Assessment/Accountability No Child Left Behind
Title II-A: Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals

Update to the NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) Requirements and District Action Steps for the Coming Year

As you are aware, the federal NCLB deadline for all teachers of core academic subjects to meet highly qualified teacher requirements was this past June 30, 2006. As of that date, Massachusetts could only report the 93% highly qualified rate ascertained by the October 2005 annual data collection. As you may know, U.S.ED asked all states to submit a Revised State HQT Plan this summer that addressed several issues including how states will work with their school districts to ensure that teachers achieve HQT status as quickly as possible. Those states with accepted plans will have until June 30, 2007 to have all of their teachers designated as HQT.

Our first submission of our Revised State HQT Plan was not approved by the U.S. Department of Education primarily because our state lacks data at the individual educator level. We are joined by 43 other states that have not received approval of their revised plans; the nine states receiving approval submitted individual educator level data. We have made it clear to U.S.ED that we are developing an individual educator database ("EPIMS") that will become operational statewide in October 2007 and have received assurances that the highly qualified data we can provide in the interim will be sufficient.

The Department has recently provided U.S.ED with the second submission of our plan. I believe we are on track for approval by November of this year. I am writing at this time to provide you with as much advance notice as possible of what is likely to be approved in our amended plan. I believe it prudent to plan according to the following information, even though our plan has not received official approval from U.S.ED. In addition, this memo includes additional information about HQT policies that are not included in the plan but will become effective July 1, 2007. The Department is providing you with information about these policy changes now so that you will be aware and plan accordingly for the implementation of these changes during the next academic year.

Memo Table of Contents:

1 Action Steps for the 2006-2007 Academic Year:

• State Equity Plan
• Modifications to the MA HOUSSE Procedures
• Development and Implementation of District Teacher Quality Improvement Plans
• HQT Corrective Action Provisions

Massachusetts HQT Policy Changes Effective July 1, 2007

Attachment A: District Cohorts

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1 References to "district(s)" in this document includes charter schools.

Massachusetts ESE and District Action Steps for the 2006-2007 Academic Year