States fail to meet goals on qualified teachers
5/23/06 -- None of the states is expected to reach the requirement of having 100 percent of their teachers “highly qualified” by the start of the 2006-07 school year, the U.S. Education Department announced May 12.
Seven states -- Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Washington -- plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are so far behind, they could face sanctions, meaning the department could withhold federal funding from them.
“The day of reckoning is here and it’s not going to pass,” Henry Johnson, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, told the Associated Press. “In some cases, we’re talking about large amounts of money.”
The Education Department has not finished reviewing the plans submitted by another 12 states.
The remaining states have all been told their plans need to be revised but are making good faith efforts to comply with the law.
The No Child Left Behind Act originally required all states to submit plans showing that 100 percent of their teachers are highly qualified by the start of the 2005-06 school year.
That deadline was later delayed until the next school year. States can define “highly qualified” based on federal guidelines.
It’s not clear whether the problem is due to a lack of data or more serious issues.
There have been practical challenges in getting enough highly qualified teachers, particularly in rural areas and for areas where there is a shortage, such as math, science, and special education.
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