Crisis Brewing?

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The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), enacted in January 2002, includes among its provisions new requirements for all employees providing instructional support (paraprofessionals, teacher aides, tutors, etc.) in programs/schools supported with Title I, Part A funds. The law stipulates that paraprofessionals or teacher aides—the names used in this report interchangeably to refer to all instructional support staff—must meet one of the following criteria: hold an associate's degree (or higher), complete at least two years in an institution of higher education, or obtain a passing score on a test that measures reading, writing, and mathematics competency. Some teacher aides are exempt from this requirement, namely those working in non-Title I schools, those working as translators for English language learners (ELLs) or limited English proficient students (LEP/NEP), and those not working in instructional capacities (e.g., food services and clerical assistance). Current aides have until 2006 to meet NCLB requirements, while new hires must already meet them.

School administrators, advocates, and researchers alike worry that these new requirements will create a supply crisis. Two problems seem likely. First, schools that employ teacher aides could lose staff unable to comply with NCLB by the 2006 deadline. Second, the preconditions for employment might prevent many traditional candidates from being hired. These problems could be particularly serious for schools serving limited English proficient and immigrant children, as such schools often rely on bilingual teacher aides to assist in instruction. The loss of bilingual and other aides could also exacerbate the difficulties already facing high-poverty schools, because these schools tend to rely disproportionately on the use of paraprofessionals. According to the Center on Education Policy, in the 1997-98 school year, 84 percent of principals in high-poverty schools versus 53 percent of principals in low-poverty schools reported having paraprofessionals on their staff.¹

This research focuses on areas where these high-poverty schools are found. Commissioned by Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. (RNT), and funded by the Lumina Foundation for Education, the Urban Institute conducted a survey of all states and the District of Columbia, and of a sample of urban and rural school districts. To be included in the survey population, districts had to meet three criteria: high percentage of Title I-eligible schools (i.e., those affected by NCLB requirements), high percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch (i.e., high poverty), and high percentage of teacher aides (the focus of the study). "High" was defined as being above the U.S. mean for the given statistic. Forty-four out of fifty states responded to our survey, as did 79 districts (35 urban and 44 rural).² These were our key findings:

Notes from this section of the report

1. Center on Education Policy. 2003. From the Capital to the Classroom: State and Federal Efforts to Implement the No Child Left Behind Act. Washington, DC: CEP.

2. Response rates: 86 percent of states; 37 percent of urban and 11 percent of rural districts that met selection criteria. Results from bias analyses revealed that the samples are largely unbiased by district nonresponse.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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