In accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, local education agencies (LEAs) are required to ensure that all teachers of core academic subject areas are highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Each spring, LEAs are required to complete and submit an annual report to the Texas Education Agency that identifies the highly qualified teachers employed.

To be deemed highly qualified, teachers must:

1) possess a bachelor’s degree,
2) hold full state certification or licensure, and
3) demonstrate competency

Competency can be demonstrated by meeting one of the following criteria:

1) a major in the subject taught,
2) credits equivalent to a major in the subject taught,
3) passage of the ExCET or TExES in the subject taught, or
4) utilization of the options provided by the High, Objective, Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE)

The following worksheets have been created to assist campuses with determining the “Highly Qualified” status of teachers:

• Highly Qualified ~ Elementary ( PDF file)
• House Options Worksheet ~ Elementary ( PDF file)
• Highly Qualified ~ Secondary ( PDF file)
• House Option ~ Secondary ( PDF file)

Highly Qualified Paraprofessionals