Education

Groups Sue Education Department Over Teacher Rules

August 21, 2007 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Last week, Karl Rove suggested that Bush administration might flex executive muscle to change NCLB. Today, a coalition of California groups filed a lawsuit saying the administration hasn’t been forceful enough in writing the law’s highly qualified teacher rules. Read all about it here.

In the suit, Public Advocates asks a federal judge to enforce the law’s requirement that teachers be fully certified under state law to be considered highly qualified. The department’s rules allow states to declare teachers pursuing alternative certification as highly qualified, according to this statement from Jenny Pearlman, a staff attorney for Public Advocates.

The department’s policy “creates a major loophole” that is an “evisceration of Congress’ ‘highly qualified’ standard,” Ms Pearlman’s statement says.

In two earlier lawsuits, the San Francisco-based Public Advocates succeeded in requiring California to increase the rigor of its definition of highly qualified teachers. It also was part of the legal team in the Williams case, a federal lawsuit that resulted in better textbooks and course offerings in some of California’s most disadvantaged schools.

I’ve asked for a response from the Education Department and will post it when it arrives.

A version of this news article first appeared in the NCLB: Act II blog.

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz Are You Keeping Up With Trump’s Big Changes to K-12 Funding? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz How Is Trump Changing School Discipline Rules? Take This Week’s Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Briefly Stated: April 30, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Quiz What Is Trump’s New AI Plan for K-12 Schools? Take This Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Illustration of tasks assisted with AI.
Canva