subjects taught in languages other than English;
- special education classes with K-12 instructional content in core subjects;
- classes of core subjects in alternative education programs.
A5. There are two deadlines for teachers to be “highly qualified.”
- Teachers of core academic subjects hired after the first day of class in
school year 2002-2003 and “supported by Title I, Part A funds” must be
“highly qualified” when hired.
- All other teachers of core academic subjects, regardless of whether their
local education agency (LEA) receives Title I funds, must be “highly
qualified” by the end of school year 2005-2006, because New York State
receives Title I, Part A funds.
A6.
A teacher “supported by Title I, Part A funds” is employed by a
local educational agency (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: Teachers of core academic subjects employed by a BOCES or a State
school are not employed by an LEA receiving Title I, Part A funds. Therefore,
such teachers do not need to be “highly qualified” until the end of school
year 2005-2006.
A7. The definition of “highly qualified” depends on a teacher’s
teaching assignments and “newness” to the profession of teaching.
- Teaching assignments are either:
1. elementary, defined as grades K-6 common branch and special education that covers core subjects at the instructional level of grades K-6; or
2. middle and secondary, defined as grades 7-12 and teachers of arts, foreign languages and reading at all grade levels.
- “Newness” to the profession of teaching is either:
1. 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
2. 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 teacher’s first ever teaching
credential (other than a temporary license).
Please refer to Item D2 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 school 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
- have a NYS certificate* 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).**
* All credentials except temporary licenses are acceptable. See Item D1 for a
discussion
of a limited exception for certain charter school teachers.
**Teachers in approved Alternative Teacher Certification Programs are
not required to pass the ATS-W to be “highly qualified”.
A9. Elementary school 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:
-
other tests accepted by SED when their certificates were issued; or
- the high objective uniform State standard of evaluation (HOUSSE), defined in A12.
A10. Middle and secondary school 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
- have a New York State certificate* for their teaching assignments; and
- demonstrate subject matter competency for
all core subjects they teach
with one of the following:
-
a New York State Teacher Certification Examination (NYSCTE) Content Specialty Test (CST) in the
subjects; or
-
an undergraduate major in the subjects;
-
coursework equivalent to a major (30 credits) in the subjects; or
-
a New York State permanent or professional certificate in the subjects; or
-
a graduate degree in the subjects.
* All credentials except temporary licenses are acceptable. See Item D1 for a discussion of a limited exception for certain charter school teachers.
A11. Middle and secondary school 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:
-
other tests accepted by SED when their certificates were issued; or
-
the high objective uniform State standard of evaluation (HOUSSE), defined in A12.
A12. In New York State, the high objective uniform State standard
of evaluation (HOUSSE) is an evaluation conducted by a local educational
agency after June 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 further
information, please refer to NCLB NYS Field Memos that will be issued
after April 2003 at
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/nclbhome.htm.
A13. 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. (See Part E.) Also, substitute teachers must meet State requirements in Part 80-5.4 of the Commissioner’s Regulations. Please see
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/part80.htm#5.4
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