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After TCTA called into question the legal authority for the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to attempt to eliminate a popular option for experienced teachers to meet the "highly qualified" requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the USDE retreated from its stance, indicating in a letter sent to all states that it would wait to attempt elimination of HOUSE (High Objective Uniform Standard of Evaluation) until the NCLB Act is up for reauthorization.
TCTA first learned of USDE's plans to eliminate HOUSE when USDE sent letters to most states, asking them to submit a revised highly qualified plan and include a description of how HOUSE would be phased out. States were required to submit the revised plans in order to be considered for a one-year extension of the deadline for all teachers of core academic subjects to be highly qualified. HOUSE is an option for experienced teachers to meet "highly qualified" requirements without having to take an additional certification test. Many veteran teachers, whose teaching certificates predated the requirement to pass a certification test, and all teachers reassigned outside of their areas of certification use the HOUSE option in order to meet "highly qualified" requirements.
Upon seeing the letter, TCTA and our Washington lobbyist immediately contacted the USDE directly, as well as Texas' U.S. Senators, to point out that nowhere in the NCLB is there statutory authority to phase out or eliminate HOUSE. TCTA argued that eliminating it would be devastating as it is the way that most veteran teachers whose teaching certificates predated the requirement to pass a certification test, and all teachers assigned outside of their areas of certification are able to demonstrate that they are "highly qualified". The HOUSE option allows experienced teachers to meet "highly qualified" requirements without having to take an additional certification test by showing that they have a certain number of years of experience, college hours and professional development related to the subject taught.
At the same time, TCTA worked with TEA to come up with a revised state plan that would somehow retain HOUSE. In doing so, TCTA explained to both TEA and USDE that Texas is unique from other states in that, due to employment laws in Texas, Texas teachers have little or no control over their teaching assignments; in fact, most Texas teacher contracts contain language specifying that teachers can be assigned as necessary. In Texas, the out-of-field assignment rate has remained at about 20% for the last five years, a statistic that is reflective of the pressing teacher shortage we are experiencing.
Eliminating the HOUSE option for an experienced teacher who is assigned to something for which he/she is not certified, something over which the teacher has little or no control, seems extreme, given the fact that the only other option for these teachers to demonstrate competency would be to pass the relevant certification test or have 24 college semester hours at the secondary level. Certification tests in Texas are only offered four times per year; college courses take a semester to complete. Both of these options take time, something that teachers in this situation will not have when they are typically notified of their assignment at the beginning of the school year, or in some cases, during the school year.
TEA included TCTA’s language regarding out-of-field assignments in its revised state "highly qualified plan", using it as the basis to request that HOUSE be continued as follows:
“Any experienced (not new to the profession) secondary teacher who was eligible to use the HOUSSE option prior to the end of the 2005-06 school year, who has demonstrated highly qualified status in their teaching assignment and is subsequently asked or required to add or change teaching assignments may use HOUSSE to demonstrate highly qualified teacher status in the new assignment. This use of HOUSSE will be phased out by the end of the 2008-09 school year.
Because Texas teacher contracts routinely contain provisions allowing teachers to be assigned as needed, many experienced teachers are subject to assignment at-will, often with short notice prior to or during the school year. Texas is a "right to work" state, with no collective bargaining. Accordingly, unlike other states, teachers in Texas do not negotiate union contracts which address issues like assignment. TEA will add data elements to the 2007-08 and 2008-09 Highly Qualified Teacher Compliance Report to monitor the use of this HOUSSE option for teachers required to add or change assignments.”
Results
In a Sept. 5, 2006 letter, USDE notified states that rather than requiring the phase-out of HOUSE, they would instead "strongly encourage States to eliminate" the use of HOUSE procedures "to the extent practicable." USDE also stated that it is their intent to pursue further phase-out of HOUSE procedures through the reauthorization of the NCLB Act. The NCLB Act is up for reauthorization in 2007, but most Washington insiders are reporting that it's not likely to be reauthorized until 2009 due to intervening elections.
Additionally, USDE approved TEA’s revised highly qualified teacher plan. For more information about the USDE-approved revised Texas Highly Qualified Teacher plan, visit the website.
As a result of TCTA's actions and that of our Washington lobbyist, we are now assured that any attempt to eliminate HOUSE will be made through the proper channels, and certainly not without plenty of opportunity for public input.
TCTA will continue to monitor this situation closely, as many of our members are "highly qualified" by virtue of HOUSE, and its elimination would mean a hardship for many of them.
Updated: 06/12/07
