No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Requirements
Federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Legislation requires districts to employ only highly qualified teachers. To meet this definition TPC interns must demonstrate 24 semester hours of course work in their content area and pass mandated state examinations. This means prospective teachers need to apply early and if accepted, begin training and pass required examinations well in advance of anticipated employment.
Candidates for the following certification areas must pass state certification examinations to be considered highly qualified:
- Bilingual Generalist EC-4
- Bilingual Generalist 4-8
- English as a Second Language (ESL) Generalist EC-4
- English as a Second Language (ESL) Generalist 4-8
- Generalist EC-4
- Generalist 4-8
- Special Education EC-12 (additional examination(s) may be required for special education candidates to be considered highly qualified.)
Candidates for certification in remaining areas (content areas) may be considered highly qualified under NCLB if they have satisfactorily completed 24 semester hours (with at least 12 hours being upper division) of coursework in their content areas. The candidates who also pass their content examinations early will likely be given priority consideration for employment.