As passed on April 14, 2004, by the State Board of Education, South Carolina law requires new special education teachers “who provide the primary instruction and assign grades in core academic subjects” to be “highly qualified.”  In order to be highly qualified (HQ), a person who is new to the profession must:

• hold appropriate special education certification; and
• demonstrate appropriate content knowledge by passing one of the following examinations:
• Praxis II in Elementary Education:  Content Area Exercises (#0012)
  (for elementary, middle, and secondary level special education) *
• Praxis II in Early Childhood Education (#0020), or Praxis II in Education of the Young Child, or Praxis II in Elementary Education:  Content Area for Elementary Teachers (#0012)
  (for early childhood level special education)

If you plan to work in a Title I school or targeted assistance program, you must have earned the HQ status as of the 2002-2003 school year or upon employment now.  If you teach in a non-Title I school or a school without a targeted assistance program, you may use the options available to veteran teachers for earning HQ status at the present time.

If you do not “provide the primary instruction” and do not “assign a grade in a core academic subject,” you are not required to meet HQ requirements.

If you plan to teach in another state, you should check that state’s requirements for “highly qualified new special education teacher.” The designation of “highly qualified” is not required for special education certification in South Carolina. But all teachers must be “highly qualified” for what they are employed to teach. The additional requirements, beyond certification, are for employment in specific schools, classrooms, and teaching assignments.

Please also be aware that the HQ rules for new and veteran teachers are different and that the IDEIA 2004 legislation has not been interpreted by the state of South Carolina to date. The new law (P. L. 108-446) stipulates that all special education teachers meet NCLB HQ requirements and those assigned to teach more than one core academic subject or those who teach students under alternate achievement standards must demonstrate subject area competence per NCLB. The HQ part of the IDEIA legislation took effect December 3, 2004.

* A guide is available for this test through the following web site: http://www.ets.org/praxis/prxtest.html. Click on test # 20012 and download the PDF file. (Test booklet #10011 offers a good listing of the topics that appear on test #20012.).