Charter School Technical Advisory 20-1: Educator Qualifications in Commonwealth and Horace Mann Charter Schools

To:	Charter School Leaders
From:	Jeffrey C. Riley, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
Date:	March 3, 2020

*This advisory replaces Charter School Technical Advisory 17-1: Educator Qualifications in Commonwealth Charter Schools

Charter School Technical Advisory 20-1 was last updated June 18, 2020

This technical advisory provides guidance regarding educator qualifications in Commonwealth charter schools¹. It is intended to clarify the requirements of the charter school statute in Massachusetts, G.L. c. 71, § 89; the charter school regulations, 603 CMR 1.00; the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and the state statute governing the education of English Language Learner (ELL) students, G.L. c. 71A, as amended in 2002; and the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as they apply to Commonwealth charter schools.

Qualifications and Licensure Requirements for Massachusetts Charter and Traditional Public Schools

Section 1: Overall Qualification Requirements
Section 2: Qualifications for Principals, Administrators, and Supervisors
Section 3: Qualifications for Teachers
Section 4: Qualifications for Student Support Personnel
Section 5: Waivers for Qualifications
View all

Qualifications and License Requirements for Massachusetts Charter and Traditional Public Schools

Section 5: Waivers

Waivers	Traditional Public and Horace Mann Charter Schools	Commonwealth Charter Schools
Licensure Hardship Waiver All positions Critical Shortage Waiver Retired educators only	The district applies for the waiver from DESE on behalf of the teacher by following instructions for logging waiver request in ELAR and submitting requested evidence that a good faith effort has been made to hire licensed personnel. School districts interested in hiring a retired educator to fill a critical shortage position must fill out and submit an application and supporting evidence in hard copy. Hardship Waivers are granted for one academic year, expiring on June 30. Critical Shortage Waivers are issued in six-month increments Educators employed under Hardship Waivers must demonstrate that they are making continuous progress toward meeting the requirements for licensure in order for an additional waiver to be granted after one year. How Continuous Progress is Calculated for an Additional Licensure Hardship Waiver Request a Waiver for Educator License Hardship Waiver and Critical Shortage: see Section 15 (13)(b)	Commonwealth charters are not required to hire licensed educators, except for ESL teachers. Since Commonwealth charters are not required to hire licensed educators, they cannot experience a hardship due to a lack of licensed educators. For that reason, Commonwealth charter schools are not eligible for hardship waivers, except for ESL teachers. Commonwealth charter schools (not teachers) theoretically might request and receive a hardship waiver for an individual ESL teacher, under 71, § 38G, and 603 CMR 7.15(13). However, schools should be very cautious in pursuing this. To make such a request assumes that the school has been unable to employ an ESL teacher who is licensed. Given the language in the Equal Educational Opportunities Act ("EEOA") at 20 U.S.C. § 1703(f), the school potentially risks some liability for failing "to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers."

¹ Please note that this advisory does not address educator qualifications in Massachusetts Horace Mann charter schools because, pursuant to G.L. c. 71, § 38G, employees of a Horace Mann charter school are employees of the school district and are therefore subject to the same licensure and other requirements as other district public school educators. The table below includes some educator qualification requirements for Horace Mann charter school, but it not comprehensive.

² "Core academic teacher" shall mean early childhood and elementary teachers, teachers of students with moderate disabilities, teachers of students with severe disabilities, and teachers of the following academic subjects: English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, civics and government, economics, history, and geography. (603 CMR 14.07)

³ Primary responsibility is at least 50 percent of time on oversight of the ELE program.

⁴ This license is no longer obtainable, but is valid in the field.

⁵ Employment after August 10, 2000.

⁶ If this person is under direct supervision of a qualified teacher, they need not be licensed. If this person is acting as a teacher, they are subject to these requirements.

⁷ 603 CMR 1.06(4); see also G.L. c. 71, § 89(ii).

⁸ 603 CMR 14.07

⁹ See the Paraprofessionals, Aides, Instructional Assistants, etc. section for requirements of staff working under the direct supervision of a qualified teacher.

¹⁰ 34 CFR 300.156(a)

¹¹ Primary responsibility is at least 50 percent of time on oversight of the ELE program.

¹² This license is no longer obtainable, but it is valid in the field.

¹³ This license is no longer obtainable, but it is valid in the field.

¹⁴ This license is no longer obtainable, but it is valid in the field.

Last Updated: June 18, 2020