The assistant secretary
March 21, 2006
Dear Chief State School Officers:
On October 21, 2005, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings sent each of
you a policy letter recognizing that, despite the substantial progress many
States are making in meeting the goal of having all core academic subject
classes taught by highly qualified teachers (HQT) by the end of the 2005-06
school year, States are still facing difficulties in fully meeting this
requirement. In her letter, the Secretary stated that if a State is falling
short of the 100 percent HQT goal but meets the four requirements for
implementing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that constitute a "good-faith
effort" to reach the goal, the Department would request that the State
submit a revised plan detailing specific steps the State will take to reach
the HQT goal in the 2006-07 school year. States are expected to pay
particular attention to staffing schools identified as "in need of
improvement" and those with high concentrations of poor and disadvantaged
students with highly qualified and effective teachers.
Along with strong support from State officials in response to the
Secretary's policy letter, we have received many questions about the
procedures the Department will establish to review the States' progress in
meeting the HQT goal, and - most importantly - questions about what must be
included in a revised State plan. Based on our extensive conversations with
States about these issues, we have developed two documents, both enclosed
with this letter, that describe how the Department will work with the States
to revise their plans to ensure that all teachers can become highly
qualified as soon as possible.
The first enclosed document, "Assessing State Progress in Meeting the Highly
Qualified Teacher Goal," sets out the procedures the Department will use to
review the progress of each State in meeting the HQT goal and its efforts in
meeting the implementation principles spelled out in the Secretary's letter.
The second document, "Reviewing Revised State Plans," describes specific
themes States should address in their revised plans and the criteria the
Department, through an expert review process, will use to determine the
sufficiency of the plan for reaching the HQT goal.
The planned timeline for carrying out our review of State efforts to attain
the highly qualified teacher requirement is given below:
March 8, 2006: States submit their 2004-05 HQT data via Part I of the
Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR).
March 8-May 12, 2006: The Department assesses the submitted CSPR data for
the 2004-05 school year, HQT data for previous years, and supporting
information obtained through State monitoring and review of publicly
available records. The Department then makes determinations about whether
the State is on track to meet the highly qualified teacher requirement.
Using the protocol "Assessing State Progress in Meeting the Highly Qualified
Teacher (HQT) Goal" that is enclosed with this letter, the Department will
determine whether the State's 2004-05 data indicate that the State has a
reasonable expectation of meeting the 100 percent HQT goal by the end of the
2005-06 school year and is faithfully implementing the law. If this is the
case, the State may not be required to submit a revised plan, though it
certainly may.
It is likely, however, that the Department will request most States to
submit a revised plan detailing the new steps they will take to reach the
100 percent HQT goal by the end of the 2006-07 school year. As part of the
plan, each State will explain how and when the SEA will complete the HOUSSE
process for those teachers not new to the profession who were hired prior to
the end of the 2005-06 school year, and how the SEA will limit the use of
HOUSSE procedures for teachers hired after the end of the 2005-06 school
year to those secondary school teachers teaching multiple subjects in
eligible rural schools (who, if highly qualified in at least one subject at
the time of hire, may use HOUSSE to demonstrate competence in additional
subjects within three years), and those special education teacher teaching
multiple subjects (who, if they are new to the profession and highly
qualified in language arts, mathematics, or science at the time of hire, may
use HOUSSE to demonstrate competence in additional subjects within two
years). Peers and teacher quality experts will review the State's revised
plan and evaluate how effectively the plan addresses the State's challenges
in reaching the 100 percent HQT goal.
Finally, if the Department determines that a State has not fulfilled its
obligations under the statute and is not on track to have all teachers
highly qualified by the end of the 2005-06 school year, the Department will
take corrective actions in addition to requiring the State to submit a
revised plan.
By May 15, 2006: The Department will notify the States, in writing, of the
results of the assessment of their HQT progress and will request the States,
as appropriate, to submit revised plans.
July 7, 2006: States' revised plans are due to the Department of Education.
July 10 - August 4, 2006: The Department reviews the revised plans that
States submit.
Using the protocol "Reviewing Revised State Plans," enclosed with this
letter, the Department will determine whether a revised State plan is
sufficient to attain the HQT goal in 2006-07 and beyond.
August 2006 and thereafter: The Department begins a new cycle of monitoring
to ensure that States are implementing their revised plans.
We look forward to continuing our work with you to fully attain the national
goal to improve student achievement by ensuring that all children are taught
by highly qualified teachers. If you have questions about this timeline or
about either of the enclosed protocols, please contact Robert Stonehill at
202-260-9737, or via e-mail at robert.stonehill@ed.gov. Thank you for your
continued commitment to providing a quality education for each child in our
Nation.
Sincerely,
/s/
Henry L. Johnson