> ![](media/image1.wmf){width="0.75in" height="0.75in"} [the assistant
> secretary]{.smallcaps}

####### August 15, 2006

Mr. Kenneth Noonan

President

California State Board of Education

1430 N Street, Suite 5111

Sacramento, CA 95814

Mr. Jack T. O\'Connell

Superintendent of Public Instruction

California Department of Education

1430 N Street, Suite 5602

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Board President Noonan and Superintendent O'Connell:

To meet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requirement of having every
student on grade level in reading and mathematics by 2014, we must
continue working together to ensure that every student has access to a
highly qualified, effective teacher.

On May 12, 2006, the U.S. Department of Education requested that your
State submit a revised highly qualified teachers (HQT) plan detailing
the actions that your agency and the State's local educational agencies
will take to ensure that, during the 2006-07 school year and beyond, all
teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified, and that poor
and minority children are taught at the same rates as other children by
highly qualified and experienced teachers. Similar requests were made to
all States because the Department had determined that, although most
States have made significant progress over the past four years, none was
likely to meet the NCLB requirement of having all classes in core
academic subjects taught by a highly qualified teacher by the end of the
2005-06 school year.

Thank you for submitting your revised State HQT plan in early July, as
we requested. All the State plans were peer reviewed in late July by
panels of readers with expertise in teacher quality and education
reform. Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the peer review panel's
comments and recommendations for your State.

As you can see, the peer reviewers concluded that your plan had a number
of serious deficiencies, including but not limited to the lack of a plan
with specific steps adequate to ensure that poor and minority children
are taught at the same rates as other children by highly qualified and
experienced teachers, as required by Section 1111(b)(8)(C) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by NCLB. The
Department concurs with this assessment. We recognize the substantial
challenge it has been for each of the States to prepare this plan, and
while we are encouraged that some States were able to submit complete
and comprehensive plans, we also recognize the other States will need
additional time and technical assistance to complete their work in this
area.

Your plan as submitted was not sufficient for us to conclude that the
strategies you have proposed would be sufficient to ensure that your
State will reach the goal of having all classes in core academic
subjects taught by highly qualified teachers by the end of the 2006-07
school year, and that poor and minority children will be taught at the
same rates as other children by highly qualified and experienced
teachers. Therefore, we are requesting that you do one of the following:

-   Your agency can provide data, which the Department will audit for
    accuracy, confirming that all core academic subject classes are
    currently being taught by teachers who are highly qualified to teach
    them, including supporting data showing that poor and minority
    children are taught by teachers with similar qualifications and
    experience as other children; **or**

-   Your agency can re-submit a revised State plan, including the
    "equitable distribution plan," that fully addresses all of the
    plan's required components and corrects the deficiencies that the
    peer reviewers identified.

I must also remind you that the Department is taking this issue quite
seriously. Whichever option your agency chooses, we will need to receive
your full response no later than Friday, September 29, 2006. Please
submit all materials **electronically** to
[HQTplans@ed.gov.](mailto:HQTplans@ed.gov) If, by September 29, your
agency has neither provided evidence that it is in full compliance with
these NCLB requirements nor successfully addressed the deficiencies in
its revised plan for having all teachers highly qualified, the
Department may consider other available remedies to secure the State's
compliance. Should your plan be approved, the Department will monitor
its implementation.

In the event you decide to strengthen your State plan in a way that can
ensure compliance with the NCLB requirements, we are prepared to provide
you with any assistance you may require. For instance, we would be
pleased to share with you some of the other States' strategies that the
peer reviewers found to be particularly promising. For your information,
all of the State plans are available through the Department's Web site
at
[www.ed.gov/programs/teacherqual/hqtplans/index.html](http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherqual/hqtplans/index.html).
We will post the peer reviewer comments on the same page.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact
Robert Stonehill (202-260-9737, or <robert.stonehill@ed.gov>), or Libby
Witt (202-260-5585, or <elizabeth.witt@ed.gov>). Thank you for your
further attention to this matter.

> Sincerely,
>
> /s/
>
> Henry L. Johnson

Enclosure