Should students still learning how to be teachers be considered “
highly qualified teachers“? Should new college graduates with only five weeks of teacher training (that’s what Teach For America gives its recruits before sending them into high-poverty schools) be considered highly qualified? Well, Congress, which was lobbied by Teach For America and other organizations, said “yes” a few years ago. Now a coalition of education organizations is writing to President Obama and other administration officials about the issue. Here’s the text of the letter. (Footnotes have been removed from the body of the letter and put at the end to make it easier to read.)
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington, DC 20500
Re: SECTION 145 OF THE SEPTEMBER 2012 CONTINUING RESOLUTION—Public Law 112-175
Dear President Obama:
Ensuring the educational success of all students requires the equitable distribution of well-prepared and effective teachers in all schools. Yet in too many states and districts across the country, students with disabilities, English Learners, students of color, rural students and low-income children are being taught by teachers with little or no training. Last year, Congress included a provision in H.J. Res 117, which you signed into law, requiring the Secretary of Education to submit a report to Congress
