No Child Left Behind
Parentsí Right to Know and Teachersí Right to Privacy

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law January 8, 2002 by President Bush and called "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB). ESEA refers directly to the Districtís Title 1 funding. All elementary and intermediate school sites in the District are Title 1 school sites.

The ESEA now includes "Parentsí Right to Know. This means that parents are entitled to know specific facts regarding their childís teacher(s). Parents may request the following:

1. Whether the teacher has met State qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
2. Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualifications or licensing criteria have been waived.
3. The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification degree held by the teacher and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.

The parents may also ask about the qualifications of paraprofessionals in the classroom.

A few things you should know:

The requests will be completed by the Human Resource Department, not the school site.
Only the three points listed above will be supplied to the parent. No other information will be sent out.
The classroom teacher will receive a copy of the information.
The information will be sent U.S. mail to the parent.
Parents may only request information for classroom teachers who are currently assigned to their children. In other words, a parent may not request an entire school, grade level, or prospective teachers.
You may verify the information that will be sent out through Human Resources ext. 7914.

Are You Interested In Out-Of-Classroom Positions?

Sometimes out-of classroom positions arise during the school year. The following information is helpful for those considering such positions. (Contract pp. 3 3-34)

Within the first month of the school year, principals shall request names of Bargaining Unit members interested in any out-of-classroom positions. Those Bargaining Unit members indicating an interest shall be notified if such a vacancy occurs during the school year.
Support Personnel and other out-of-classroom Bargaining Unit vacancies will be open to all Bargaining Unit members and will be posted at each school site for at least six (6) working days. Bargaining Unit members may request an interview through the Human Resources Office. The appropriate administrator shall make the selection recommendation to the Human Resources Office.
An interim appointee may be placed in the vacancy by the appropriate administrator for no more than forty (40) days. Under extraordinary circumstances this period may be extended by twenty (20) days.

Class Size Reduction Committee
To Be Formed By 20th Day

The Contract specifies that Class Size Reduction Committees must be formed by the 20th day of school. The following is the contract language beginning on page 13.
a. The principal at each participating site will create a CSR committee by the twentieth (20th) working day of the school year.
(1) Each committee will meet at least four (4) times a year.
(2) Each committee will include, but not be limited to, the principal, a teacher from each grade level elected by Bargaining Unit members at that site, classified personnel, parents, and support staff.
(3) Each committee will elect its own chairperson(s).
b. Each committee will make recommendations to the principal regarding the following aspects of CSR:
(1) Facilities
(2) Grade level implementation
(3) Training for CSR
(4) Timelines for implementation
(5) Short and long term goals for the site
(6) Other issues as determined by the committee.
c. The principal will present the CSR Plan to the committee prior to submitting the plan to the District.
d. The chairperson(s) will be responsible for the following:
(1) Notices of meetings
(2) Record keeping
(3) Maintenance of notes for publication and dissemination.
e. Committee members may seek training in some or all of the following areas:
(1) Decision making
(2) Consensus
(3) Team building
(4) Conflict resolution
f. Committees will establish their own operating procedures.