GAO: States Need Help to Meet
NCLB Special Ed Requirements

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) - "the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress" – has issued a report on "Additional Assistance and Better Coordination Needed among Education Offices to Help States Meet the NCLBA Teacher Requirements."

The report includes:

• a summary of state certification requirements for special education teachers, including alternative routes, and how they relate to requirements of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act;
• factors that facilitate or impede state efforts to help special education teachers meet the ESEA/NCLB requirements; and
• an analysis of how different offices within the U.S. Education Department (USED) assist states in addressing these requirements.

NEA was interviewed as part of their data collection process. In addition, all 50 state special education directors were surveyed; and state education officials in Arkansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, South Dakota, and Washington were interviewed.

Highlights of findings and recommendations:

• All states require special education teachers to have a bachelor's degree and certification/licensure.
• Twenty-six states require special education teachers to demonstrate subject matter competency.
• Officials from 32 states reported that the timelines for implementing the "Highly Qualified" requirements for special education teachers are not feasible.
• Thirty-two of the states expressed concern over the potential loss of special education teachers.
• USED assistance regarding special education teachers has been limited.
• The Secretary of Education should provide "additional assistance to states on strategies to meet the requirements and clarification of subject matter competency requirements for special education teachers."

The full report is available online  (PDF, 4.32MB, 38 pages). This report was requested by Senator Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) office.