Baltimore paraprofessionals face midyear reassignments.

In compliance with the No Child Left Behind law, 115 paraprofessionals in the Baltimore County Public School System are being reviewed for reassignment to new positions, and many will be transferred to different schools within the district.

The federal law set a deadline of June 2006 for all instructional paraprofessionals in Title 1 schools--those with high-poverty populations--to meet a "highly qualified" requirement, otherwise they would be deemed ineligible to hold instructional positions in such schools. Instructional paraprofessionals typically support the teacher in the classroom, whereas those working as non-instructional paraprofessionals serve in a variety of capacities outside the classroom. Instructional paraprofessionals who pass a state basic skills test or hold an associate's degree are considered highly qualified.

Under the direction of interim CEO Dr. Charlene C. Boston, a BCPSS leadership team has been established to review the individual cases of 75 paraprofessionals who are not highly qualified for instructional positions in Title 1 schools. The district has been working to certify them as highly qualified by February 1, at which point those who are still not highly qualified will be apprised of other opportunities.

Additionally, 40 non-instructional paraprofessionals previously in schools serving a wealthier student body have recently been certified highly qualified instructional, and on January 8 reported to new school assignments at Title 1 schools.

"We applaud the willingness of our new instructional paraprofessionals to accept this promotional opportunity in support of our instructional program," says Dr. Boston.

The decision to reassign the paraprofessionals to different positions within the district was made out of concern for federal funding. Baltimore school officials say not complying with the federal law could cost them millions of dollars.

Instead of reassigning non-highly qualified paraprofessionals to new positions closer to the June deadline before the new school year, district officials decided to wait midyear to give the educators more time to prepare for and pass the state test.

The leadership team remains optimistic. "We will continue to be diligent in our efforts ... to be sure that all students in all schools are served by highly qualified staff," says Dr. Boston. www.bcps.org