Are you highly qualified?

The first day of the new school year began on an upbeat note for Karen vonFelton. "I looked in the mirror and found myself smiling because I love the first day back on the job." Unfortunately, her smile didn't last long.

At a morning staff meeting, an announcement was made, recalls the Fresno County special education teacher. "We were told that under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, any teachers of record will no longer be considered qualified to teach in the state of California unless they can prove they are highly qualified."

"The words trailed into the recesses of my mind," says vonFelton, a member of the Fresno County Schools Office of Education Association. "After 25 years with exemplary evaluations, I found it peculiar that soon I might not be considered highly qualified. It was even more ironic when I found out, a few weeks later, that I had been selected Teacher of the Year by the Fresno County Office of Education."

Throughout California - and the rest of the country - both new and veteran teachers are getting nervous as the deadline for complying with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act, looms closer. Teachers, already stressed out about raising test scores, now have to jump through hoops in order to prove they are "highly qualified."

While new teachers are panicked at the prospect of taking a high-stakes test, veteran teachers are "more insulted than angry" at having their professionalism, training and preparation called into question, says CTA Instruction and Professional Development consultant Patricia Rucker.

Rucker, who conducts training statewide for CTA members on this issue, says the most important thing teachers should realize is that the term "highly qualified teacher" has nothing to do with whether teachers are, in fact, highly qualified. The legislation does not measure effectiveness in the classroom or how good a teacher is at his or her craft. For that reason, she prefers to use the term "NCLB compliant" rather than "highly qualified."

The other important thing for teachers to know about the federal law is that even though teachers will have to jump through some hoops, for the most part it's not as bad as it sounds. Ninety percent of credentialed teachers who are "not new to the profession" will be able to take advantage of an alternative means of compliance that does not require them to take a subject matter test.

"CTA worked very hard to save most members from taking a test," says CTA Board member Pixie Hayward Schickele, who chairs the CTA ESEA Workgroup. "By doing so, we saved members a lot of money, time and grief. There have been great numbers of people in CTA - both leaders and staff - from all divisions, who have been working tirelessly to make it easier for teachers to become NCLB compliant."

Workgroup members met constantly with the California Department of Education and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and testified before commissions, says CTA Board member Bob Nichols, who also serves on the ESEA Workgroup.

"We kept hammering away the point that California has the most rigorous teacher credentialing process in the nation, and that the additional process should not be burdensome. From the beginning we tried to make this as painless as possible - and we did, for most people," says Nichols.

"But there's a small universe of people who will have to take a test. Their anger should be directed at the federal government, which imposed the new requirements, not at CTA."

How the law works

Beginning with the 2002-03 school year, all newly hired teachers in a school or program supported with Title I funds must be "highly qualified." Then, no later than the end of the 2005-06 school year, all teachers in states receiving Title I funds must be highly qualified in the core subjects that they teach.

Core academic areas for elementary teachers are defined as reading, language arts, mathematics, science and any areas typically included in elementary curriculum.

Core academic areas for middle school and high school teachers are defined as English, reading/language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics/government, economics, arts, history and geography.

Under the law, districts are supposed to notify parents in writing if someone not considered to be NCLB compliant is teaching their child.

Teachers are classified as either elementary or secondary and either "new" (receiving a credential or starting an intern program after July 1, 2002) or "not new" to the profession. Teachers in grades 6-8 may be classified as either elementary or secondary, depending upon their district.

All elementary teachers must:

• Have a degree from a regionally accredited institution;
• Have a valid elementary credential or be entered in an approved intern program to be completed within three years;
• Be able to demonstrate subject matter competence.

The same holds true for all secondary teachers, except that they must hold a "valid single subject credential" instead of an elementary credential.

Elementary teachers "new to the profession" must pass a subject matter examination (the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, CSET) approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). They must pass this test even if they were not required to do so in order to receive a credential and even if they graduated from a waiver program after July 1, 2002.

Secondary teachers "new to the profession" may demonstrate competence by passing a subject matter examination approved by the CCTC (CSET) or completing one or more of the following: a university subject matter program approved by the CCTC; an undergraduate major in the subject; coursework equivalent to an undergraduate major; or National Board Certification in the subject.

