No Educator Left Behind is a series providing answers from the U.S. Department No Educator Left Behind: Certification for Teaching High School Special Education

No Educator Left Behind is a series providing answers from the U.S. Department of Education to questions about the federal No Child Left Behind Act and how it will affect educators. If you have a question about No Child Left Behind, send an e-mail to Ellen Delisio, and we will submit your question to the Department of Education.

Question:

Do special education teachers need dual certification -- special education plus content area certification -- to teach a self-contained special education class in a given subject at the high school level?

U.S. Department of Education:

The law requires that all teachers demonstrate competency in the core subjects they teach. However, certification requirements, as well as measures of competency, are determined by states. In other words, teachers might be able to demonstrate competency in one of several ways, such as a master's degree in the subject area, professional courses, experience teaching the subject, or results of students' test scores.

Read previous questions and answers in our No Educator Left Behind archive.