Paraprofessional Certification and Highly Qualified (HiQ) Requirements

Transcription

1 Title II Part A

2 Title II Part A Paraprofessional Certification and Highly Qualified (HiQ) Requirements On January 8, 2002, Federal legislation, known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), established mandatory federal guidelines for the hiring of paraprofessionals in specified school settings. These guidelines are found in Section 1119 of the federal legislation, and are available on the Georgia Professional Standards Commission s (PSC) website which is certification rule ( The ESEA mandates that all teachers and paraprofessionals that directly impact instruction meet the highly qualified requirements by holding a valid state paraprofessional These certificates are issued as clear renewable certificates. Georgia Paraprofessional Certification Requirements The applicant must be employed as a paraprofessional in a Georgia school system. The applicant must hold an Associate s Degree or higher in any subject; or The applicant must have completed two years of college coursework (90 quarter or 60 semester hours or 1000 clock hours); or The applicant must have passed a PSC approved paraprofessional assessment. If eligibility is established through the assessment, the applicant must also hold a minimum of a high school diploma or GED equivalent. Renewal Requirements The Clear Renewable Paraprofessional certificate is valid for 5 years, with the beginning date of the first 5 year certificate to be the date of employment and the ending date to be June 30 of the fifth certificate year. To renew the certificate the applicant must: Be employed as a paraprofessional in a Georgia school system; and Satisfy renewal requirements as out lined in PSC Rule Contact the PSC at or with questions relating to Georgia certification. I understand the ESEA requirements specific to maintaining valid certification and highly qualified status. I also understand that failure to maintain valid certification as a paraprofessional educator may result in termination of my employment with Atlanta Public Schools. Signature Date Print Name

3 Teacher Certification and Highly Qualified (HiQ) Requirements On January 8, 2002 Federal legislation, known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), established mandatory federal guidelines for the hiring of teachers in specified school settings. The ESEA mandates that all teachers and paraprofessionals that directly impact instruction meet the highly qualified requirements by holding valid state certification. These certificates are issued as clear renewable certificates. Traditionally Prepared New Teachers: To be considered highly qualified to teach in the State of Georgia, traditionally prepared new teachers must: Hold a bachelor s degree from a GaPSC accepted, accredited institution of higher education; Hold a valid Georgia teaching certificate; Have evidence of subject matter competence in the subjects they teach by an academic major OR the equivalent (minimum of 15 semester hours for middle grades; Hold a minimum of 21 semester hours for secondary), AND a passing score on the State approved, required content assessment for the area/subjects they teach; Have a teaching assignment that is appropriate for the field(s) listed on the Georgia teaching Educator Ethics Assessments: Program Entry and Program Exit Non Traditionally Prepared New Teachers: To be considered highly qualified to teach in the State of Georgia, non traditionally prepared new teachers must: Hold a bachelor s degree from a GaPSC accepted, accredited institution of higher education; Hold a valid Georgia teaching certificate; Have evidence of subject matter competence in the subjects they teach by an academic major OR the equivalent (minimum of 15 semester hours for middle grades; Hold a minimum of 21 semester hours for secondary) Exception: an academic major or the equivalent is not applicable to elementary teachers; OR a passing score on the State approved appropriate core academic content assessment (GACE). Educator Ethics Assessments: Program Entry and Program Exit All completers of non traditional programs must pass the State approved program content assessment upon program completion. However, the GaTAPP paths of One Year Supervised Practicum (OYSP) and Core Academic (CA) require passing the state approved content assessment upon admission. Teachers must have a teaching assignment that is appropriate for the field(s) listed on the Georgia teaching A non traditionally prepared teacher who holds a valid, non renewable teaching certificate with either the major concentration or passing score on the required content assessment in the core academic area/subject he/she teaches is considered highly qualified, but must complete and receive the appropriate Georgia clear, renewable professional certificate within three years from the date of initial certificate validity to remain highly qualified. Any teacher having a teaching assignment for a non core academic area/subject(s) is not required to meet highly qualified requirements and must complete and receive the appropriate Georgia clear, renewable professional certificate by the end of the validity period for his/her

4 Veteran teachers: To be considered highly qualified to teach in the State of Georgia, veteran teachers must: Hold a bachelor s degree from a GaPSC accepted, accredited institution of higher education; Hold a valid Georgia teaching certificate; Have evidence of subject matter competence in the subjects they teach by a passing score on the State approved, required content assessment for the area/subjects they teach OR meet the requirement of a high objective uniform state standard of evaluation (HOUSSE), as adopted by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which is applicable to Veteran teachers who are 1) multi subject special education teachers who are the teacher of record for multi subjects, 2) retired teachers returning to service, or 3) life certificated teachers. Have a teaching assignment that is appropriate for the field(s) listed on the Georgia teaching Additional options may be available to veteran teachers in the following situations: Teachers from out of state with appropriate experience Teachers holding middle grades concentrations obtained by coursework before July 1, 2006 Teachers holding special education content concentrations obtained by coursework before August 31, 2006 (For GaPSC certification information, see Contact the PSC at or with questions relating to Georgia certification. I understand the ESEA requirements specific to maintaining valid certification and highly qualified status. I also understand that failure to maintain valid certification as a paraprofessional teacher educator may result in termination of my employment with Atlanta Public Schools. Signature Date Print Name Teacher Quality Procedures for Verification that All Paraprofessionals are Assigned to Highly Qualified Teachers Federal Grant Specialists will conduct Title I technical assistance meetings and school visits to review Title I program requirements for the assignment of paraprofessionals. These meetings and school visits will include a review of the paraprofessional s job description. Periodic schools visits will be scheduled to monitor and verify the assignment of paraprofessionals to highly qualified teachers. Periodic Certification forms and Title I Daily Teaching Schedules will be collected for all paraprofessionals. All Title I Daily Teaching Schedules will include the name(s) of the teachers with whom paraprofessionals are assigned to work. The principal will sign the teaching schedule as verification that the paraprofessional is assigned to work under the direct supervision and in close and frequent proximity to a highly qualified teacher. The Office of Federal Grants and Program Compliance will work collaboratively with APS Human Resource Services to verify the highly qualified status of all supervising teachers for paraprofessionals.

5 The highly qualified status of paraprofessionals and supervising teachers will be provided in writing to the assigned Federal Grant Specialist for each school. Federal Grant Specialists, Human Resource Services, and the Title I Director will monitor the implementation of the assignment of all paraprofessionals to highly qualified teachers.