Education Department issues proposed rules clarifying NCLB

8/13/02 – Proposed regulations issued by the U.S. Education Department Aug. 1 clarify Title I provisions under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, including adequate yearly progress, school choice, supplemental services, and qualifications for teachers and paraprofessionals.

The proposed regulations are not the final word on NCLB, however. The department will accept public comments until Sept. 5 and will issue final regulations sometime after that.

NCLB requires each state to develop a single, statewide accountability system to ensure that all school districts and schools achieve adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward the goal of having all students meet standards of proficiency in reading/language arts and mathematics by the 2013-14 school year.

In addition, NCLB requires specific groups of students to meet AYP, including students who are economically disadvantaged, students from major racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency. At least 95 percent of the students in each subgroup enrolled in a school must take the state assessments in reading and math.

Following are some of the highlights in the proposed rules:

• If a state changes its academic assessment system or its definition of AYP, it "may not extend, beyond the 2013-14 school year, its timeline for enabling all students to reach proficiency."

• "The number of students in a subgroup must be of sufficient size to produce statistically reliable results for the 95 percent requirement to affect AYP," the rules state. That means "if the number of students in a subgroup is too small to produce statistically reliable results, the state need not, on the basis of the 95 percent requirement, identify the school as failing to make AYP if less than 95 percent of the students in that subgroup take the state's assessment."

• The proposed regulations limit the number of students with the "most significant cognitive disabilities" who can take an alternative assessment to not more than 0.5 percent of all students assessed in a state or district.

• NCLB requires a district to identify for school improvement any school that fails to make AYP for two consecutive years and make public school choice available to all students enrolled in that school. If the school fails to make AYP for a third consecutive year, the district also must make available supplemental services to students who remain in that school.

These provisions take effect for the 2002-03 school year.

The proposed rules say school improvement plans "must include measurable goals that address the specific reasons for the school's failure to make AYP."

• In providing public school choice, districts must give priority to the lowest-achieving students from low-income families.

• The proposed rules require districts "to offer the parents of each eligible student a choice of more than one school." Parents must be allowed, whenever possible, to choose "from among several options, the school that best meets the educational needs of their child."

• According to the proposed rules, a supplemental services provider may include "a nonprofit entity, a for-profit entity, a public school, including a public charter school, a private school, or a local education agency." A school "identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring" cannot provide supplemental services.

• NCLB defines a "highly qualified teacher" as a teacher with at least a bachelor's degree and who has either obtained full state teacher certification or has passed the state teacher licensing examination and holds a license to teach in that state. The proposed regulations state that these requirements apply only to teachers of core academic subjects. They do not apply to vocational education teachers or employees of a third-party contractor or supplemental services provider.

• NCLB requires all paraprofessionals who work in Title I schools to have at least two years of study at an institution of higher education, to have obtained an associate's degree or higher, and be able to demonstrate knowledge of and the ability to assist in instructing reading, writing, and mathematics or readiness in those subjects.

This provision applies to all paraprofessionals hired after Jan. 8, 2002. Paraprofessionals hired before that date have four years to meet these requirements.

• The proposed rules clarify that to be considered a paraprofessional, an employee must perform instructional support duties, work under the direct supervision of a teacher, and work in close proximity of the teacher.