More Resources Updated Guidance  MS Word (50K)

The U.S. Education Department today released an updated version of the guidance on standards for highly qualified teachers to help states and schools comply with the new provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.

The original guidance document was released in June of this year. This update comes in response to requests from state and local officials for clarification of components of the law, and also reflects changes that resulted from the Title I regulations.

The new teacher quality provisions under No Child Left Behind require educators in core academic areas to be licensed by the state, hold a bachelor's degree, and demonstrate competence in their subject area.

The highly qualified teacher requirements took effect in Title I schools for all teachers of core academic subjects hired after the first day of the 2002-2003 school year. All other teachers in core academic areas have until the end of the 2005-2006 school year to comply with the new requirements.

One significant addition in the guidance update is a clarification of the requirements for teachers who are entering the classroom through alternative routes. Another is the impact of the new law on middle school teachers. To meet the highly qualified requirements, middle school teachers must demonstrate competence in all of the academic areas in which they teach.

The guidance document is available at www.ed.gov/programs/teacherqual/guidance.doc.

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