November 6, 2007

ISBE DELL e-Broadcast 2007.76 - Highly Qualified Bilingual Teachers, Special Education Teachers and Teachers in Small Rural Schools

Districts with teachers granted a period of time to become highly qualified by filing ISBE form 77-36 "Request to Report Status of Bilingual Teacher, Special Education, and Rural School Teacher as Highly Qualified for NCLB Purposes" received an ISBE letter sent to the district approving the teachers for the assignment. The TSR highly qualified staff report has now been programmed to reflect this approval. We recommend that districts wishing to see the report showing the status of these personnel run the report again.

Keep in mind:

• Teachers with these approvals need not be reported as not highly qualified during the approval period allowed.
• The approval is valid only for the subject noted on the approval letter
• The approval is valid only for the time period on the letter
• The approval is subject to the requirements listed on the application set, including any professional development and mentoring requirements
• At the end date of the approval, the teacher must be highly qualified in the subject

With regard to other teachers:

• Teachers of all other core subjects who are not highly qualified may be employed, but they cannot remain permanently not highly qualified and must become highly qualified within the two years allowed in the state plan.
• The parents of children who are taught for four consecutive weeks by a not highly qualified teacher of core subjects in Title I schools or paid from Title I funds must be notified that their children’s teacher is not highly qualified.

Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers

The highly qualified staff report available on TSR may not accurately reflect the status of special education teachers. Concerns about the interpretation of IDEA and NCLB were not resolved in time to permit programming the system last fall. We are also working to complete this programming before the closing of the TSR and districts may wish to run the list again when we have completed the programming.

Special education teachers highly qualified requirements:

• Consultative: Not responsible for giving the grade; a full special education certificate or a special education endorsement obtained by passing the appropriate special education examination.
• Content: The teacher of record who gives the grade; a full special education certificate or a special education endorsement obtained by passing the appropriate special education examination and meets the NCLB demonstration of competence in each core subject taught.
• Persons who have a regular certificate and a special education approval or the Short Term Emergency certificate in special education do not meet the federal definition of highly qualified.

Illinois State Board of Education
100 North First Street
Springfield, IL 62777