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PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Highly Qualified Teacher Collection

through EDFacts

September 2013

Attachment B
High	Qualified	Teacher Collection	through	EDFacts

Attachment	B

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OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND

This clearance submission is the Highly Qualified Teacher data set to be collected through the 

EDFacts Submission System for school year 2013-14. 

These data are required for 53 respondents – all 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), Puerto 

Rico (PR), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). 

ED anticipates that the data will be due to the Department by May 1, 2014.

GENERAL NOTES:

 No staff-level data are collected. The data are aggregated at the local educational agency

(LEA) and state levels. Although some of the data files may contain small numbers, none of 

the information is linked to specific staff members. In submitting data to ED, state 

educational agencies (SEAs) and other data suppliers cannot suppress the data in small data 

cells except as specifically authorized by federal statute.

 Metadata are information to explain other data. Like all data collections, the highly qualified 

teacher collection requires metadata. Metadata collected from an SEA aids the analysis and 

appropriate use of data. The metadata to be collected ranges from information to support data 

submissions to capturing state policies surrounding data collection. Metadata may be 

collected through a variety of modes, depending on ED’s information needs and expectations 

for its use. 
Flexibility Collection through EDFacts

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DATA PROPOSED FOR COLLECTION

The highly qualified teacher data set will consist of the collection of six numbers for each LEA and each 

SEA. The tables below explain the six numbers that will be collected. All counts are in full time 

equivalencies (FTE).

For all teachers in the LEA and in the state: 

(1) Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) teaching #

(2) HQTs teaching who are currently enrolled in an alternative route to certification 

program

#

For all special education teachers in the LEA and in the state: 

(3) Special education HQTs #

(4) Special education HQTs who are currently enrolled in an alternative route 

to certification program

#

For all teachers in Title III language instruction educational programs regardless of source of salaries in 

the LEA and in the state: 

DEFINITIONS

What does “highly qualified” mean?

Section 9101(23) of the ESEA defines the term “highly qualified.” The definition can be found 

at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg107.html#sec9101.

How is a teacher defined?

A teacher is an individual who provides instruction to kindergarten, grades 1 through 12, or 

ungraded classes, or individuals who teach in an environment other than a classroom setting and 

who maintain daily student attendance records.

(5) Highly qualified teachers in Title III language instruction educational

programs regardless of source of salaries

#

(6) Highly qualified teachers in Title III language instruction educational 

programs regardless of source of salaries who are currently enrolled in an 

alternative route to certification program

#
Flexibility Collection through EDFacts

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What is a special education teacher? 

Special education teachers are teachers contracted or employed to provide special education to 

children with disabilities who receive special education under the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act (IDEA) according to an Individualized Education Program (IEP), Individual 

Family Service Plan (IFSP), or services plan.

What is a Title III language instruction educational program?

A Title III language instruction educational program is an instruction course:

(A) in which a limited English proficient child is placed for the purpose of developing 

and attaining English proficiency, while meeting challenging State academic content and 

student academic achievement standards, as required by Section 1111(b)(1) and

(B) that may make instructional use of both English and a child’s native language to 

enable the child to develop and attain English proficiency and may include the 

participation of English proficient children if such course is designed to enable all 

participating children to become proficient in English and a second language.

What is an alternative route to certification program?

An alternative route to certification program is a program that meets all three of the criteria 

below:

1) Is a state-approved course of study for teacher preparation, the completion of which 

signifies that an enrollee has met all the state’s educational requirements, or training 

requirements, or both, for an initial credential to teach in the states’ elementary, middle or 

secondary schools. 

2) Is a program that primarily serves candidates whom states permit to be the teachers of 

record in a classroom while participating in the teacher education program. They may be 

within an institution of higher education (IHE) (referred to as “alternative, IHE-based”) 

or outside an IHE (referred to as “alternative, not IHE-based”)

3) Is a program in which the participant, who is still actively participating in the program 

and is concurrently being deemed highly qualified by their state, is doing the following 

(according to 34 CFR 200.56(a)(2)(ii)):

 Receiving high-quality professional development that is sustained, intensive, and 

classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom 

instruction, before and while teaching;

 Participating in a program of intensive supervision that consists of structured 

guidance and regular ongoing support for teachers or a teacher mentoring 

program;
Flexibility Collection through EDFacts

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 Assuming functions as a teacher only for a specified period of time not to exceed 

three years; and

 Demonstrating satisfactory progress toward full certification as prescribed by the 

State. 

The state must have ensured, through its certification and licensure process, that the provisions in 

bullet 3) above have been met.

COLLECTION OF THE DATA

What LEAs should be reported?

Report LEAs that were operational and had teachers for elementary or secondary classes on the 

state determined date used for the teacher count. 

How are teachers reported?

Report staff in terms of FTE (full-time equivalent). FTE should be counted in hundredths. For 

example, if a teaching position is filled by four people, each working the same amount of time, 

each person would count as .25 FTE. The total FTE counts must be reported to the nearest 

hundredth (e.g., 59.20).

What is the reporting period?

Report the count of teachers as of a state determined date between October 1, 2013, and January

31, 2014.