The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) enacted on January 8, 2002, introduced many changes designed to improve student achievement. The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) is developing guidance and regulations for Title I requirements, including teacher and paraprofessional qualifications. As the USDOE strives to complete this work as quickly as possible, the following outlines a few key paraprofessional requirements that took effect on January 8. There is no time for delay in their implementation.
NEW PARAPROFESSIONALS
All paraprofessionals hired after January 8, 2002 shall have -
"(A) completed 2 years of study at an institution of higher education;
"(B) obtained an associate's (or higher) degree; or
"(C) met a rigorous standard of quality and can demonstrate, through a formal State or local academic assessment* -
"(i) knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing, reading, writing, and
mathematics; or
"(ii) knowledge of, and the ability to assist in instructing, reading readiness,
writing readiness, and mathematics readiness, as appropriate.
EXISTING PARAPROFESSIONALS
Paraprofessionals hired before the January 8, 2002 shall meet these requirements in four years.
Although the policy is not finalized, the USDOE's current thinking is-
· These requirements apply to paraprofessionals with instructional duties in any program supported by Title I funds. For a schoolwide school, this means all paraprofessionals with instructional duties without regard to the source of funding of the positions.
· The above requirements do not apply to paraprofessionals working primarily as translators or solely on parental involvement activities. Individuals who work solely in non-instructional roles, such as food service, cafeteria or playground supervision, personal care services, and non-instructional computer assistance are not considered to be paraprofessionals for Title I purposes.
· All paraprofessionals (regardless of their hiring date) in a program supported with Title I funds must have a secondary diploma or equivalent. This is a change from the previous statute, which permitted the hiring of paraprofessionals without high school diplomas, or the recognized equivalent, to work as translators.
· Finally, Title I and Title II funds may be used for ongoing training and professional development to help paraprofessionals meet the statutory requirements.
* In order to meet the requirement of providing a formal State academic assessment the following will be available October 2002 - ParaPro asessment developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The assessment will be on-line with immediate scoring. Additional information should be available by the end of May.