BOARD TRAINING EXEMPTIONS A member of the governing body of a charter holder who serves on the governing body of a governmental entity or an institution of higher education as defined under TEC, §61.003, is exempt from the training required by this section if, by virtue of such service, the member is subject to other mandatory training and the members of the governing body of the charter school operated by the charter holder comply with this section.

NCLB “HIGHLY QUALIFIED” TEACHER ADDITIONAL INFO All teachers who teach core academic subject areas in Title I, Part A and who are hired after the first day of instruction of School Year 2002-2003 must be highly qualified when hired. All teachers hired on or before the first day of instruction of School Year 2002-2003 must become highly qualified by the end of School Year 2005-2006. As always, all special education teachers and bilingual/ESL teachers must be certified in Texas to teach in those areas.

If a charter school accepts Title 1, Part A funds for a Schoolwide program, all teachers who teach one or more core subject areas must be highly qualified. If a charter school accepts Title 1, Part A funds for a Targeted Assistance Program, any teacher who teaches one or more of the core academic subject areas whose salary is paid either in full or in part with these funds must be highly qualified.

Last week’s Friday Fax (September 12, 2003) described how charter school secondary teachers demonstrate that they are highly qualified. An elementary school teacher must be highly qualified in the same ways: he or she must have at least a bachelor’s degree and must demonstrate subject competency. A charter school elementary teacher demonstrates competency by passing the Elementary Comprehensive ExCET or the grade-level appropriate TExES.

The state has the authority to develop a High, Objective, Uniform Standard of Evaluation (HOUSE) as an option for demonstrating the competency of existing elementary or secondary teachers (teachers who have previously taught elementary, middle, or high school). As soon as a decision is made regarding this evaluation, districts and charter schools will be notified.