Pursuant to the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), all teachers who are the teacher of record in core academic subjects are required to be "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. The core academic subjects are: science, the arts (both music and the visual arts), reading or language arts, English, history, economics, civics and government, geography, foreign language, and mathematics.
There are differences between the criteria for being considered "highly qualified" and some of the Illinois requirements for various assignments. The "highly qualified" status of an individual with respect to an assignment shall not relieve any entity that is required to employ certified staff of the obligation to observe the applicable Illinois requirements for that assignment. Please refer to
Part 25, Appendix D of the Illinois Administrative Rules
for specific highly qualified requirements.
With the passage of the
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), some provisions are being phased in or phased out, with full implementation set for 2017-18.
One provision that is no longer required for the 2016-17 school year is the Highly Qualified requirements for teachers and paraprofessionals as outlined in section 1119 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Effective July 1, teachers and paraprofessionals must meet state and local licensure requirements. For more information, please visit the
ISBE Educator Effectiveness Department website.
