WYOMING EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

Questions & Answers about Certification, Assignment/Misassignment, and

Highly-Qualified Status

	Certification and Assignment/Misassignment	Highly-Qualified (HQ)
What do the terms mean?	Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB) Rules & Regulations define the following terms. See the Secretary of State’s Website for PTSB’s complete Rules & Regs: http://soswy.state.wy.us/Rule_Search_Main.asp Certification and Endorsement: PTSB Rules & Regulations, Chapter 1: GENERAL REGULATIONS Section 2. Definitions. For the purpose of these regulations the following terms shall have meanings as ascribed below: … (d) Certificate. The document issued by the Professional Teaching Standards Board which verifies that an applicant has completed an approved program or portfolio assessment and has met the requirements of Wyoming state law and the professional educator certification regulations of the Professional Teaching Standards Board. … (h) Endorsement. Certificates and Letters of Authorization shall be endorsed to indicate the grade level(s) which are appropriate to the applicant’s preparation, training, and experience. Assignment: PTSB Rules & Regulations, Chapter 1: GENERAL REGULATIONS Section 5. General Regulations. The general regulations that apply to all personnel holding a professional educator certificate or permit are drawn from Wyoming statutes and the regulations of the Professional Teaching Standards Board. … (b) Assignment of Certified Personnel. School personnel to whom certificates or permits are issued under these regulations must be assigned only to those grade levels or endorsement areas for which their certificates or permits are issued or working in collaboration with colleagues who hold appropriate certificates.	Highly-Qualified (HQ): The federal definition is too lengthy to quote here, but please read the citation on the Website listed: NCLB, SEC. 9101. DEFINITIONS. …(23) HIGHLY QUALIFIED…. http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg107.html#sec9101 To be HQ in Wyoming, one must: 1) Have a Bachelor’s degree; 2) Have Wyoming certification; and 3) Demonstrate subject competency. Under the current NCLB, HQ requirements apply only to teachers, not administrators. The Wyoming HQ Plan specifies the subject areas to which HQ will apply, which are as follows: § Art § Drama § Economics – Middle & Secondary § Elementary § English (Secondary) - Language Arts (MS) § Speech § Drama § Exceptional Children, K-12 § Foreign Language § Geography - Middle & Secondary § History - Middle & Secondary § Math – Middle & Secondary § Music § Political Science/Civics/ Gov’t - Middle & Secondary § Reading § Science - Middle & Secondary § All science endorsements; Biology, Physics, etc. § Speech
Which law mandates the requirement?	State law: Wyoming Statute 21-7-303(a), which provides that: No person shall teach or supervise in a public school in this state and receive compensation therefore out of any public fund who at the time of rendering such services is not a holder of or a candidate and qualified for a certificate or permit issued or to be issued under the laws of this state and the rules and regulations of the Wyoming professional teaching standards board pursuant to W.S. 21-2-802. Regarding assignment/misassignment, which is an additional requirement besides certification, see the Rules and Regulations citations in the box above this.	Federal law: No Child Left Behind Act, Sections 1119 and 2113. Again, very lengthy—please go online to the following links to read: SEC. 1119. QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS AND PARAPROFESSIONALS. http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg2.html#sec1119 SEC. 2113. STATE USE OF FUNDS. http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg21.html#sec2113
Which State government office handles which requirement?	Certification: The Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board (PTSB) is the regulatory licensing board for educators in the State of Wyoming. The Board has statutory responsibility for the certification of teachers and supervisors in the public schools. http://ptsb.state.wy.us/home. Proper certification and subsequent assignment in congruence with the individual’s certification: Monitored by the Wyoming Dept. of Education (WDE)’s Standards, Assessment & Accountability Unit, http://www.k12.wy.us/saa.asp.	HQ: Monitored by the WDE’s Federal Programs Unit, http://www.k12.wy.us/fp.asp.
What is required?	Each individual teacher, coach, substitute, and/or administrator is responsible for obtaining and maintaining proper certification and/or permits in his/her professional area(s) from PTSB; and subsequently, the school district must properly assign each individual to one or more position(s) that match(es) the individual’s certification(s) & endorsement(s).	Specifics regarding WY’s HQ teacher requirements are available at: http://ptsb.state.wy.us/document/File/REVpathways%20to%20HQ.doc,my%20amends,8,21,07.doc. A teacher must be deemed to be “highly-qualified” in each endorsement area per the NCLB definition and U.S. Dept. of Education Regulations and Guidance. Wyoming’s “Highly Qualified Teacher Revised State Plan” details the USDE-approved Wyoming implementation of the federal law and regulations: http://www.k12.wy.us/FP/hqt/hqt_plan.pdf.
