ESEA requires teachers to be 'highly qualified'

California has a huge shortage of credentialed teachers in the classroom. To deal with that fact, the state has allowed districts to hire nearly 50,000 teachers on emergency permits - about 20 percent of the teaching force. Many of them work with low-income students in Title I schools. Beginning this year, under the federal ESEA, Title I schools are prohibited from hiring emergency permit teachers. The legislation is supposed to help poor children, but may instead penalize them and their schools by withholding federal dollars from schools out of compliance.

In addition to prohibiting Title I schools from hiring emergency permit teachers this year, the ESEA requires all teachers to be "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-06 school year. Which brings us to the question: What is a "Highly Qualified Teacher" (HQT)?

Obviously, the ESEA does not consider any teacher working on a waiver or emergency permit to be highly qualified. Elementary teachers new to the profession must have a bachelor's degree and be fully credentialed. They must demonstrate multiple subject competency, either by completing an approved course of study or by passing the rigorous test of the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET).

Under the new law, middle and high school teachers new to the profession must hold a bachelor's degree, be fully credentialed and prove they are competent in every subject they teach by being certified in that subject, passing a rigorous state test in that subject, majoring in that subject or having a graduate degree in that subject. There are no "rigorous state subject tests" for secondary teachers - at the moment.

States must submit their definition of a highly qualified teacher to the federal Department of Education and are responsible for making sure schools comply with the law. In May, California submitted a definition that included those working on emergency permits and teacher interns - who must, by law, take classes toward earning their teaching credential. There has not been a response yet from the federal government, but rejection is likely. State officials are working on a new definition just in case.

To date, the federal government has not imposed sanctions on Title I schools that hired emergency permit teachers this year. But if that happens, things could get ugly, since schools are already expecting cuts in funding from the state government this year.

Information about a teacher's qualifications and credentials is available to the general public through the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing website. But the new law says that it's the school's job to notify parents if their children have teachers who are not "highly qualified."

At the beginning of each school year, schools must notify parents at Title I schools of their right to be informed about the professional qualifications of the child's teacher. School officials must also inform parents after four weeks if their child has been assigned to a class taught by a teacher who is not "highly qualified." Schools must provide information on whether the teacher has met the state's licensing criteria in the subject area(s) taught; whether the teacher has an emergency permit; and what degrees the teacher holds and what his or her course majors were.

Implementation of the provision is all over the map, according to newspaper reports. For example, according to the Orange County Register :

• Santa Ana has interpreted the law strictly, identifying teachers who hold emergency permits - and licenses from other states.
• Orange Unified sent no letters out among its 15 Title I schools because district officials decided that teachers with emergency permits were highly qualified.
• Garden Grove hasn't sent out any letters for its 59 low-income schools because officials are waiting for the federal government to approve California's definition of a HQT.

CTA's Negotiations and Organizational Development Department suggests that local CTA chapters bargain parental notification letters for content and tone, in hopes that they will present teachers in a positive light. A letter, for example, might list the activities leading to a full credential, and then say, "Your child's teacher is currently completing the above-referenced requirements. In addition, your child's district provides extensive local support for teachers who are pursuing their full credential."

"In some districts, these letters have gone out without any consultation with teachers - and without notification to teachers," says Barbara Ferges, a member of the NEA Board of Directors and the CTA Board serving on ESEA Workgroup. I have heard that teachers are very upset by this. But interestingly enough, I have heard that parents haven't been upset. They are not raising a fuss. Their reaction has been, 'What does this mean?' For them, it's one more piece of paper, and they don't understand why schools are sending it out."

Ferges, who teaches in Lawndale near Los Angeles, says that administrators are acting on "bad information" when it comes to ESEA. "A lot of them don't understand what it means. A lot of them are making it up as they go along. A lot of bad policies are being blamed on ESEA. At the end of last year, my district released all teachers on emergency permits. We had 30 people let go. Administrators didn't have to do it, but they did it in the name of ESEA, saying they had to hire highly qualified teachers."

Even longtime veteran teachers may not be considered "highly qualified" under the new law. ESEA requires experienced teachers to demonstrate subject matter competency. In April, the State Board of Education will decide whether teachers with more than 39 months of experience who are teaching in core academic areas will either take a subject matter test or be evaluated according to a "highly objective uniform statewide standard of evaluation."

Marc Knapp, past president of the San Diego Education Association and a member of CTA's ESEA Workgroup, began teaching 33 years ago, when teachers were not required to take CBEST or the Multiple Subject Assessment for Teachers (MSAT). In fact, the tests did not even exist.

"Now, after 33 years of teaching, I have to demonstrate competency based on an exam or uniform set of standards applicable to all teachers in the state," says Knapp. "You have a situation where experienced teachers, who have been teaching for decades, now have to prove that they are qualified. More than 80,000 people fall into this category. And about 50,000 of these people are at an age where they can retire. A lot of people are saying, 'The hell with this. I can leave right now.' For example, I'm 56 years old and I could retire today."

"Instead of helping with the teacher shortage, the federal government will be adding to the problem," Knapp predicts.

Those who are teaching outside their subject area will be hit especially hard by the law. More than half the nation's middle school students and a quarter of all high school students are learning core academic subjects from teachers who lack certification in those subjects and did not major in them in college, according to a survey released by the U.S. Department of Education in June.

Before the ESEA, teachers were able to take "supplemental authorization" units that would allow them to teach outside their credential area. For example, a teacher with a credential to teach English could take 20 units of math and be allowed to teach both subjects. But under the "teacher induction" portion of ESEA, teachers will have to take additional coursework, earn an additional credential or earn a degree in all subjects they are teaching.

"That will definitely narrow the applicant pool of teachers," says Patricia Rucker, a consultant in CTA's Instruction and Professional Development Department. "Instead of having multiple options for hiring and placing teachers, it will become much more difficult - and could contribute to the teacher shortage." Teachers who are presently teaching outside their subject area have until 2005-06 to meet the requirements of ESEA.

"CTA believes that all teachers should have full certification because all students deserve a highly qualified teacher," says CTA President Wayne Johnson. "The federal law won't put a highly qualified teacher in every classroom because it does not provide the resources to do the job. There is currently a severe shortage of fully certified teachers. This shortage will not be alleviated until teachers' salaries are increased and their working conditions are improved."

"Because of the shortage of certified teachers and the lack of resources to deliver on the promise, the ESEA is a train wreck waiting to happen," says Johnson. "With more than 6 million public school students and a severe teacher shortage, especially in inner-city and poverty areas, California is struggling to keep qualified teachers in the classroom. Instead of branding teachers as not 'highly qualified,' the federal government should be working to retain them. The federal government should be supporting them by providing assistance and helping them reach full certification. It is imperative that we keep our good teachers teaching."