No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)

How do the requirements for Title I paraprofessionals apply in “schoolwide” and “targeted assistance” programs?

In “schoolwide” programs, the requirements apply to every paraprofessional providing instructional support services, regardless of the source of funds used to pay for positions. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

In “targeted assistance” programs, the requirements only apply to paraprofessionals with instructional duties who are paid with Title I, Part A funds. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

How do the requirements apply to individuals with both instructional and non-instructional duties?

The requirements apply to individuals with both instructional and non-instructional duties because these individuals have instructional support duties. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

Would a paraprofessional hired on or before January 8, 2002 and currently working in an LEA in a non-Title I program be considered a “new” Title I paraprofessional (and subject to the requirements for “new” paraprofessionals) if that individual is re-assigned to a program supported with Title I funds?

No. A new paraprofessional is one who is newly hired by an LEA. If an individual is working as a paraprofessional in another school in the same district – either in a Title I or non-Title I school – the individual is not considered to be a new paraprofessional, even if the individual transfers to a new school in that district. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

When a Title I paraprofessional is “laid off” and then recalled by the same LEA, is the individual a “new” paraprofessional for NCLB purposes?

No.  Paraprofessionals who are regularly “pink-slipped” at the end of one school year and then rehired at the beginning of the next school year, with the result that they have continuous employment, are deemed “existing” employees, as their initial hiring date is on or before January 8, 2002. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

How do the requirements apply to individuals performing non-instructional duties whose duties are changed to include instructional duties?

The individual would have to have a secondary diploma or its recognized equivalent when the duties were changed. In addition, as an existing employee of the LEA, the individual would have until January 8, 2006 to demonstrate competence through postsecondary education or a formal State or local assessment. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

What are the requirements for Title I paraprofessionals, such as home-school liaisons, whose duties consist solely of parental
involvement activities?

A Title I paraprofessional with duties that consist solely of conducting parental involvement activities must have a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent but does not have to meet the other requirements for Title I paraprofessionals. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

What are the requirements for individuals who serve special education students?

The requirements for individuals who serve special education students differ depending upon the situation.

• The NCLB requirements do not apply to individuals who do not provide any instructional support to special education students (such as individuals who solely provide personal care services). [USDOE 11/15/2002]
  
  
• The NCLB requirements apply to individuals working in Title I targeted assistance programs who have instructional support duties and are paid with Title I funds. [USDOE 11/15/2002]
  
  
• The NCLB requirements apply to individuals working in Title I “schoolwide program” schools who have instructional support duties, without regard to the source of funding that supports the individual's position. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

Do the paraprofessional requirements apply to persons paid with funds under Title I, Part B (Student Reading Skills Improvement Grants), Part C (Education of Migratory Children) or Part D (Programs for Children and Youth who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk)?

The requirements for Title I paraprofessionals do not apply to individuals paid with funds under Title I, Part B (Student Reading Skills Improvement Grants), Part C (Education of Migratory Children) or Part D (Programs for Children and Youth who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk) unless these individuals are working in a “schoolwide school.” [USDOE 11/15/2002]

Once a Title I paraprofessional has met the NCLB's requirements in one LEA, can the paraprofessional be deemed to have met the requirements in another LEA in New York State or in another State?

In its November 15, 2002 non-regulatory draft guidance, the USDOE said that a State might, at its discretion, establish a policy that would permit qualified Title I paraprofessionals to have reciprocity among the LEAs within the State. Reciprocity would be important for Title I paraprofessionals who passed a local assessment in one LEA and subsequently became employed in another LEA.

All Title I paraprofessionals in New York State must be State certified teaching assistants. LEAs do not have discretion to override that requirement.

When a Title I paraprofessional has passed the State assessment for NCLB, the NYSATAS, that individual is “qualified” under the NCLB in all LEAs in New York State. In addition, LEAs may establish their own policies for recognizing NCLB local assessments used by other LEAs in New York State or other states. LEAs may establish recognition and reciprocity policies as they see fit so long as they ensure that all their Title I paraprofessionals meet the NCLB's requirements.

Do the paraprofessional requirements apply to people working in schools as part of the AmeriCorps program?

“The National Community Service Act states that AmeriCorps volunteers are not considered employees of the entities where they are placed (42 U.S.C. 12511 (17B). Unless AmeriCorps volunteers are considered employees under State law, the paraprofessional requirements” in section 1119 of the NCLB “do not apply. However, even though the requirements do not apply, districts should make every effort to ensure that AmeriCorps volunteers who provide instructional support in a Title I program have the skills necessary to assist effectively in instructing reading, writing, and mathematics or reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics readiness, as appropriate.” [USDOE 11/15/2002]

Do the new requirements apply to volunteers?

No. Private individuals frequently volunteer to assist teachers in the classroom and support local schools by performing a variety of tasks for limited periods of time. Since they are not paid employees of a school district, they are not covered by the requirements for Title I paraprofessionals in section 1119 of the NCLB. [USDOE 11/15/2002]

Sometimes early childhood programs, such as birth-to-3 and Head Start programs, or State-funded early childhood programs, are located in buildings housing Title I schoolwide programs.  Do the paraprofessional requirements apply to paraprofessionals working in such early childhood programs?

“The paraprofessional requirements do not apply to individuals working in early childhood programs that are physically located in a Title I school but are not part of the schoolwide program and are not funded with Title I funds -- such as a Head Start program.” [USDOE 11/15/2002]

“However, these requirements do apply to paraprofessionals with instructional duties in Title I-funded early childhood programs. In a targeted assistance school, this means that paraprofessionals with instructional duties paid with Title I funds in an early childhood program would have to meet the requirements…. In a schoolwide program school, all paraprofessionals with instructional duties working in the early childhood program must meet the requirements, regardless of how their salary is funded.” [USDOE 11/15/2002]

Some paraprofessionals work in programs for children ranging in age from Birth to age 20 that are supported by Title I, Part A funds. Are they required to meet the Title I requirements?

“Paraprofessionals in a targeted assistance program paid for by Title I funds or paraprofessionals with instructional duties in a schoolwide school must meet the qualification requirements without regard to the age of the children being served.” See response above regarding early childhood services funded solely with non-Title I funds. [USDOE 11/15/2002]