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In March 2004, the U.S. Department of Education issued a new non-regulatory guidance on the requirements for paraprofessionals under the No Child Left Behind Act. The guidance includes a list of frequently asked questions, with answers that are either new or significantly revised. The rest of the guidance includes minor and technical revisions, and it has been reorganized so that all questions addressing similar topics are in the same section. The following excerpts might be of particular interest to TCTA members; the full draft is available (in pdf format) on the DOE Web site.

What are the qualification requirements for Title I paraprofessionals?

(1) All Title I paraprofessionals must have a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent.

(2) Additionally, except as noted below, paraprofessionals hired after Jan. 8, 2002, and working in a program supported with Title I, Part A funds must have:

  • Completed two years of study (48 hours) at an institution of higher education; or
  • Obtained an associate's (or higher) degree; or
  • Met a rigorous state or local standard of quality and demonstrate knowledge of and the ability to assist in the instruction of reading, writing and mathematics (or, as appropriate, reading readiness, writing readiness and mathematics readiness) through a formal state or local academic assessment. The state has developed such an assessment, the Paraprofessional Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (PAKS).

NCLB requires existing paraprofessionals to meet one of these qualifications by January 8, 2006; however, Assistant Secretary of Education Ray Simon has extended this deadline to the end of the 2005-06 school year to be consistent with the highly qualified teacher requirements.

Paraprofessionals who only serve as translators or who only conduct parental involvement activities must have a secondary school diploma or its equivalent, but do not have to meet the additional requirements.

How do the requirements apply to persons who work with special education students?

The requirements for persons who work with special education students differ depending upon their duties, but DO apply if a person:

  • works in a Title I targeted assistance program, has instructional support duties, and is paid in whole or in part with Title I, Part A funds.
  • works in a Title I schoolwide program and has instructional support duties (requirements apply without regard to the source of funding that supports the position).

The requirements do not apply if a person:

  • works with special education students but does NOT provide any instructional support (such as a someone who solely provides personal care services), since he/she is not considered a paraprofessional under Title I, Part A.
  • works in a Title I targeted assistance program and has instructional support duties but is not paid with Title I, Part A funds.

Would a paraprofessional, hired on or before Jan. 8, 2002, and currently working in an LEA in a non-Title I program, be considered a “new” paraprofessional (and subject to the requirements for new paraprofessionals) if that individual is re-assigned to a program supported with Title I funds?

A new paraprofessional is one who is newly hired by a district. If a person worked as a paraprofessional in a non-Title I school in the same district, he/she is not considered to be a new paraprofessional if he/she transfers to a Title I school within that district.

Do the Title I requirements for new paraprofessionals apply to paraprofessionals who are laid off and then recalled? In other words, are these individuals “new” or “existing” paraprofessionals?

The statute and regulations state that “new” paraprofessionals are those hired after Jan. 8, 2002 (the date of enactment of the NCLB Act), and “existing” paraprofessionals are those hired before that date. A district has the discretion to define its policies for distinguishing “new” and “existing” paraprofessionals in the case of those hired before that date who were laid off and subsequently rehired after that date. These policies might say, for example: A paraprofessional who was initially hired on or before Jan. 8, 2002, but who, because of the LEA’s fiscal constraints, was laid off at the end of one school year:

(1) Is considered an “existing” paraprofessional if the individual was rehired when the LEA recalled laid-off paraprofessionals such that the individual has continuous years of employment;

(2) Is considered a “new” paraprofessional if the individual did not rejoin the LEA when it recalled laid-off paraprofessionals if and when the individual is rehired.

Once a paraprofessional has met the requirements, is the qualified status “portable”? That is, can the paraprofessional be deemed qualified in other school districts within a state?

A district may, at its discretion, determine that a paraprofessional meets the Title I qualification requirements if the individual was previously determined to meet these requirements when employed by another district.

If a paraprofessional resigns at the end of the school year but is rehired by the same LEA before school begins, is the paraprofessional a new or existing employee?

The paraprofessional would be considered an existing employee.

May continuing education credits (CECs) be used to meet the requirement that paraprofessionals complete at least two years of study at an institution of higher education?

A state or district, as appropriate, may count CECs toward the requirement that a paraprofessional complete at least two years of study at an institution of higher education if the following conditions are met: the CECs are part of an overall training and development program plan, and an institution of higher education accepts or translates them to course credits.

Does “assessment” mean a “paper and pencil test” only, or could the assessment be a performance assessment evaluating demonstrable skills?

The law does not require a paper and pencil test. However, there must be evidence that the assessment is valid and reliable. Also, the assessment results must be documented, i.e., there needs to be a record of the assessment and the individual’s performance on that assessment. Should a state or district decide to use or allow more than one type of assessment, each assessment should be evaluated against the same standards.

May Title I funds be used to pay for the paraprofessional assessment?

Yes.

What are the requirements for the supervision of paraprofessionals?

Because paraprofessionals provide instructional support, they should not be providing planned direct instruction, or introducing to students new skills, concepts or academic content. The requirement that paraprofessionals work in close and frequent proximity to a teacher also would be inconsistent with the following programs:

  • allowing a paraprofessional to provide instructional support while a teacher visits the site once or twice a week but otherwise is not in the classroom
  • one where a paraprofessional works with a group of students in another location while the teacher provides instruction to the rest of the class