Policy – Category 4000 (Personnel)
BP 4001 – Personnel Development
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) amended the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by removing the definition of “highly qualified” in § 602(10), and the requirement in § 612(a) (14) (C), that special education teachers be “highly qualified” by the deadline established in § 1119(a)(2) of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by No Child Left Behind. Accordingly, a state is not required to ensure that special education teachers are “highly qualified” as defined in the ESEA beginning with the 2016-17 school year but must ensure that they meet the requirements noted in the following paragraph.
1.1
Definition of Highly Qualified – Federal Requirements related to the Professional Qualifications of Teachers under ESSA
§ 9214(d)(2) of the ESSA amended § 612(a)(14)(C) of the IDEA by incorporating the requirement previously in § 602(10)(B), that an individual employed as a special education teacher in elementary school, middle school, or secondary school must: (1) have obtained full certification as a special education teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes to certification), or passed the state special education teacher licensing examination and hold a license to teach in the state as a special education teacher, except that a special education teacher teaching a public charter school must meet the requirements set forth in the stat e’s public charter school law; (2) not have had special education certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis; and (3) hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Each state must continue to comply with these certification requirements during the 2016-17 school year. Each state is not required to comply with the requirements in §§ 1119 and 2141 of the ESEA , as amended by No Child Left Behind, in the 2016-17 school year because these provisions are not continued under ESSA. • § 1119 of the ESEA , as amended by NCLB, which requires that each LEA hire highly qualified teachers; that each state and LEA report on progress toward all teachers being highly qualified. • § 2141 of the ESEA , as amended by NCLB, which requires an LEA not making progress toward all teachers being highly qualified to create and implement an improvement plan and requires the state to provide technical assistance to such LEA.
2.0
Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD)
California Education Code § 56205(a), Title 20 of the United States Code §§ 1412(a) (44-15) and 1413(a)(3). Each special education local plan area
BP 4001 – Personnel Development
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Desert Mountain Special Education Local Plan Area (DMSELPA) (rev. 09/17)
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