§ 300.156 Personnel qualifications.

Plain English summary

This section requires SEAs to establish and maintain personnel qualification standards ensuring that special education teachers, related services personnel, and paraprofessionals are appropriately prepared and trained to serve children with disabilities. Special education teachers must hold full state certification or licensure, a bachelor's degree, and must not have had requirements waived on an emergency or provisional basis. States must also adopt a policy requiring LEAs to take measurable steps to recruit, hire, train, and retain qualified personnel.

Key requirements

• The SEA must establish and maintain qualifications to ensure that personnel necessary to carry out the purposes of this part are appropriately and adequately prepared and trained, including that those personnel have the content knowledge and skills to serve children with disabilities.
• Qualifications must include qualifications for related services personnel and paraprofessionals that are consistent with any State-approved or State-recognized certification, licensing, registration, or other comparable requirements that apply to the professional discipline in which those personnel are providing special education or related services.
• Related services personnel who deliver services in their discipline or profession must meet the requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this section and have not had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis.
• Paraprofessionals and assistants who are appropriately trained and supervised, in accordance with State law, regulation, or written policy, may be used to assist in the provision of special education and related services.
• Each person employed as a public school special education teacher in the State who teaches in an elementary school, middle school, or secondary school must have obtained full State certification as a special education teacher, or passed the State special education teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in the State as a special education teacher.
• Special education teachers must not have had special education certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis.
• Special education teachers must hold at least a bachelor's degree.
• A teacher participating in an alternate route to special education certification program must receive high-quality professional development, participate in intensive supervision or a mentoring program, assume functions as a teacher only for a specified period not to exceed three years, and demonstrate satisfactory progress toward full certification.
• A State must adopt a policy that includes a requirement that LEAs in the State take measurable steps to recruit, hire, train, and retain personnel who meet the applicable requirements described in paragraph (c) of this section.
• Nothing in this part shall be construed to create a right of action on behalf of an individual student or a class of students for the failure of a particular SEA or LEA employee to meet the applicable requirements described in paragraph (c) of this section.
• Nothing in this part shall prevent a parent from filing a complaint about staff qualifications with the SEA as provided for under this part.

Affected parties

• State Educational Agencies (SEAs)
• Local Educational Agencies (LEAs)
• Special education teachers
• Related services personnel
• Paraprofessionals and assistants
• Children with disabilities
• Parents of children with disabilities
• Public charter schools

Official source

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/part-300/section-300.156