No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)
Main
NCLB NYS
Field Memo
#05-2003 (Revised)
Cover Letter
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part A: NCLB Requirements for the HOUSSE
Part B: Teachers Who May Want to Use the
HOUSSE
Part C: New York State’s Definition of the
HOUSSE
Part D: Accountability and Records
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
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Part A
NCLB Requirements for the HOUSSE
| A1. |
What is the “high objective
uniform State standard of evaluation” (HOUSSE)?
NCLB requires all public school teachers of core academic subjects to be “highly qualified” for all the core academic subjects they teach by the end of school year 2005- 2006. To be “highly qualified,” teachers must have a bachelor's degree, be certified for the classes they are teaching (except certain charter school teachers) and demonstrate subject matter competency in all core subjects they teach. The “high objective uniform State standard of evaluation” (HOUSSE) is one option that some teachers can use to demonstrate their subject matter competency. The statutory definition of the HOUSSE appears in Appendix A.
[NCLB 9101(23)(C) and 34 CFR 200.55 and 200.56]
Under the NCLB, core academic subjects are: English, reading or
language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and
government, economics, arts, history and geography. [NCLB
9101(11)]
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| A2. |
Which teachers can use the
HOUSSE?
The NCLB makes the HOUSSE available only to teachers who are “not new
to the profession.” [34 CFR 200.56(c)] The
NCLB permits the states to define “new to the profession” and “not
new to the profession.”
- SED defines “new to the profession” 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 section 2854(3)(a-1) of Education Law, for whom SED defines “new to the profession” as the first year following the date upon which the teacher met the applicable qualification in section 2854(3)(a-1) of Education Law.
- SED defines “not new to the profession” 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 section 2854(3)(a-1) of Education Law, for whom SED defines “new to the profession” as the first year following the date upon which the teacher met the applicable qualification in section 2854(3)(a-1) of Education Law.
For example, a teacher whose first-ever certificate took effect on
September 1, 2003 is “new to the profession” until September 1, 2004,
when the teacher would become “not new to the profession.”
Using these definitions:
- the HOUSSE is not available to teachers in the first year of
their first certification.
- the HOUSSE is available to teachers after the first year of
their first certification.
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| A3. |
What non-HOUSSE options can
teachers use to demonstrate their subject matter competency?
Appendix B summarizes all the options that teachers can use to
demonstrate subject matter competency under the NCLB. Teachers in
the first year of their first certification cannot use the HOUSSE option.
Teachers beyond the first year of their first certification have
different non-HOUSSE options, depending on their teaching assignments.
- Elementary school teachers of core academic subjects --
defined as the teachers of record in pre-kindergarten (K) through
6 common branch classes and in special education classes covering
instructional content at the level of grades K through 6 in
any setting -- have only one non-HOUSSE option, examinations. Those
examinations include either (1) two New York State Teacher
Certification Examinations – the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test
(LAST) and the Assessment of Teaching Skills – Written; or (2) the
NTE Core Battery, which was accepted by SED for certification in the
past.
Please note that not all special education teachers are subject to the
NCLB, as explained in Item B1.
- Middle and secondary school teachers of core academic subjects --
defined as core subject teachers in grades 7 through 12 and teachers
of foreign languages, the arts and reading at all grade levels -- have
five non-HOUSSE options for demonstrating their subject matter
competency, including: (1) passing an appropriate exam in the
subjects; (2) completing a college major in the subjects; (3)
completing coursework equivalent to a major (30 semester hours) in the
subjects; (4) having a graduate degree in the subjects; and (5)
having a New York State permanent or professional certificate in the
subjects.
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