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Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education - P-16 for the Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Continuing Education and Office of Higher Education
Joseph Frey, Associate Commissioner, Office of Higher Education

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No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)

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NCLB NYS
Field Memo
#02-2004

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

For More Information: nclbnys@mail.nysed.gov

 

Print Field Memo #02-2004 as  PDF or WORD 

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, 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 all classes covering core academic subjects, including, but 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 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 academic subjects;
  • classes in core academic 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 public school teachers of core academic subjects, regardless of whether they are employed by a local education agency (LEA) that receives Title I funds, must be “highly qualified” by the end of school year 2005-2006.
     
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, CVEEB, a State school or a Special Act School District 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 classes in common branch subjects 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 teaching credential (other than a modified 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 modified temporary licenses are acceptable. See Item D1 for a discussion of a limited exception for certain charter school teachers.

**Teachers in an approved Alternative Teacher Certification program are not
required to pass the ATS-W to be “highly qualified” while they are enrolled in the program.
 
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:
  • passing comparable examinations, listed in Item C4 of NCLB NYS Field Memo #09-2003, that qualified them for certification; 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:
  • passing examinations comparable to the CST, listed in Item C6 of NCLB NYS Field Memo #09-2003, that qualified them for certification; 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 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 further information, please refer to NCLB NYS Field Memo #05-2003 (revised in January 2004) 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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