Louisiana Department of Education

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 Teach Louisiana The Praxis Series

Division of Certification & Preparation

NCLB Highly Qualified Educators: A Louisiana Perspective


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As a requirement of the federal NCLB statute, Louisiana must develop a plan to reach the goal that "all teachers of core academic subjects be highly qualified by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.” A first step toward that goal is providing a clear definition of "highly-qualified” for Louisiana teachers and paraprofessionals.

In February 2003, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (SBESE) officially adopted as part of Bulletin 746: Louisiana Standards for State Certification of School Personnel, the Louisiana definition of Highly Qualified Teacher and Highly Qualified Paraprofessional.



Louisiana Highly Qualified Definition

Click on the link below to obtain a PDF copy of the Louisiana Highly-Qualified definition.

Louisiana Highly-Qualified definition  PDF


Louisiana Highly Qualified Definition

Four At-A-Glance documents have been made available in HTML and PDF formats to assist policymakers and educators in understanding the multiple components and requirements of the highly qualified educator. These documents are designed to be "user-friendly” and do not reflect the complete policy or definition. To view or print the documents, click on the appropriate link below.


Pop Quiz Brochure  PDF
Louisiana's HIGHLY QUALIFIED Definition for “Not-New“ Experienced Teachers  PDF
Louisiana's HIGHLY QUALIFIED Definition for “New“ Teachers  PDF
Louisiana's HIGHLY QUALIFIED Definition for Paraprofessionals  PDF
Application of NCLB HQ Definition to Special Education Teachers  PDF
CLUs - Indentifying High Quality Professional Development  PDF
CLUs - Meeting NCLB HOUSSE Definition Requirements  PDF
CLUs - Meeting Louisiana Relicensure Requirements  PDF
CLUs - Calculating the CLU Value of Professional Development Activities  PDF
HQ Definition & CLUs - FAQs  PDF



Helping Louisiana Teachers Meet the Highly Qualified Definition

A number of initiatives and policy recommendations are underway to assist Louisiana educators in their efforts to meet the NCLB and state requirements of highly qualified. PDF documents of some of the policies are available below; others will become available soon.


Louisiana’s Content-Focused Certification Structure

Adopted as official policy at the February 2004 SBESE meeting.
Louisiana’s Content-Focused Certification Structure  PDF


Louisiana’s Alternate Certification Programs

Louisiana offers three alternate pathways to teacher certification: Practitioner Program, Master’s Program, and the Non-Master’s Program. The La Alt Cert Program link will provide you with the alternate programs being offered throughout the state.

Louisiana Alternative Programs  Word


NTE and PRAXIS Test Score Information for Not-New Teachers

The list provides currently licensed teachers who wish to demonstrate subject matter competency through an examination the allowable tests and the required test scores.
NTE and PRAXIS Test Score Information for Not-New Teachers  PDF


Louisiana Continuing Learning Units Information

The attached document provides information regarding CLUs earned to meet the HOUSSE requirement of the highly qualified definition.

CLUs for HOUSSE.doc  Word


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