Are Teachers in Training Good Enough for Special Ed.?

In September, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California threw out 2004 regulations from the U.S. Department of Education that said No Child Left Behind's highly qualified teacher designation could be applied to someone working on their certification. The rule allowed teaching interns and teachers in training to count as "highly qualified."

A group of California parents and advocacy groups had sued the federal Education Department, saying teachers in training were more likely to be found at schools where a majority of students were members of a minority group, and those parents would have no way of knowing their children's teachers were still in training since they were labeled "highly qualified." (No Child Left Behind required all teachers, at all schools, with a few exceptions, to be considered "highly qualified by the 2005-06 school year.)

But in December, Congress slipped a provision into an appropriations bill that essentially undid the California court's ruling.

Read Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE