TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009   Texas AFT Calls on Feds to Use Common Sense in Setting Grade-School Teachers' Certification Requirements Under Federal Law   The Texas Education Agency notified school districts this week that a question has been raised by federal education officials about the appropriate certification testing of elementary-school teachers in Texas. Texas AFT President Linda Bridges put out a statement today calling on the U.S. Department of Education to apply some common sense and flexibility if it is going to insist on a new definition of what it means to be a "highly qualified" elementary teacher. Her statement is reproduced in full below:   Texas AFT urges flexibility, common sense from U.S. Department of Education on 'highly qualified' teachers   Statement from Linda Bridges, Texas AFT President:   "First, the sky is not falling and our schools still have highly qualified teachers instructing our schoolchildren. The issue is simply how the feds interpret 'highly qualified' in one small area of teacher certification and whether they should have informed state officials sooner of that interpretation.   "The Texas Education Agency's (TEA) interpretation of the requirements for 'highly qualified' elementary school teachers has met with no objections from federal officials until now. And we think that TEA's interpretation has been educationally sound.   "TEA has followed a common-sense approach. Under that approach, elementary teachers in non-departmentalized instruction--one teacher providing instruction for all subjects--have been appropriately required to pass a generalist certification exam. Elementary teachers in departmentalized instruction--a teacher providing instruction in only one course area, e.g., math or social studies--have been appropriately required to pass the certification exam for their subject matter.   "The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) now for the first time says those teaching in departmentalized elementary settings (typically, sixth grade) also need to pass the generalist exam, even though they already have demonstrated their qualifications in the only subjects they actually teach. (Departmentalized instruction is fairly limited, usually confined in the elementary setting to schools with sixth grades, or to some fifth-grade settings preparing students for the transition to middle school.)   "No specific ruling has come from USDE as yet. A TEA letter sent to districts this week is simply a 'heads up' at this point concerning the new federal interpretation of the 'highly qualified' standard under the No Child Left Behind Act and its possible implications.   "Texas AFT takes the view that TEA's original interpretation is sound and that the U.S. Department of Education upon further consideration should allow it to stand, with no new requirement for the teachers in question to take the generalist exam.   "If the USDE insists that new teachers must take the generalist exam, Texas AFT will request that:   * The requirement should apply only prospectively, to new teachers hired after the new requirement is formally imposed, not to teachers hired for the 2009-2010 school year and already in the classroom.   * If the ruling applies to new teachers already hired for 2009-2010 and in the classroom now, those teachers should be given until September of 2011 to pass the additional certification exam, and the cost of that exam should be covered by the USDE."