NCLB, ESSA, and “Highly Qualified”
In this post, I compare language regarding teacher certification in two documents, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and what very likely will be the next Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) reauthorization, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).
I was particularly curious about the fate of the NCLB term, “highly qualified.”
Here we go:
In the 670-page No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the term “highly qualified” appears 67 times excluding its usage as it is officially defined in NCLB as follows (page 535):
HIGHLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘highly qualified’—
(A) when used with respect to any public elementary
school or secondary school teacher teaching in a State,
means that—(i) the teacher has obtained full State certification
as a teacher (including certification obtained through
alternative routes to certification) or passed the State teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in such State, except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, the term means that the teacher meets the requirements set forth in the State’s public charter school law; and
(ii) the teacher has not had certification or licensure
requirements waived on an emergency, temporary,
or provisional basis;(B) when used withNCLB, ESSA, and “Highly Qualified” | deutsch29:
