THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
COMMITTEE:	Higher Education and Professional Practice
TITLE OF ITEM:	Proposed Amendment to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education Relating to Qualifications for Teachers and Paraprofessionals under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	October 8, 2004
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Discussion
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	To Implement Statute
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 2 and 3
AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY:

 

          Attached for discussion is a proposed addition of section 120.6 to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relating to qualifications for teachers and paraprofessionals under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).    Supporting materials for the proposed regulation are available upon request from the Secretary to the Board of Regents.

 

The purpose of the proposed regulation is to incorporate by reference requirements of the NCLB relating to qualifications of teachers and paraprofessionals in order to ensure that local educational agencies are in compliance with this Federal law.  The regulation will provide an underlying legal basis in regulation for the State Education Department's guidance to local educational agencies on the NCLB requirements in this area.  It requires local educational agencies to provide a teacher of core academic subjects who is not new to the profession the opportunity to meet the NCLB requirement to be highly qualified, in part, through passing a high objective uniform State standard of evaluation (HOUSSE). 

 

A Notice of Proposed Rule Making was published in the State Register on September 29, 2004.  It is recommended that formal action on the proposal be taken at the December 2004 meeting of the Board of Regents.

 

Attachment

AMENDMENT TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION

Pursuant to sections 101, 207, 215, 305, and 3713 of the Education Law.

          Section 120.6 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is added, effective January 6, 2005, as follows:

          120.6 Qualifications of teachers and paraprofessionals.

(a) For the purpose of compliance with the NCLB, a local educational agency shall ensure that its teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified in accordance with the requirements and definitions prescribed in 34 CFR 200.55 and 200.56 (Code of Federal Regulations, Revised as of July 1, 2003, Title 34,  Volume 1, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-0001, 2003; available at the NYS Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 2M West Wing, Education Building, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234).   A local educational agency shall provide a teacher of core academic subjects who is not new to the profession the opportunity to meet the NCLB requirement to be highly qualified, in part, through passing the high objective uniform State standard of evaluation (HOUSSE).  The HOUSSE shall be an evaluation, prescribed by the department and conducted locally either during a pre-employment review or at the time of an annual professional performance review prescribed in section 100.2(o) of this Title, that enables a teacher who is beyond the first year of the effective date of the teacher's first teaching certificate to demonstrate subject matter competency in all core academic subjects that the teacher teaches.  The evaluation shall be based upon objective, coherent information as prescribed by the department, and shall include, but not be limited to, information on the teacher's education, credentials, professional experience, and professional development.

 (b) For the purpose of compliance with the NCLB, a  local educational agency shall ensure that a paraprofessional who is hired by the LEA and works in a program supported with funds under Title I meets qualifications in accordance with the requirements of 34 CFR 200.58 (Code of Federal Regulations, Revised as of July 1, 2003, Title 34, Volume 1, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-0001, 2003; available at the New York State Education Department, Office of Higher Education, 2M West Wing, Education Building, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234).