HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER REQUIREMENTS FOR ESEA AND IDEA

HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER REQUIREMENTS FOR ESEA AND IDEA J U L I A F A L L O N, D E B B I E P A R R I O T T, P AT S M I T H S O N & H I S A M I Y O S H I D A O F F I C E O F S U P E R I N T E N D E N T O F P U B L I C I N S T R U C T I O N ( O S P I )

WHERE DID HQT ORIGINATE? The Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) of 2001, Section 1199(a)(1). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. The term HQT is used in both federally legislated programs. HQT requirements apply to all teachers who provide instruction in core academic subjects. Districts are expected to meet the HQT requirements AND follow all state assignment rules.

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT The Elementary and Secondary Education Act established the expectation that all teachers be highly qualified. The Highly Objective Uniform State Standards of Evaluation (HOUSSE) is a way of documenting content experience for individual teachers who are not new to the profession. The Point-Based HOUSSE form was launched in 2005. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education strongly encouraged OSPI to limit the use of the HOUSSE form in all areas with the exception of special education. The effective date for limiting district use of the Points-Based HOUSSE is August 31, 2014 (010-14M).

ESEA HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER REQUIREMENTS Have at least a bachelor s degree, and Hold full state certification, and Demonstrate subject matter knowledge and teaching skill in each core academic subject(s) in which the teacher is assigned to teach.

CORE ACADEMIC SUBJECTS English Language Arts Visual Arts Reading Music Mathematics Dance Science Theatre World Languages Civics/Government, Economics, History, Geography Elementary Curriculum

DEMONSTRATE SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: ELEMENTARY LEVEL ESEA Elementary - (K-5 or K-6) Pass a State Test NES Test in Elementary Education Subtest 1: Reading, English Language Arts and Social Studies (Test Code 102) Subtest 2: Math, Science, Arts, Health & Fitness (Test Code 103)

DEMONSTRATE SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: SECONDARY LEVEL - ESEA Pass a state test WEST E or NES Test Have a Washington Subject Area Endorsement, or Academic major, or Graduate degree in core academic subjects, or National Board Certification in the subject taught, or Coursework equivalent to an academic major (45 quarter credits or 30 semester credits)..

SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS Special Education is a program Special Education is NOT an academic subject

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER REQUIREMENTS All special education teachers must meet general IDEA and ESEA HQT requirements. Hold at least a bachelor s degree, and Obtain full state special education certification/licensure Special Education Endorsement or Pre-87 (Unendorsed)Certificate, and When a special education teacher is assigned to teach a core academic subject, the teacher must meet ESEA highly qualified teacher requirements.

SPECIAL EDUCATION EXCEPTION After August 31, 2014, districts may only use a revised version HOUSSE form to document content expertise in core academic subject areas for special education teachers. The revised HOUSSE form should be used for special education teachers from Sept.1.2014 forward. It is also available in the HQT tool.

FROM WAAS TO WA-AIM In previous years, the alternate assessment was called the WAAS Portfolio. Starting with the 2014-15 school year, the only alternate assessment available in Washington state is called the Washington Access to Instruction and Measurement (WA-AIM). This test measures knowledge and skills of students with significant cognitive challenges (1% of sped pop.)

SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS All special education teachers are required to meet the ESEA HQT requirements. The only exception is for special education teachers who serve in a consultative role. Consultative teachers who do not work directly with students do not need to meet the HQT requirements

SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS Teachers with students not assessed on the WA-AIM must meet the requirements at the age appropriate level of the student, not the performance level. (The same as a general education teacher.)

Title I Teachers

TITLE I AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED The current district obligation is that all teachers meet the highly qualified requirements. All teachers assigned to Title I school wide or targeted assistance programs are required to be highly qualified at time of placement (ESEA 2001, 1114 (b)(1)(c) and 115 (c)(1)(e) ). Districts that fail to meet the federal HQT requirements place their Title I and Title IIA funds in jeopardy. Individual Teacher Plans are not an acceptable substitute for highly qualified status in a Title I school.

Substitute Teachers

SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS Substitute teachers must meet HQT requirements if they are employed for 4 consecutive weeks, whether or not they are in a school that receives Title I funds. Substitute teachers may be in one of two assignment situations: 1. Substitute, or Emergency Substitute 2. Full state certification and endorsed

SUBSTITUTES CONT. Substitute certificate holders are eligible to teach in a single teaching assignment a maximum of 30 consecutive days, but they must meet HQT if assigned 20 consecutive days in a single assignment. Emergency substitute certificates do not meet the criteria of full state certification and, therefore a teacher with this certificate would not be able to meet HQT requirements. Endorsed substitutes teachers must meet HQT requirements if employed 20 consecutive days in a single assignment. Long Term substitute s (20 days or more in a single assignment) will be reported in CEDARS and are expected to meet HQT requirements.

Traditional Alternative Education Teachers

TRADITIONAL ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS Provide alternative forms of instruction to students in the regular school setting. Teachers may provide instruction in multiple core subjects. Instruction may also include online courseware. All teachers in this educational setting must meet HQT requirements at the time of placement.

Alternative Learning Experience Teachers (ALE)

ALTERNATIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS Include educational experiences that are characterized by learning activities that occur away form the regular classroom setting. Teachers in ALE programs must meet HQT requirements when teaching core academic subject area courses. Teachers who are assigned to teach such courses in an ALE program must meet HQT requirements through the pathways available to all other teachers. Teacher of record is no longer a valid pathway for meeting HQT requirements.

Online Learning

ONLINE LEARNING Teachers of online courses in core academic areas must meet the HQT requirements. The only exception is for online courseware used for credit retrieval in a traditional, comprehensive high school where the teacher is not providing instruction. Districts who provide instruction via online courseware, must also provide a highly qualified teacher and report that teacher in CEDARS.

Career and Technical Educators

CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATORS Career and Technical Educators (CTE) are not required to meet the ESEA HQT requirements if they are teaching CTE funded/designated courses. If the district assigns a CTE teacher to a general education core academic teaching assignment (e.g. Algebra) the teacher is required to meet the ESEA HQT requirements. Some districts cross-credit CTE courses. If the district determines the class is a CTE course, the teacher does not need to meet the ESEA HQT requirements. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for a CTE teacher to meet state assignment rules as a general education teacher.

Changing Teacher Assignments

TEACHER ASSIGNMENTS If a teacher is reassigned to a different core academic subject or to a different program and does not have a HOUSSE form on file, the teacher will need to take the appropriate state assessment (WEST-E or NES Test) to become HQ. For example, if a teacher moves from math to science or ALE to General Ed, the teacher will need to take the appropriate state assessment to become HQ.

STATE EQUITY PLAN The Department of Education requires that Washington submit a new Equity Plan to ensure that all students have equitable access to excellent educators. Examine teacher characteristics and student demographics and achievement levels Identify equity gaps Teachers- inexperienced, non HQT, out-of-field teacher, etc. Student- poverty, race/ethnicity, SPED, ELL, low performance, etc. Distribution- analyze by school, district, region, school type (alternative, virtual, etc)

EQUITY PLAN OSPI will conduct a root cause analysis of equity gaps Identify steps to eliminate the identified equity gaps Define measures to evaluate progress towards eliminating the equity gaps Describe how OSPI will publically report on progress and show the equity gaps Timeline: January-June 2015

CONTACT INFORMATION ESEA Highly Qualified: (360) 725-6340 Debbie Parriott deborah.parriott@k12.wa.us Pat Smithson pat.smithson@k12.wa.us Julia Fallon julia.fallon@k12.wa.us Hisami Yoshida hisami.yoshida@k12.wa.us Certification: (360) 725-6406 David Kinnunen david.kinnunen@k12.wa.us Special Education and IDEA: (360) 725-6075 speced@k12.wa.us Title I Requirements: (360) 725-6100 Gayle Pauley, Assistant Superintendent of Special Programs and Federal Accountability gayle.pauley@k12.wa.us