It is the policy of this district that, whenever possible, teachers initially hired after January 8, 2002, will meet all criteria for designation as “highly qualified” as required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In an attempt to increase the number of highly qualified teachers, the district will utilize the following standards, approved by the Idaho State Board of Education, when assessing applicants for employment and transfers:
Highly Qualified Status-Elementary Education
Highly Qualified Status in the area of Elementary Education can be achieved through the following methods:
1. Certificate earned after 2004, which included the appropriate Praxis II testing.
2. Certificate earned prior to 2004; HOUSSE rubric on file with the district for specific teaching assignment.
3. Certificate earned prior to 2004 with successful passage of appropriate Praxis II for specific teaching assignment.
4. A new teacher seeking an Idaho license to teach in a core academic subject area (English, reading, language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography) must meet the definition of a NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher. All teachers must have a bachelor’s degree.
5. New teachers must complete an approved teacher preparation program or an approved alternative certification program.
6. New elementary teachers must pass a rigorous state test in elementary curriculum and a rigorous state test in pedagogy.
Highly Qualified Status – Secondary Education
1. New middle school or secondary academic core teachers must meet one of the following:
a. Earn a major in the subject area they are to teach,
b. Earn credits equal to a major in the subject area,
c. Earn an advanced degree in the subject area,
d. Earn an advanced certificate in the subject area, or
e. Pass a rigorous state subject area test.
Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires all special education teachers to meet the “Highly Qualified” definition of IDEA and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
1. To be compliant with IDEA, all individuals who teach students with disabilities must hold the appropriate special education credential.
2. To be compliant with NCLB, all Idaho teachers of core academic subjects, including special education teachers, must additionally demonstrate subject matter competence in each core academic subjects taught.
3. Special Education teachers of elementary students will meet the core HQT requirements for elementary education.
a. Secondary, content specific teachers of special education students will meet the additional requirements in core subject areas: English, math, science, foreign language, government, history, geography, economics, music, drama, arts.
b. Special Education teachers serving secondary students in a support role as part of a team (inclusion model), or teaching in a self-contained environment using an alternative assessment are required to meet the core subject requirement for elementary education
4. New teachers seeking a certificate in Blended Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education must pass a test in elementary curriculum and a test in Early Childhood Special Education.
5. Under the highly qualified teacher definition in NCLB, no certificate or license in the core academic subjects will be issued on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis.
Resources to Achieve Highly Qualified Status:
To obtain highly qualified status by adding a certificate/endorsement through traditional means, the certificated employee must comply with the certificate and endorsement requirements of the page at the following link:
http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/teacher_certification/
To obtain highly qualified status by passing the approprate content assessment, the certificated employee must comply with the requirements of Educational Testing Service (ETS) Praxis II website (access Idaho) at the following link: http://www.ets.org/praxis
To obtain highly qualified status by adding a certificate/endorsment through an alternate route, the certificated employee must comply with the alternate routes to certification at the following link: http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/teacher_certification/alt_routes.htm
LEGAL REFERENCE:
No Child Left Behind Act, Section 1119
Idaho State Department of Education
ADOPTED: August 22, 2012
AMENDED: