September 5, 2006

Dear Chief State School Officers:

To meet the goal that all students will be on grade level in reading and mathematics 
by 2014, we need to pick up the pace in our efforts to ensure that all core academic 
subjects are taught by highly qualified and effective teachers. To that end, 
on March 21, 2006, Assistant Secretary Henry Johnson invited each State educational 
agency (SEA) to submit a revised plan for ensuring that, by the end of the 2006-07 
school year, all classes in the core academic subjects will be taught by a highly 
qualified teacher.

In addition, on May 12, Dr. Johnson asked each State to describe in its plan 
  how it would complete the High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation 
  (HOUSSE) procedures for those teachers hired prior to the end of the 2005-06 
  school year, and how the SEA would limit the use of HOUSSE procedures for teachers 
  hired after the end of the 2005-06 school year to three situations: secondary 
  school teachers teaching multiple subjects in eligible rural districts who were 
  highly qualified in one subject at the time of hire; special education teachers 
  teaching multiple subjects who were highly qualified in language arts, mathematics, 
  or science at the time of hire; and teachers from other countries teaching here 
  on a temporary basis.

The Department took these actions based on two factors. First, for the most 
  part, we believe that teachers who are not new to the profession no longer need 
  HOUSSE procedures to demonstrate their subject-matter competency. The vast majority 
  of these teachers have completed, or soon will complete, their State's 
  HOUSSE process. Second, the Department's recent monitoring of every State 
  found that many of the HOUSSE procedures were substantially less rigorous than 
  the other measures authorized in the statute for determining subject-matter 
  competency.

As requested, all States submitted a revised plan by July 7. We were very encouraged 
  to see that nine States (Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New 
  Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, and South Dakota) prepared plans that, according 
  to the peer review, comprehensively addressed all of the required components 
  the Department had identified. In addition, many States proposed actions consistent 
  with the request to limit the use of HOUSSE procedures. Given that most States 
  are committed to limiting or eliminating the use of HOUSSE procedures, the Department 
  intends to pursue the further phaseout of HOUSSE procedures through the reauthorization 
  of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In the interim the Department will focus 
  on the very important requirement in the Title I statute of ensuring that "poor 
  and minority" children have the same access to highly qualified teachers 
  as all other children.

Nevertheless, as a matter of policy and good education practice, we continue 
  to strongly encourage States to eliminate the use of HOUSSE procedures to the 
  extent practicable. As noted above, too many States have HOUSSE procedures that 
  provide relatively weak indicators of a teacher's attainment of subject-matter 
  knowledge. In particular, the Department is concerned about the practice of 
  allowing teachers who have been assigned to teach new subjects, for which they 
  have had little preparation, to use non-rigorous HOUSSE procedures to quickly 
  demonstrate subject-matter competency. I urge you to reexamine your HOUSSE procedures 
  to ensure that this is not the case in your State. Our students and parents 
  deserve no less.

If you have further questions about these matters, please do not hesitate to 
  contact Assistant Secretary Henry Johnson on (202) 401-0113 or at Henry.Johnson@ed.gov.

I hope that you will be able to participate in the Webcast that the Department, 
  in partnership with the National Comprehensive Center on Teacher Quality, will 
  be holding on September 7, 2006, to assist States in further strengthening their 
  plans for having all core academic subjects taught by highly qualified teachers. 
  We look forward to our continued work together to improve the quality of the 
  nation's teaching force, and to ensure that all children can achieve to 
  their fullest potential.

| | Sincerely,        
| | ------------------
| | /s/               
| | Margaret Spellings



|Last Modified: 09/06/2006
|-------------------------