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:

How do schools notify parents of teachers' qualifications?

U.S. Department of Education:

Parents of students in Title I schools are guaranteed annual notification of their "right to know" about teacher qualifications by their school district. It is up to the state and district to decide how these notifications are made.

At the beginning of each school year, districts are required by law to notify parents who have children in Title I schools of their right to receive information about their children's teacher qualifications and other information. That means parents may request and receive from that school office information regarding the professional qualifications of the student's classroom teachers, including:

• Whether a teacher is state-certified;
• Whether a teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status; and
• The bachelor's degree major of the teacher and any other graduate degree major or certification.

Any school receiving Title I funds is required by law to notify parents if their child has been assigned to a teacher for four or more consecutive weeks who does not meet the state's highly qualified teacher requirements. This notification must be completed in a timely manner.

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