Title I

Parents Right to Know

The parent right-to-know provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) allows parents, guardians, and stakeholders to request information about the qualifications of their child's classroom teacher. Under ESSA § 1112(e)(1)(A), at the beginning of each year, an LEA shall notify parents that they may request, and the LEA will provide, certain information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s teachers and paraprofessionals. This includes information about whether the student’s teacher:

• has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;

• is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived;

• is teaching in the field of discipline not of the certification of the teacher; and

• is teaching alongside paraprofessionals and, if so, the paraprofessional’s qualifications [ESSA § 1112(e)(1)(A)].

Although ESSA eliminated the highly qualified requirement, the parents’ right-to-know provision now focuses on whether students are taught by teachers who do not meet state certification or licensure requirements for the grade level and subject they teach. For more information on teacher certification and licensing, visit the Tennessee Department of Education's licensing website at: https://www.tn.gov/education/licensing.

The L.E.S. Student and Parent Handbook also has information regarding Parents' Right to Know and Title I.