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News and Notes

News

Below are the latest teacher quality news and announcements from the U.S. Department of Education and national organizations.

" 'Highly Qualified' Teacher Ruling Upheld"
A California federal court ruled that alternatively certified teachers entering California public schools and working towards their full certification could be considered "highly qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Parents argued that teachers coming into the schools through alternative preparation programs did not meet the state's "full or most complete level of certification" and therefore were not highly qualified. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton concluded that Congress awarded Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings the autonomy to define "full or most complete certification" and that her inclusion of alternatively certified teachers did not violate the terms of NCLB.

What Gen Y Teachers Want
Generation Y teachers, those teachers who are 28 years old or younger, want to make their stamp on the stalled education system but are encountering challenges in a few key areas. The most pressing issues many Gen Y teachers face include limited creative teaching freedoms, inadequate classroom resources, scarce professional learning opportunities, lack of administrator support, and scant salary increases. Please click on the links below to read more about this topic.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Reauthorization
Visit this site to access a variety of resources related to ongoing discussions about the reauthorization of NCLB.

Secretary Spellings Releases Policy Letter to States Discussing HQT and Monitoring
In a July 23, 2007, letter to all states, Secretary Spellings discusses states’ HQT plans as well as this year's state-by-state monitoring process.

U.S. Department of Education Launches Website Dedicated to IDEA Regulations
The U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs has launched a new website, Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004, dedicated to helping interpret and implement the new IDEA regulations. Visitors can browse major topic areas, including highly qualified teachers, alignment with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, and private schools.

Loan Forgiveness up to $17,500 for Science, Mathematics, and Special Education Teachers
The Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 authorizes up to $17,500 in student loan forgiveness for certain No Child Left Behind (NCLB)–defined highly qualified full-time secondary mathematics and science teachers as well as certain highly qualified full-time special education teachers who primarily provide specialized education to students with disabilities.

Notes

Below are the latest teacher quality tools, resources, and information.

TQ Tips and Tools
This page on the TQ Center's TQ Source website offers a variety of strategies and resources for education practitioners to use in order to enhance their teacher and leadership quality efforts.

HQT Revised State Plans
The U.S. Department of Education has posted the Highly Qualified Teachers Revised State Plans that were submitted by each state. Available are Word document downloads with peer reviewer comments for each state's plan.

Useful Links

The National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality compiled a list of useful links to alert the public of other organizations working in the teacher and leadership quality arena. These sources offer information on such issues as educator compensation reform, teacher quality, special education, performance incentives, and data quality.

 

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