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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
August 15, 2006

Dr. Suellen K. Reed
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Indiana Department of Education
State House, Room 229
200 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798
Dear Dr. Reed:
To meet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requirement of having every student on
grade level in reading and mathematics by 2014, we must continue working together to
ensure that every student has access to a highly qualified, effective teacher.
On May 12, 2006, the U.S. Department of Education requested that your State submit a
revised highly qualified teachers (HQT) plan detailing the actions that your agency and the
State’s local educational agencies will take to ensure that, during the 2006-07 school year
and beyond, all teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified, and that poor and
minority children are taught at the same rates as other children by highly qualified and
experienced teachers. Similar requests were made to all States because the Department
had determined that, although most States have made significant progress over the past
four years, none was likely to meet the NCLB requirement of having all classes in core
academic subjects taught by a highly qualified teacher by the end of the 2005-06 school
year.
Thank you for submitting your revised State HQT plan in early July, as we requested. All
the State plans were peer reviewed in late July by panels of readers with expertise in
teacher quality and education reform. Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the peer
review panel’s comments and recommendations for your State.
As you can see, the peer reviewers concluded that your plan had some deficiencies. Given
the concerns noted in the peer reviewers’ assessment, with which we concur, the
Department requests that you correct the identified deficiencies so that your plan can be
approved. We recognize the substantial challenge it has been for each of the States to
prepare this plan, and while we are encouraged that some of the States were able to
submit complete and comprehensive plans, we also recognize the other States will need
additional time and technical assistance to complete their work in this area.
It is necessary for us to be able to conclude that the strategies you have proposed in your
revised plan will be sufficient to ensure that your State will reach the goal of having all
classes in core academic subjects taught by highly qualified teachers by the end of the
2006-07 school year, and that poor and minority children are taught at the same rates as
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other children by highly qualified and experienced teachers. To satisfy this requirement,
you should do one of the following:
• Your agency can provide data, which the Department will audit for accuracy,
confirming that all core academic subject classes are currently being taught by teachers
who are highly qualified to teach them, including supporting data showing that poor
and minority children are taught by teachers with similar qualifications and experience
as other children; or
• Your agency can re-submit a revised State plan, including the “equitable distribution
plan,” that fully addresses all of the plan’s required components and corrects the
deficiencies that the peer reviewers identified.
I must also remind you that the Department is taking this issue quite seriously. Whichever
option your agency chooses, we will need to receive your full response no later than
Friday, September 29, 2006. Please submit all materials electronically to
[email protected]. If, by September 29, your agency has neither provided evidence that
it is in full compliance with these NCLB requirements nor successfully addressed the
deficiencies in its revised plan for having all teachers highly qualified, the Department may
consider other available remedies to secure the State’s compliance. Should your plan be
approved, the Department will monitor its implementation.
In the event you decide to strengthen your State plan in a way that can ensure compliance
with the NCLB requirements, we are prepared to provide you with any assistance you
may require. For instance, we would be pleased to share with you some of the other
States’ strategies that the peer reviewers found to be particularly promising. For your
information, all of the State plans are available through the Department’s Web site at
www.ed.gov/programs/teacherqual/hqtplans/index.html. We will post the peer reviewer
comments on the same page.
If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact Robert Stonehill
(202-260-9737, or [email protected]), or Libby Witt (202-260-5585, or
[email protected]). Thank you for your further attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
/s/
Henry L. Johnson
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

August 15, 2006

Dear Dr. Reed:

400 MARYLAND AVE, SW, WASHINGTON, DC 20202-6200

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