Can you give me an example of a situation where the law is not being met?	Not Certified: A community member has a keen interest in Wyoming history and, in fact, has published a book about that subject. He does not have a bachelor’s degree nor has he applied for Wyoming teacher certification through alternative paths. If the district hires this person to teach high school history, the district and the community member would be out of compliance because this person is not certified, nor is he eligible to be certified at this time. Misassigned: A teacher is certified to teach Secondary Mathematics and has been teaching high school algebra for 15 years. This year, the district has not been able to find a physics teacher, so the administration has assigned this teacher to teach physics. No exception authorization has been requested from PTSB. If this teacher teaches the physics classes, she is misassigned, and the district (and possibly the teacher) face(s) serious consequences.	Not Highly-Qualified: A teacher is Wyoming-certified in Secondary Social Studies. He is assigned to teach high school Economics. Unless he has also been deemed to be HQ in “Economics – Middle & Secondary”, he is considered “not HQ.” According to NCLB, a Social Studies teacher must be HQ in each individual content area within the social studies (i.e., Geography; History; Political Science/ Civics/Gov’t; and Economics) in order to teach that content area. The teacher can still teach the class (because he is certified), but the district and the teacher must take actions (outlined below) to get the teacher HQ.
How do I obtain this credential?	Certification and Endorsement: Go to the PTSB Website for requirements and forms: http://ptsb.state.wy.us/home/whatsnew.cfm. Note that important changes were made to certification requirements and procedures as of June 1, 2007.	Highly-Qualified Status: “Applicants who are issued their first 5-year Wyoming Standard Teaching Certificate on or after June 1, 2007 are ‘highly qualified’ in the area(s) they are endorsed IF their teaching assignment matches their area(s) of endorsement.   For these individuals, their standard certificate will serve as evidence of being highly qualified. “Teachers who were issued a certificate prior to June 1, 2007 are required to demonstrate competency in their content area through 1) the HOUSSE rubric OR 2) an approved PRAXIS test.” Use of the HOUSSE is allowed in only very limited situations, so for most seasoned teachers, passing an approved PRAXIS is the only means by which to be deemed “HQ.” Go to http://ptsb.state.wy.us/document/file/testing%20req%20table8.14.07.doc to see the list of tests and the scores required.
What happens to the district if the law is not adhered to?	Employing a non-certified person or misassigning them to a position for which they are not properly certified jeopardizes a district’s accreditation status, which in turn would have negative consequences for any student graduating from that district. May also result in fiscal action against the district by the State Dept. of Audit.	A district with even a single teacher not meeting the HQ requirement must set aside 2% of its federal Title II-A grant dollars to use to get all its teachers highly-qualified. In addition, the dist. must submit to WDE a written plan detailing how it intends to get all of its teachers HQ. The T-II set-aside should be used to pay for the non-HQ teachers’ necessary coursework and/or PRAXIS exam fees.
What happens to the individual if the law is not adhered to?	Non-certification jeopardizes the individual’s very employment status, and is a personal responsibility! Some individuals have also been required to repay any salary received while serving in a certified position without proper certification. Misassignment consequences for the individual are less clear. A certified employee should immediately contact her/his WEA UniServ Director if told by a district administrator to serve in a position for which the employee knows s/he is not properly certified and endorsed.	If a teacher is certified but not yet HQ in the area in which s/he is assigned, s/he may teach in his/her subject area(s), but is expected to develop and implement, with the collaborative support of his/her principal, a written plan for becoming highly qualified by attaining at least the PTSB-established minimum score on (a) specific PRAXIS exam(s). The exception: All teachers working in federally-funded programs—Title I, Class-Size Reduction, and Part B, IDEA (Special Education)—must be highly-qualified in order to work in those programs.
Contact information at the State:	Certification: PTSB— Dr. Connie Pollard, (800) 675-6893 Misassignments: WDE— Dianne Frazer, (307) 777-3471, or Kay Post, (307) 777-5599	Highly-Qualified: WDE— Carol Illian, (307) 777-8715

If you have problems or questions about certification or highly-qualified issues, WEA is happy to assist you. Please contact:

1) Your Local Association President and your area WEA UniServ Director;

2) WEA Professional Issues Director Kathy Scheurman at kscheurman@nea.org or 1-800-442-2395, ext. 116; or

3) WEA President Kathryn Valido, kvalido@nea.org or 1-800-442-2395, ext. 105.

The “highly-qualified teachers” requirement is one of the issues that WEA would very much like to see changed in the upcoming reauthorization of the NCLB/ESEA statutes. We urge you to contact the Wyoming Congressional delegation to share your personal stories regarding the effects of NCLB on our members, students, and schools. If you would like talking points on such issues, please contact any of the people listed in the preceding paragraph.