Dive Brief:
- Ann Marie Corgill, a veteran educator, 2014 Alabama Teacher of the Year, and winner of various education awards, resigned citing "inconsistent and burdensome" state regulations, Education Week reports.
- Teacher certification varies state to state, and federal regulation can also differ from individual state requisites.
- In Corgill’s case, Alabama doesn't recognize a National Board certification, which she held, as a substitute for "appropriate grade-level state certification."
Dive Insight:
Requirements mandated by federal laws like the No Child Left Behind Act's Title I clause often clash with state rules, to the frustration and confusion of educators and administrators alike. Many find the "highly qualified teacher" provision particularly vexing, as shown by Corgill's example.
The provision "was meant to be a source of equity, ensuring that disadvantaged students had access to teachers with college degrees, full licensure, and subject-area competence," Education Week writes. But in practice, "... the requirement has often been circumvented or softened ... (since) teachers entering the profession through alternative-certification programs have been considered 'highly qualified,' and the U.S. Education Department has shown a willingness to grant states a waiver from the provision.”
The rewrite of ESEA would get rid of the provision entirely.