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No Educator Left Behind:
Supplemental Services Providers

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:

Why are the criteria for supplemental educational service providers different from the requirements for highly qualified teachers?

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

A major focus of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is to use only those educational practices that have evidence to suggest that they will increase student academic achievement. This means the most important consideration in assessing the educational practices of supplemental educational services providers should be whether those practices result in improved academic achievement.

Supplemental educational service providers must have a demonstrated record of effectiveness in improving student academic achievement and must use instructional strategies that are high quality, based upon research, and designed to increase student academic achievement. Providers must also ensure that their services are consistent with the state's academic content and achievement standards.

However, supplemental educational service providers are independent entities that provide additional services, unlike districts and schools who provide the core academic services. As such, these independent providers are not required to meet the teacher quality requirements of Section 1119, but may choose to do so. These criteria serve to promote participation by the providers and to ensure that parents have as many quality choices as possible.

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