FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

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John L. Winn

Commissioner of Education

F. PHILIP HANDY,

Chairman

T. WILLARD FAIR,

Vice Chairman

Members

DONNA G. CALLAWAY

ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ

PHOEBE RAULERSON

KATHLEEN SHANAHAN

LINDA K. TAYLOR

Contact Information:

Pam Stewart

MEMORANDUM

(850) 245-0509

Pamela.Stewart@fldoe.org

TO:

District School Superintendents

K-12: 2006-72

FROM:

Cheri Pierson Yecke, Ph.D.

DATE:

May 31, 2006

SUBJECT: HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER EXTENSION REQUESTED

No Child Left Behind states that all teachers of core academic subjects must meet the Highly Qualified

Teacher (HQT) requirements by June 30, 2006. However, Secretary Spellings has advised that if a state

is falling short of the 100 percent highly qualified teacher goal but can demonstrate a “good-faith effort”

to reach this goal by June 30, 2007, the state may not be subject to sanctions.

The USDOE has completed a review of the progress of states in meeting the highly qualified teacher

goal. Florida has been notified that, in general, the state is implementing the provisions of NCLB and

making a good effort to reach the goal. A revised state plan to address how the 100 percent HQT goal

will be met will be submitted by Florida to the USDOE by July 7, 2006. Upon review of the new plan,

we will be notified if the one-year extension to meet the highly qualified teacher requirements has been

granted. However, USDOE will not notify states of its decision until August 2006. We will inform

districts as soon as we hear anything from USDOE.

CPY/hr

cc:

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District Certification Contacts

District Human Resources Contacts

CHERI PIERSON YECKE, PH.D.

CHANCELLOR, K-12 PUBLIC SCHOOLS

325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 514 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0509 • www.fldoe.org