| Letter from Dr. Magill to Superintendents on Special Education |
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October 17, 2005
Dear Superintendent,
As you know, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission made significant changes to the certification rules for special education teachers effective August 15, 2005. The reason for these rule changes is the federal law “No Child Left Behind” and its requirements that all teachers be “highly qualified.” Since August, all Georgia school systems have been dealing with this challenging issue. Some school systems have already implemented programs of support for their special education teachers. However, we are receiving many calls of concern from PAGE members about this issue and it may be that many systems may not have had an opportunity to present information and a support program for special education teachers. We would like to share some information that we hope will be helpful to you and your special education teachers.
The PSC has said that in order for special education teachers to be "highly qualified" they must have an add-on certificate for any academic subject that they teach if they are the "teacher of record" for any special education students. Many of the school systems in Georgia are requiring all of their special education teachers to be the "teacher of record" for special education students because they believe the special education teachers are the most qualified to work with these students. These are the teachers who, because they spend the most time with these students, should be responsible for the students' course/ pace of learning and final grade in the academic area.
If the special education teacher is not going to be the "teacher of record" for any special education students, then his/her current certification is fine. If the special education teacher is not going to be the "teacher of record" then that teacher can serve in the role of helper teacher to the regular education teacher. The regular education teacher will then be the "teacher of record" for the special education students in the school and the lead teacher regarding what is appropriate educationally for these students. At this point, you may want to consider the needs of the special education students in your system and who would be the best "teacher of record" for them. It is also important to consider the work load that will be placed on all of the regular education teachers who could be deemed "teacher of record" for special education students.
Many of your special education teachers are going to want to be the "teacher of record" --even though it means more work for them; they may not want to be placed in the role of a consultant or assistant teacher. Additionally, many principals are going to want the special education teachers to be the "teacher of record" because they want what is best for the special education students and they do not want to put more of a burden on their regular education teachers.
If the special education teacher is going to be designated as the "teacher of record," one of the likeliest paths he/she will use to reach this goal is to take a Praxis II test that will get the teacher the needed add-on certificate. All teachers working with students who are considered to be at the cognitive level of elementary school or lower would take the Early Childhood Education Praxis II test-- and then they are certified to teach all academic subjects. This Praxis II test would be the right test for special education teachers who are in elementary schools, and probably some special education teachers in middle schools and high schools too, depending on the academic/cognitive level of the students. Special education teachers who work with students on a cognitive level of grades 6-8 must take the Praxis II called Fundamentals of Learning and that will give them an add-on certification in all academic subject areas but reading-- then they must take the Praxis II in reading or take a teaching reading course -- offered by many school systems in-house—or by local RESAs.
The high school special education teachers who work with students on a cognitive level of grades 9-12 and are going to be deemed "teacher of record" will have to take the Praxis II test in each subject area. This will be burdensome as there are 5 subject areas--hence 5 Praxis II tests. This may be the place that it would be appropriate for the special education teacher not to be the "teacher of record" because the students would be on grade-level or almost on grade-level. If the special education teachers working with students on a cognitive level of grades 9-12 are going to be the "teacher of record" then they may want to departmentalize so that one teacher is responsible for language arts, reading and social studies and another special education teacher is responsible for math and science. This would reduce the number of Praxis tests the teachers would have to take.
There are two other routes to earn add-on certification but they are difficult to achieve. One route is to have 5 academic classes on a teachers' college transcript to show the PSC-- although it is our understanding the PSC has now said they will not accept this route for high school teachers working with levels 9-12. The second route is if the teacher completes a PSC form called the HOUSSE and can score 100 points on it for previous experiences teaching and taking classes. It is very difficult to achieve 100 points-- it appears almost impossible-- so it is likely that the most used route to add-on certification will be the Praxis tests.
Different school systems are offering different levels of support for their special education teachers. I have attached a copy of a plan recently implemented by one school system for your review. (See Attachment “A”) As you can see, the most significant component of the plan is that they are reimbursing special education teachers who show they passed their Praxis II exams. Our understanding is that this is being funded with federal money sent to school systems as a result of the federal law "No Child Left Behind" and this is money that is specifically earmarked for "teacher education and training"-- it is Title II A funding.
The teachers are concerned about the costs of Praxis test(s), study guides and the time required to study on the weekends and at night. They are worried about passing the tests and they are worried about being designated "highly qualified." It is excellent support for the teachers if the school system will offer to reimburse them for the cost of taking the Praxis II tests and the study guide. As you can see in the attached support program, some school systems are also offering incentives for certification enhancements. Also, Praxis II review courses are offered by PAGE and the course is free for all PAGE members (See Attachment “B” for a list of dates for these Praxis II workshops.)
Thank you for your consideration of this matter. We know you will support your special education teachers to insure that these professionals who add so much to our instructional programs remain in our classrooms.
Sincerely,
Dr. Allene Magill