Highly Qualified Teacher Data Collection

TO: Indiana School Superintendents
FROM: Dr. Suellen Reed, Superintendent of Public Instruction
DATE: September 8, 2006

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, school corporations must ensure that teachers are highly qualified in the academic subjects in which they are the primary instructor. The U.S. Department of Education now requires states to collect pertinent Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) data in the following core academic subjects: English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, social studies, and fine arts.

The Indiana Department of Education has updated the electronic Certified Employee/Certified Position reports (DOE-CE and DOE-CP) this year to collect this information. All schools operated by school corporations, charter schools, and nonpublic schools accredited through the traditional accreditation process must complete all sections of both reports. Though HQT information is required only for individuals teaching core academic subjects, a record must be submitted for every certified employee. The “Not Applicable” (Code 4) label should be used for administrators or teachers in non-core academic subjects.

This data collection, required for all public and accredited nonpublic schools, must be completed on or before October 31, 2006. In the past, corporations annually submitted this information via Web form or file. For the 2006-07 school year, data must be submitted via the STN Application Center at www.doe.in.gov/stn.

The required collection period will begin on October 1, 2006, and should include data on all staff employed for the 2006-07 academic school year as of October 1. As the submission method has changed to the STN Application Center, your human resources personnel should work collaboratively with your Data Manager or other persons who currently submit files via the Application Center.

We recognize that there are several data collections due in the fall, but it is imperative that you provide this information no later than October 31, 2006. Submissions received prior to the deadline are appreciated as our staff needs time to compile and verify the data.

Failure to submit the required data will place the Indiana’s Title I and Title II funds at risk. In addition, we owe it to our students, parents, and communities to ensure that our schools are staffed with Highly Qualified Teachers. Timely and accurate data collection is a critical part of this effort.

If you have questions regarding the data collection, please contact Amy Hart by phone at 317-232-0808 or via e-mail at stn_support@doe.in.gov. Questions related to HQT should be directed to Kristen Schunk at 317-232-0588 or kschunk@doe.in.gov. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.