Elementary and secondary teachers who are not new to the profession may opt to demonstrate subject matter competence by meeting a "High, Objective, Uniform State Standard of Evaluation" (HOUSSE). Teachers receive credit under HOUSSE for teaching experience; coursework and advanced degrees; professional development and leadership (including involvement with CTA); classroom evaluation; and portfolio assessment.

It is expected that a majority of veteran teachers will find themselves already NCLB compliant under HOUSSE standards without having to take additional coursework or a competency test, even many of those who are teaching outside their credential or major field.

Some teachers who are teaching outside their credential area will have to take additional coursework, earn an additional credential or earn a degree in all subjects they are teaching. Before the ESEA was reauthorized in 2001, teachers were able to take "supplemental authorization" units that allowed 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.

In alternative education placements and small schools, teachers who either by necessity or by design provide instruction in many - and sometimes all - subjects must meet the same requirements as other teachers.

How do special education teachers fit in?

Becoming NCLB compliant will be a huge issue for new special education teachers who deliver core instruction, but hold degrees and credentials in special education rather than in the core subject areas that they teach. It's unlikely that they will be able to accumulate enough HOUSSE points for years already taught or for professional development. For these teachers, additional coursework or passage of a subject matter test (CSET) will be necessary.

Veteran special education teachers have a very good chance of becoming NCLB compliant through the HOUSSE process.

"Special education teachers used to have to earn a multiple or single subject credential and build upon that," says Dr. Lynne Cook, a professor in the Department of Special Education at California State University, Northridge. "It's only been during the past few years that we have allowed people to get into special education without first getting a general education or single subject credential."

"Special education is a K-12 credential," she says. "In the old days, you could have an elementary or secondary credential, add on the special education credential and teach special education at any grade level. Now it's going to make a difference whether you teach elementary or secondary education. I can't even guess what that will do to a special education credential."

Cook, a California Faculty Association member who serves on the CTA Credentials and Professional Development Committee, says new special education teachers will have had coursework in core subject areas and some will have passed MSAT (the predecessor of CSET), which will make them NCLB compliant for teaching lower grades.

It is hoped that the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) will provide relief for special education teachers, or at least give them additional time to comply. However, Congress may not act anytime soon.

If a special education teacher provides instruction in a core subject, he or she must also meet NCLB requirements that apply to "new" and "not new" teachers. It does not matter whether teaching takes place in a regular classroom, a resource room or another setting. However, if a special education teacher provides consultation services to the teacher of core academic subjects, or only delivers instructional assistance within the classroom where the core academic subject is taught, he or she does not have to meet NCLB requirements.

For example, vonFelton in Fresno recently learned that she would not have to become NCLB compliant because she does not teach core subjects - she teaches life skills to adult special education students, 18-22. She has a lifetime credential in elementary education with a specialization in mental retardation, as well as a moderate/severe credential in special education. That makes her feel safe - for the moment. But if her program is eliminated, she will have trouble finding employment since she is not considered qualified under NCLB to teach core subjects at the secondary or adult education level.

"I am five years away from retirement, so I am not going to jump through any more hoops," she says. But other special ed teachers in her district are taking professional development courses made available by the district to become NCLB compliant - even if they are not teaching core curriculum at the moment - because they are worried about the future.

New federal requirements could prompt school districts to discourage special education teachers from delivering primary instruction and relegate them to a "support" role - reinforcing instruction delivered by mainstream teachers.

"I'm concerned that the role of special education teacher could be diminished somewhat if this happens," says Cook at CSU-Northridge. "They would be relegated to a less professional role."

She also fears the new requirements could exacerbate what is already a huge shortage of special education teachers in California.

"There aren't enough people as it is who want to help people with disabilities - and who are willing to take on the poor working conditions at schools with crowded classrooms and a very heavy workload," she says. "We are asking teachers to be qualified in so many things. But since we are not going to pay them more, it is very conceivable that we could lose them."

For more information, visit the CTA website and click on ESEA Highly Qualified Teachers.