2206 Approval of standards of the Department of Education necessary to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

Approval of Standards of the Department of Education Necessary to Comply with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

[32 Pa.B. 6030]

   Section 2603-B(d)(10)(i) of the Public School Code of 1949, added by section 31 of the act of June 29, 2002 (P. L. 524, No. 88) (Act 88), empowers the State Board of Education (Board) to:

   Approve or disapprove standards proposed by the [D]epartment [of Education] in order to comply with the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425) to maintain the eligibility of this Commonwealth to receive Federal funding for education programs. The [State B]oard shall approve or disapprove the standards within 30 days of submission to the [State B]oard's office or at its next scheduled meeting, whichever is sooner. Failure of the board to approve or disapprove the standards within the time established under this section shall be deemed an approval of the standards.

24 P. S. § 26-2603-B(d)(10)(i). The standards proposed by the Department of Education (Department) and approved or deemed approved by the State Board under § 2603-B(d)(10)(i) must be deposited with the Pennsylvania Bulletin for publication. See 24 P. S. § 26-2603-B(d)(10)(ii). However, as provided by Act 88, standards promulgated by the Department under § 2603-B(d)(10) are exempt from the following laws:

(A)  Sections 201 through 205 of the act of July 31, 1968 (P. L. 769, No. 240), referred to as the Commonwealth Documents Law.

(B)  Section 204(b) of the act of October 15, 1980 (P. L. 950, No. 164), known as the Commonwealth Attorneys Act.

(C)  The act of June 25, 1982 (P. L. 633, No. 181), known as the Regulatory Review Act.

See 24 P. S. § 26-2603-B(d)(10)(iii).

   On November 13, 2002, the Department presented to the State Board two sets of proposed standards necessary to comply with the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq. At its meeting held November 14, 2002, the State Board approved both sets of proposed standards. The resolutions adopted by the State Board reflecting its approval of the Department standards appear as follows. The State Board expects the Department to deposit the approved standards for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

JIM BUCKHEIT,   
Acting Executive Director

RESOLUTION

   Whereas, The United States Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) (P. L. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425), which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002; and

   Whereas, NCLB, inter alia, amends Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (P. L. 89-10, 79 Stat. 27) (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged), 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq.; and

   Whereas, The purpose of Title I is to ensure that all children have the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State achievement standards and academic assessments; and

   Whereas, Section 1119 of Title I (20 U.S.C. § 6319 (relating to qualifications for teachers and paraprofessionals)) provides that each local educational agency receiving assistance under the act must ensure that all teachers hired after the first day of the first school year after the date of enactment of the NCLB are highly qualified; and

   Whereas, Section 1119 of Title I further provides that each state educational agency receiving assistance under the act must ensure that all teachers teaching in core academic subjects within the state are highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year; and

   Whereas, Section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. § 7801 (relating to definitions)), as amended by NCLB, defines a highly qualified elementary teacher (grades K-6) as a teacher who has a bachelor's degree and who has passed a rigorous state test in reading, writing, mathematics, and other basic parts of elementary school curriculum; and

   Whereas, Section 9101 of the ESEA defines a highly qualified middle or secondary school teacher as a teacher who has a bachelor's degree and has either passed a core content area test or has an academic major, graduate degree, or coursework equivalent to an undergraduate major in the subject area to be taught; and

   Whereas, Teachers fully certified in Pennsylvania are highly qualified with the exception of teachers teaching grades seven and eight without a content area certification; and

   Whereas, Pennsylvania currently has approximately 5200 teachers teaching with emergency certification who may not be highly qualified; and

   Whereas, It is likely that Pennsylvania will face highly qualified teacher shortages due to the aging teacher workforce and retention and recruitment trends; and

   Whereas, State and local educational agencies must comply with the requirements of NCLB in order to maintain eligibility for continued funding under Title I; and

   Whereas, The Pennsylvania Department of Education (Department) solicited recommendations for meeting NCLB requirements for highly qualified teachers; and

   Whereas, The Committee of Practitioners established under section 1903(b) of Title I, added by NCLB (20 U.S.C. § 6573(b)(relating to committee of practitioners)), recommends that Pennsylvania allow certified teachers to obtain additional instructional certification by demonstrating competency on a subject area test in the area to be certified; and

   Whereas, The Committee of Practitioners further recommends that Pennsylvania's interstate reciprocity agreement be modified to allow teachers who are fully certified in other states and who have a qualifying score on an appropriate subject matter test to be certified in Pennsylvania without meeting additional academic and testing requirements, provided the teacher has completed three years of teaching experience within the prior seven years, all of which has been satisfactory, and satisfies the basic certification requirements of the Public School Code of 1949 (Public School Code) (see 24 P. S. §§ 12-1202 (relating to State certificates) and 12-1209 (relating to disqualifications)), such as having good moral character, being at least 18 years old, and having a bachelor's degree; and

