1. Implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Highly Qualified Teacher & Paraprofessional Requirements
December 2010

2. State vs. Federal Requirements
STATE licensure: educators must hold the appropriate license for the area they are teaching.
Teachers need to be appropriately licensed in order to be legally employable. Teachers can teach out-of-field for up to 20% of their time without their employment being affected.
STATE renewal (Recertification): educators with a Professional (Standard) license need to renew their license every 5 years through an individual professional development plan.
FEDERAL: NCLB requires all teachers of the core academic subjects (including Title I) to be highly qualified at the time of hire.

3. Responsibility for Highly Qualified
In Massachusetts, the highly qualified teacher (HQT) designation is made at the school/district level and not at the state level.
School district central administration and school principals should work together to:
Inform teachers of the requirements.
Make the highly qualified determination for their teachers.
Provide written documentation to teachers, and maintain on file, the HQT status of all core content teachers.
Help teachers whom still need to meet the requirements.
Assist teachers in understanding the differences between the federal HQT requirements and the state licensure requirements.

4. Who Must Meet the HQ Requirements?
The HQT requirements apply to all core academic teachers employed by the school district, regardless of funding source.
Core academic subjects:
English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts (theater, visual art, dance and music), history, geography.

5. HQT Requirements
In order to be considered HQ, teachers of the core academic subjects must:
Possess a Bachelor’s Degree; and
Possess a Massachusetts teaching license (license can be at the Preliminary, Initial, or Professional level); and
Demonstrate subject matter competency in each of the core academic subjects that the teacher is teaching.

6. Current Options for Demonstrating Subject Matter Competency
NCLB legislation outlines options for demonstrating subject matter competency.
Elementary School Teachers:
Passing the General Curriculum MTEL; OR
Special education and veteran ESL teachers (teachers with at least one year of experience teaching ESL) only: Completion of the Massachusetts HOUSSE plan.

7. Current Options for Demonstrating Subject Matter Competency (cont.)
Middle and Secondary School Teachers:
Passing the MTEL appropriate Subject Matter Test; OR
Completion of an appropriate: academic major, graduate degree, or coursework equivalent to an undergraduate academic major; OR
Advanced certification or credentialing; OR
Special education and veteran ESL teachers only: Completion of the Massachusetts HOUSSE plan.

8. HOUSSE
NCLB allows States to define a High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE) to provide educators with an additional option to demonstrate subject matter competency.
In MA, HOUSSE allows educators to obtain PDPs for purposes of meeting the NCLB HQT subject matter competency requirements.
Currently, special education and veteran ESL teachers can work on HOUSSE plans in demonstrating subject matter competency, so long as the teachers are already HQ in English, reading/language arts, math or science at the time of hire.

9. HOUSSE for Non-Generalist Teachers
Non-generalist teachers: teachers who are licensed to teach a core academic subject or subjects, and who are teaching those subjects.
These teachers would need to complete the 96 content PDPs in the core subject that they teach.

10. HOUSSE for Generalist Teachers
Generalist teachers: licensed in a specific area, but are teaching more than one core academic subject (Elementary, Middle School Generalist, ESL and special education teachers).
PDPs may be flexibly distributed as long as the distribution ensures that the teacher has at least 10 PDPs in each of the core academic subjects that he/she teaches for a total of 96 PDPs across the core subjects included in the plan.

11. Special Education Teachers
Teachers who provide direct instruction in the core academic subjects:
Need to be licensed in special education
Need to demonstrate subject matter competency
Teachers who are serving in a consultative capacity
Do not need to demonstrate subject matter competency
* Note: Distinction is made based on the role of the individual, and not the setting in which the teacher teaches.

12. Commonwealth Charter School Teachers
The requirements for Charter School teachers include:
Possession of a bachelor’s degree
Demonstration of subject matter competency in each of the areas that they teach.
The licensure component of the highly qualified definition is waived for these teachers, since Massachusetts law does not require Commonwealth charter school teachers to be licensed.

13. Vocational School Teachers
Vocational teachers who teach the core academic subjects need to meet the following highly qualified requirements:
Hold a Bachelor’s degree
Posses a Massachusetts teachers license
Demonstrate subject matter competency in the areas that they teach

14. Certification/Licensure Waivers
The law states that, to be considered highly qualified, the teacher must not have “had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency or temporary basis”.
Massachusetts teachers who are on waivers should not be considered as having met the HQ requirements for purposes of federal goal setting and reporting.

15. Out-of-field Teaching
Massachusetts allows teachers to teach out-of-field for up to 20% of their time.
NCLB requires a teacher to demonstrate “a high level of competency in each of the [core] academic subjects” in which he or she teaches.
A teacher who is teaching out-of-field will not be considered HQ in the out-of-field subject area until he or she has demonstrated subject matter competency in that area.

16. Parent Notification – District Responsibility
Districts that receive Title I, Part A funds are required to notify the parents of students attending any school that receives funds under Title I, Part A that a parent may request, and the district will provide the parent on request, information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teacher(s).

17. Parent Notification – School Responsibility
Schools that receive Title I funding shall provide each individual parent timely notice that the parent’s child has been assigned, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks, by a teacher who is not highly qualified.

18. Title I Instructional Paraprofessionals
Paraprofessionals in Title I programs who provide instructional support must meet minimum qualification requirements.
Qualification requirements must be met as a condition of employment for instructional paraprofessionals hired after January 8, 2002.
Those hired before January 8, 2002 had until January 8, 2006 to meet the requirements.

19. Title I Instructional Paraprofessionals (cont.)
For school-wide programs, the requirements apply to all paraprofessionals carrying out instructional duties, without regard to how their position is funded.
For targeted assistance programs, the requirements apply to any instructional paraprofessional who is paid with Title I funds.
Title I translators (who are proficient in English and another language), and individuals working on parental involvement activities do not need to meet the requirements.

20. Qualification Requirements
A high school diploma or equivalent; AND
An Associate’s (or higher) degree; OR
Completion of 48 credit hours at an Institution of Higher Education; OR
Completion of one of the formal Massachusetts-endorsed Assessments: Parapro or WorkKeys
**Note: Title I paraprofessionals must also work under the direct supervision of a teacher.

21. Formal State Assessment: ParaPro
Multiple choice questions that test knowledge and skills in the area of reading, writing, and mathematics and the ability to assist in instruction in these areas.
Passing score is 464.
Test cost to is $40 per person.
In MA, only a computer-based test available. There is no paper and pencil test as was once reported. If this changes, the Department will inform districts.
School districts must register to administer test. School districts are the only testing sites.
ParaPro Study Guide available on the ETS website (

22. Formal State Assessment: WorkKeys
Test consists of Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, Business Writing and an Instructional Support Inventory.
Five participating community colleges (Holyoke, Middlesex, Bunker Hill, Bristol, and Springfield Technical) administer the assessments.
Assessments also can be administered at local schools via a computer or paper and pen based assessment Test cost is $40.
Passing scores:
Reading for Information: Skill Level 5.
Applied Mathematics: Skill Level 4.
Business Writing: Skill Level 3.

23. Additional Information
ParaPro
WorkKeys

24. Additional Policy Guidance

25. Contact Information