dailynews
California coalition sues over teacher qualifications
A coalition of California schools advocates and parents have sued the U.S. Department of Education, contending that it is violating the teacher quality provisions of the No Child Left Behind education law.
The lawsuit could affect more than 10,000 teachers-in-training now working in California classrooms. At the heart of the lawsuit is the part of the school reform law that requires districts to hire "highly qualified" teachers--those who have earned their teaching credentials--to teach core subjects. Under the regulations written by the Department of Education to enforce the requirement, however, districts can count novice teachers who are still in credentialing programs as meeting that standard.