Title I Schools and Programs

Teachers of core academic subjects who were hired after the first day of the 2002-2003 school year and who are teaching in programs supported with Title I funds (school-wide or targeted assistance) must be highly qualified at the time of hire. A teacher must have
    • a bachelor's degree,
    • be fully certified, and
    • have already demonstrated subject-matter competency in each subject the teacher teaches through ways the law permits.
These regulations applied both to teachers new to the profession and to teachers newly hired from other districts into Title I schools.
Middle grades exception: In light of the need to enable districts to fill needed certificated staff positions for the 2003-2004 school year, the department is permitting districts to hire teachers for middle grades who satisfy the requirements for a standard instructional license without first demonstrating subject-matter competency.
    • The department understands that the current lack of New Jersey middle school subject-matter tests has put districts in this situation and is working to ensure that the Praxis II content exams for the middle grades will be available as early in 2004 as possible.
    • As soon as these tests are available, the Department of Education intends to require that new and newly hired teachers who do not satisfy the federal definition at the time of hire must pass the appropriate content knowledge test for the core academic area(s) they teach before the end of 2003-2004 in order to be eligible for continued employment (See appendix A in Manual).

Programs supported with Title I funds (school-wide or targeted assistance)
Prior to the start of the 2002-2003 school year, and teachers who transferring to such programs from within their district will have until the end of the 2005-2006 school year to satisfy the federal definition of a Highly Qualified Teacher.