   Whereas, The Department, under 22 Pa. Code § 49.91 (relating to criteria for eligibility), has the authority to certify teachers who have completed a Department approved intern program in Pennsylvania and have satisfactory achievement on required assessments; and

   Whereas, Pursuant to this authority, the Committee of Practitioners agrees with the continued use of the existing intern program to provide a flexible and accelerated pedagogical training program for teachers who have demonstrated subject area competency, provided that the first year of teaching includes intensive supervision by an approved institution; and

   Whereas, The Secretary of Education (Secretary) has the authority under 22 Pa. Code § 49.18 (relating to testing) to develop an assessment program for candidates for certification; and

   Whereas, Pursuant to this authority, the Committee of Practitioners agrees that the student teaching semester be structured to include assessment of the pedagogical skills of teachers in lieu of the Principals of Learning (PLT) assessment currently required for teacher certification in Pennsylvania; and

   Whereas, The Committee of Practitioners further recommends that teachers successfully completing other national teacher training programs that require a candidate to demonstrate mastery of the subject area to be taught and professional knowledge needed for classroom effectiveness, including the American Board and Teach for America programs and such other programs as approved by the State Board of Education, be certified to teach in Pennsylvania without meeting further academic and testing requirements, provided the teacher satisfies the basic certification requirements of the Public School Code (see 24 P. S. §§ 12-1202 and 12-1209), such as having good moral character, being at least 18 years old, and having a bachelor's degree; and

   Whereas, Section 2603-B(d)(10) of the Public School Code (24 P. S. § 26-2603-B(d)(10)), added by section 31 of Act 88 of 2002, provides that the State Board of Education shall have the authority and duty, within thirty days of submission to the State Board or at the next scheduled meeting (whichever is sooner), to approve or disapprove standards proposed by the Department in order to comply with the provisions of NCLB and to maintain eligibility for funding; and

   Whereas, The Department submitted its proposed standards to the State Board on November 13, 2002; and

   Whereas, On November 13, 2002, the special committee of the State Board established to work with the Department in the development and review of standards necessary to comply with NCLB (the NCLB Committee) conducted a public meeting to review and discuss the standards presented by the Department for approval by the State Board and to receive public comment on the proposals; and

   Whereas, The NCLB Committee on November 13, 2002 approved a motion to recommend to the State Board that it approve the standards proposed by the Department; and

   Whereas, At the regular business meeting of the State Board held November 14, 2002, the Secretary made a detailed presentation explaining the standards presented by the Department for approval by the State Board; and

   Whereas, The State Board, at its November 14, 2002 meeting, publicly voted to approve the proposed standards presented by the Department.

Now, Therefore, Be It

   Resolved: That certified teachers in Pennsylvania might add instructional certificate areas by passing content area tests in the areas to be certified; and be it further

   Resolved: That the Department may continue to structure the Pennsylvania intern program to provide flexible and accelerated pedagogical training to teachers who have demonstrated competency in a subject area, provided that the first year of teaching includes intensive supervision by an approved institution; and be it further

   Resolved: That the student teaching semester may be structured to include assessment of the pedagogical skills of teachers in lieu of the PLT assessment; and be it further

   Resolved: That teachers certified to teach in other states who have completed three years of teaching experience within the prior seven years, all of which has been satisfactory, and have qualifying scores on appropriate subject matter tests, may be certified to teach in Pennsylvania without meeting further academic and testing requirements, provided the teacher satisfies the basic certification requirements of the Public School Code (see 24 P. S. §§ 12-1202 and 12-1209), such as having good moral character, being at least 18 years old, and having a bachelor's degree; and

   Resolved: That teachers successfully completing other national teacher training programs that require a candidate to demonstrate mastery of the subject area to be taught and professional knowledge needed for classroom effectiveness, including the American Board and Teach for America programs and such other programs as approved by the State Board of Education, will be certified to teach in Pennsylvania without meeting further academic and testing requirements, provided the teacher satisfies the basic certification requirements of the Public School Code (see 24 P. S. §§ 12-1202 and 12-1209), such as having good moral character, being at least eighteen years old, and having a bachelor's degree.

