Congress approves weird definition of 'highly qualified’ teachers
So they’ve gone ahead and done it. U.S. legislators passed legislation that includes people in teacher training programs as "highly qualified” teachers. Congress approved a nearly 2,000-page “continuing resolution” that will fund the government until March. It contained a provision to cover a $5.7 billion shortfall in the Pell Grant program, which provides money for low- and moderate-income students to pay for college tuition. In a seemingly contradictory move, Congress also wrote into law a 2002 federal regulation that allows teachers still in training programs to be considered “highly qualified” under No Child Left Behind. So Congress wants students who qualify for Pell grants to go to college, but it apparently doesn’t mind calling non-certified teachers who are still being trained "highly qualified." And because of this designation, school districts aren’t required to tell parents just how little training their child’s teacher has had.