TEACHER QUALITY No states meet goal; most avoid penalties

Some states face loss of federal aid.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Not a single state will have a highly qualified teacher in every core class this school year as promised by President Bush's education law. Nine states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico face penalties.
The Education Department ordered every state Friday to explain how it will have 100 percent of its core teachers qualified -- belatedly -- in the 2006-07 school year.
In the meantime, some states face the loss of federal aid because they didn't make enough effort to comply on time, officials said.
"At some point there was, I suspect, a little bit of notion that 'This too shall pass,'" said Henry Johnson, the assistant secretary over elementary and secondary education. "Well, the day of reckoning is here, and it's not going to pass."
Funding withheld
Department officials would not say how much aid could be withheld from states to force compliance. But Johnson said, "In some cases, we're talking about large amounts of money."
States often fell short because they did not report accurate or complete data about the quality of the teacher corps, said Rene Islas, who oversees the department's review.
The 4-year-old No Child Left Behind law says teachers must have a bachelor's degree, a state license and proven competency in every subject they teach by this year. The first federal order of its kind, it applies to teachers of math, history and any other core class.
In grading the states, the department found that 29 have made substantial progress. They must improve but do not face looming sanctions.
No matter which category they are in, all the states must submit a new plan of action.
Most states give themselves good grades on teacher quality; 33 states say 90 percent to 99 percent of their classes are taught by highly qualified teachers. Most of the rest put their numbers a tier below, in a range of 70 percent to 89 percent.
"I know the states have made great efforts in trying to meet all the prongs of the highly qualified teacher requirement," said Scott Palmer, a consultant for the Council of Chief State School Officers. "I've got to believe there are some that are very close."
States were notified Friday.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.