RESOLUTION

   Whereas, The United States Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) (P. L. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425), which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002; and

   Whereas, NCLB, inter alia, amends Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (P. L. 89-10, 29 Stat. 27) (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged), 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq.; and

   Whereas, The purpose of Title I is to ensure that all children have the opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State achievement standards and academic assessments; and

   Whereas, Because paraprofessionals play a critical, often daily, role in the education of children, NCLB includes these important educators as part of the staff quality improvement effort; and

   Whereas, Section 1119(f) of Title I (20 U.S.C. § 6319(f) (relating to general requirement for all paraprofessionals)) requires all Title I funded instructional paraprofessionals to hold a high school diploma or GED; and

   Whereas, Section 1119(c) of Title I (20 U.S.C. § 6319(c) (relating to new paraprofessionals)) requires all Title I funded instructional paraprofessionals hired after January 8, 2002 to hold an associate's degree, or have completed at least two years of study at an institution of higher education, or meet a rigorous standard of quality demonstrated through a state or local assessment; and

   Whereas, Section 1119(d) of Title I (20 U.S.C. § 6319(d) (relating to existing paraprofessionals)) requires all Title I funded instructional paraprofessionals hired prior to January 8, 2002 to obtain an associate's degree, or complete at least two years of study at an institution of higher education, or meet a rigorous standard of quality demonstrated through a state or local assessment by January 8, 2006; and

   Whereas, In furtherance of this purpose, NCLB provides grants to State education agencies and sub-grants to local education agencies (LEAs) for purposes of professional development of paraprofessionals; and

   Whereas, State and local educational agencies must comply with the requirements of Title I, as amended by NCLB, in order to maintain eligibility for continued funding under Title I; and

   Whereas, There are about 5,000 paraprofessionals working in Title I related programs; and

   Whereas, Of the 5,000 paraprofessionals working in Title I related programs, about 4,000 do not meet the requirements of NCLB; and

   Whereas, Approximately 2,000 of the paraprofessionals not meeting the requirements of NCLB are employed in the School District of Philadelphia; and

   Whereas, Approximately 400 of the paraprofessionals not meeting the requirements of NCLB are employed in the Pittsburgh School District; and

   Whereas, The School District of Philadelphia and the Pittsburgh School District have already developed local paraprofessional assessments for purposes of satisfying the requirements of NCLB; and

   Whereas, The Pennsylvania Department of Education (Department) solicited recommendations for meeting the NCLB requirements related to Title I instructional paraprofessionals; and

   Whereas, The Committee of Practitioners established under section 1903(b) of Title I, added by NCLB (20 U.S.C. § 6573(b) (relating to committee of practitioners)), agreed that a local assessment model allows for local control and flexibility while meeting the requirements of NCLB; and

   Whereas, Title I instructional paraprofessionals may also meet the NCLB requirements by obtaining an associates degree or two years of study at an institution of higher education; and

   Whereas, The phrase, ''two years of study at an institution of higher education,'' is undefined and must have a meaning different from that of ''an associates degree''; otherwise, the reference to ''an associates degree'' would have no meaning; and

   Whereas, The Department has recommended as a standard the development of a process for reviewing local assessments to determine that they satisfy the requirements of NCLB; and

   Whereas, The Department has determined that ''two years of study at an institution of higher education'' is satisfied upon completing 48 credits; and

   Whereas, Section 2603-B(d)(10) of the Public School Code of 1949 (Public School Code) (24 P. S. § 26-2603-B(d)(10)), added by section 31 of Act 88 of 2002, provides that the State Board of Education (State Board) shall have the authority and duty, within thirty (30) days of submission to the State Board office or at the next scheduled meeting (whichever is sooner), to approve or disapprove standards proposed by the Department in order to comply with the provisions of NCLB and to maintain eligibility for funding; and

   Whereas, The Department submitted its proposed standards to the State Board on November 13, 2002; and

   Whereas, On November 13, 2002, the special committee of the State Board established to work with the Department in the development and review of standards necessary to comply with NCLB (the NCLB Committee) conducted a public meeting to review and discuss the standards presented by the Department for approval by the State Board and to receive public comment on the proposals; and

   Whereas, The NCLB Committee on November 13, 2002 approved a motion to recommend to the State Board that it approve the standards proposed by the Department; and

   Whereas, At the regular business meeting of the State Board held November 14, 2002, the Secretary of Education (Secretary) made a detailed presentation explaining the standards presented by the Department for approval by the State Board; and

   Whereas, The State Board at its November 14, 2002, meeting publicly voted to approve the proposed standards presented to it by the Department.

Now, Therefore, Be It

   Resolved: That ''two years of study at an institution of higher education'' is satisfied upon completing 48 credits; and be it further

   Resolved: That the Department will develop a process for reviewing local assessments to determine that they satisfy the requirements of NCLB.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 02-2206. Filed for public inspection December 6, 2002, 9:00 a.m.]