Teacher Certification | Autism PDD

I was wondering does a teacher in Florida need to have special certification to teach ESE children in 1st grade? I mean the teacher Payne has been assigned is certified...to teach K-6 Elementary Education, but she doesn't have the VE/ESE certifications that most of these teachers have.

What county?  Unfortunatly that is commen here in Polk county.

St Lucie. As for recourse- the best short term solution may be to express your concerns to the school district and request a teacher who is properly certified.  Unfortunately, I will go ahead and guess that the reason this teacher has the job is because the school district does not have another, more qualified teacher for the position. 

For a more permanent fix, contact you legislators immediately and tell them to do away with the allowance in the laws for teachers to teach- even temporarily, in areas where they are not certified.  Here in MN, it is no longer allowed by the state for teachers to teach without the specific area license. 

I believe (but am not positive) that the new IDEIA regulations require the correct certifications, but the states are being allowed some time to get into compliance with the new regulations.  (SO- this is of no help at all to you for this school year).
Thanks for the help...My dh is already drafting the letter to the school board, school, teacher, MEDIA, legislature, etc... GOOD. At least you are doing all you can at the moment, and I will continue to hope that the teacher has a natural talent, is a fast learner, and puts all of her energy into doing her best for your child.
She better ... I am so utterly disappointed with how our county/district has behaved toward our child. ::shaking fist:: I've already contacted Mark Kamleiter here in Florida - he's an attorney/advocate as well as our own attorneys (they don't do educational law) to get a referral to someone else too. Hmmm,  The description of qualification above should apply then, AND the teacher should be highly qualified to teach the core academics for first grade.  Sounds like the highly qualified part will be met via the k-6 certification , but NO special ed license??? 
Here is a link that may be helpful for you to look up the Florida statutes on education yourself in case you need to print one off.  I will look a little longer to locate the specific one you need.
http://law.onecle.com/florida/k-20-education-code/index.html

This one is for educator certification:

http://law.onecle.com/florida/k-20-education-code/1012.56.ht ml
Thanks!!!! He is in a self contained ESE class...no mainstreaming. I called the school board's personnel office - she is NOT certified to teach my ESE child, she is certified to teach nt k-6 children...she is REQUIRED to have it...she still needs to take a test (that they don't know when she will) to be able to do so without being "out of field". They are going to mail a letter to parents to advise us that she is "out of field" and does NOT have expertise in ESE children. What good is it for her to teach my child who has been held back in 1st grade then??? I am SO LIVID! UGH!  I am sorry to hear this.

I know that some states (including FL) allow some time for teachers to transition into teaching in another area under a temporary certification until the regular one is completed.  The best I could hope for would be that she is doing the job because she REALLY wants to, has learned alot about it, and has simply not taken a test yet?

Either way, I recommend steady, open communication with this teacher so that she is certainly aware of Payne's strengths and needs, and you know what is going on at all times. 

Sometimes new teachers are more enthusiastic, and more willing to learn from their mistakes.  (I was a new teacher in the field once, taught with a temporary license too...)  I am sure this is not much comfort, but whatever happens, I do hope it ends up being the best for Payne.
She has been teaching for 13 years...not a new teacher!!!! Is there any recourse for parents (like me) that don't want our child to be a guinea pig?? Not new to teaching- but if she has no ESE certification, she must be new to that, no????
I am guessing she is a regular ed teacher (thus the k-6 lic) who has moved (within the last few years) into the ESE position?

I am not trying to assume too much, I am reading between the lines here to try to offer help or support.
Karolysgirl39304.3167013889She moved into it this year...she apparently (no one will answer) is new to ESE - she might have taught before, but just been not certified. She is registered to teach Kind. is what personnel told me when they "told me more than they should have" to say the least. Hi,
In order to answer this I need to know if the student who has special needs is in the mainstream or not?  If in a mainstreamed 1st grade classroom, the teacher of that class only needs to hold a regular teaching license.  If Payne has an IEP, then he needs to have someone who is licensed in special education to act as case manager, but that could be a variety of licensed people, including a speech therapist for example. 
If Payne is in a special education classroom for any core academic subjects (reading, language arts, math) the teacher needs to not only have a special education license, but also needs to be "highly qualified" to teach those academic subjects.
I don't know if that helps at all, it is federal regulations, I could not find info. specific to FL .  But FL has to at least follow the federal requirements if not exceed them....

Here is a little about the special ed teacher requirements from wrightslaw:
(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS.--When used with respect to any public elementary school or secondary school special education teacher teaching in a State, such term means that--

(i) the teacher has obtained full State certification as a special education teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes to certification), or passed the State special education teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in the State as a special education teacher, except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, the term means that the teacher meets the requirements set forth in the State's public charter school law;
(ii) the teacher has not had special education certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis; and
(iii) the teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree.


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