This AM I spent several hours with my Curry colleagues in faculty meetings. This comment doesn’t reflect on my colleagues, but some of the topics of the meetings were awful. I have the opportunity to work with many wonderful people. Sadly, today, in our departmental meeting we discussed the Commonwealth of Virginia’s requirements for “highly-qualified teachers.”
The effort to have highly qualified teachers for students is laudable. The problems are many, though. Without enumerating them all here, just consider what’s happening with special education teachers at the secondary level: If they are to teach a content-area subject for students with learning disabilities, serious emotional disturbance, or other disabilities, they must not only meet the requirements for special education but also the requirements for each of those content areas. So, as I read it, a high school special education teacher who provides direct services to students with disabilities, must now have what amounts to certification in each content area she teaches, as well as special education.
That’s a heckuva new conceptualization of “jack of all trades.” It’s going to cost the state and local education agencies, because they are not going to be able to find special educators who can meet those standards.
Is that good in your view? In my view, it’s not. It’ll just provide another opportunity for parents to express concern about whether schools are meeting the needs of students with disabilities. Can suits be far behind?
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