NCLB, IDEA, and Alternative Routes in Preparation of Rural Special Education Teachers in High Incidence Areas:

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is without peer in the annals of federal education legislation. Prior to the passage of NCLB, no law had ever inserted the U.S. Department of Education directly into the sacrosanct areas of state and local responsibility for ensuring student achievement, using research-validated practices, and dictating the qualifications of our nation's teachers. Teacher quality and the "highly qualified" standard is at the forefront of the NCLB promise (some would say "threat") that all students will learn more than they are currently learning; if not, schools and teachers will be held accountable for their failure. As a means to increase student achievement and hold teachers more accountable, NCLB applies pressure to every sector of the education community. Nowhere has that pressure been felt more than in special education programs for students with high incidence disabilities in rural areas where one-third of the nation's school districts are located. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the current status of the federal requirements for highly qualified special education teachers who work with students in high incidence disability areas. As adopted in NCLB and the newly reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 04), we analyze the impact of the highly qualified standard on recruitment and preparation of special education teachers in rural areas and address alternative approaches for meeting federal requirements. The Federal View of a Highly Qualified Special Education Teacher Signed into law in 2001, NCLB was very explicit about what constitutes a "highly qualified" elementary or secondary teacher. An individual is considered highly qualified if he or she has obtained full state certification/licensure, or successfully passed a state's teacher licensing examination. A highly qualified teacher is certified or licensed to teach in a given state and must not have had state requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis. New elementary teachers must hold a bachelor's degree and demonstrate subject knowledge and teaching skills in basic elementary school curriculum, including but not limited to, reading, writing and mathematics. Subject matter competency and teaching skills must be measured by "a rigorous state test." New middle and secondary teachers must also hold a bachelors degree and demonstrate a high level of competency in the academic subjects they teach. Subject matter competence must be measured by "a rigorous state subject matter test," or by completing an undergraduate major in the subject area, a graduate degree, or by completing coursework equivalent to an undergraduate academic major. Effective 2002-2003, the law required that all new Title I teachers must have met the above requirements. Additionally, a state's Title I plan must include measurable objectives to ensure that all teachers providing instruction in "core subjects" (such as English, math, science, social studies, foreign languages, or art) meet the highly qualified definition by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Qualifications for veteran teachers were also specified in statute. Veteran teachers must hold at least a bachelors' degree and be held to the same standard as new elementary, middle, and secondary teachers. They may, however, demonstrate their competence in the teaching of academic subjects based on "a high objective uniform state standard of evaluation" (HOUSSE). (For more information on HOUSSE criteria, see U.S. Department of Education [2004], The secretary's Third Annual Report on Teacher Quality.) Although explicit regarding the expectations for elementary and secondary teachers, NCLB requirements to be a "highly qualified" special education teacher were nowhere to be found. In fact, it wasn't until December of 2002 that the Department of Education promulgated federal regulations that were intended to clarify that the standard really does apply to all teachers, including special educators (34 CFR Part 200, December 2, 2002). …