Highly Qualified Requirements and Reports

Section 1119 of The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) focuses on improving teacher quality at the local level. To achieve this goal, the act requires all teachers teaching core subject academic areas to meet specific competency and educational requirements. Teachers who meet these requirements are considered “highly qualified.”

Teachers are required to be highly qualified if they are the Teacher of Record providing direct instruction to students in any core academic subject area, including English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages (languages other than English), civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.

Highly qualified teachers must:

• Hold at least a bachelor's degree;
• Be fully certified to teach in Texas; and
• Demonstrate competency in their core academic subject area

Teachers who are certified for the assignment for which they are hired and who are given additional assignments out of their certification areas are not considered highly qualified for those out-of-content assignments.

HIGHLY QUALIFIED PARAPROFESSIONALS AND REQUIREMENTS

A paraprofessional is an employee of a local education agency who provides instructional support. Duties of a paraprofessional may include (1) providing one-on-one tutoring if such tutoring is scheduled at a time when a student would not otherwise receive instruction from a teacher; (2) assisting with classroom management, such as by organizing instructional materials; (3) providing instructional assistance in a computer laboratory; (4) conducting parental involvement activities; (5) providing instructional support in a library or media center; (6) acting as a translator; or (7) providing instructional support services under the direct supervision of a highly qualified teacher. [Title I, Section 1119(g)(2)]

NCLB requires paraprofessionals assigned to instructional duties on a Title I, Part A Schoolwide served campus or those that have at least part of their salary paid for by Title I, Part A on a Targeted Assistance campus to meet the Paraprofessional Highly Qualified requirements. Requirements include:

• Have completed at least two years of study at an institution of higher education [defined as completion of 48 semester hours (or equivalent trimester hours) of college coursework or an applicable number of semester hours as defined by the institution of higher education attended, whichever is less; or
• Have obtained an associate's (or higher) degree; or
• Have met a rigorous standard of quality and can demonstrate, through a formal state or local academic assessment

Knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing, reading, writing, and mathematics; or

Knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing, reading readiness, writing readiness, and mathematics

HIGHLY QUALIFIED DETERMINATION FORMS FOR TEACHERS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS