Opinion ID: 799639
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Demonstrates satisfactory

Text: progress toward full certification as prescribed by the State[.] Id. (emphasis added). Neither NCLB nor the Secretary’s regulation defines “alternative routes to certification.” The traditional path to a teaching credential generally involves obtaining a degree and taking education courses. The term “alternative routes to certification” generally refers to non-traditional training programs that are typically designed for people who already hold at least a bachelor’s degree in a field other than education. These alternative programs are often designed to address teacher shortages in specific subjects or geographic areas. See, e.g., Cal. Educ. Code § 44382 (“Alternative certification programs shall address geographic and subject matter shortage areas, and shall be targeted toward people with work experience and others who already have a bachelor’s degree in the field in which they plan to teach.”). Some aspects of the traditional route to teacher certification — such as formal course work in education philosophy or pedagogy — are typically shortened, or sometimes waived altogether, in alternative-route programs. Several well-known 5018 RENEE v. DUNCAN and successful alternative-route programs, such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers, provide some training to participants before they begin teaching in the classroom. Teach for America participants, for example, receive training during the summer before they enter the classroom. Support and training typically continue for the length of an alternativeroute program. After successful completion of an alternativeroute program, a teacher receives a credential similar or identical to a credential obtained after successful completion of a traditional teacher-training program. In December 2010, after the issuance of Renee II, our second panel opinion in this case, Congress amended the Continuing Appropriations Act by adding Section 163. Section 163 provides: (a) A “highly qualified teacher” includes a teacher who meets the requirements in 34 C.F.R. 200.56(a)(2)(ii) . . . . (b) This provision is effective on the date of enactment of this provision through the end of the 2012- 13 academic year. § 1, 124 Stat. at 3521. Section 163 thus expands the statutory definition of “highly qualified teacher.” After the passage of Section 163, and for so long as Section 163 remains in effect, an alternative-route teacher who “demonstrates satisfactory progress toward full certification” is a “highly qualified teacher” within the meaning of NCLB.