• Secretary of Education Calls for Phase-out of HOUSSE

On September 5, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings urged states to begin the phase-out of the widely used High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation (HOUSSE). In a letter to the Chief State School Officers (CSSO), Secretary Spellings attributed this phase-out based on the belief that HOUSSE procedures are less rigorous than other evaluations of subject matter competency and because teachers who are not new to the profession will not need HOUSSE to meet highly qualified standards in the future or after the end of the 2005-2006 school year. As HOUSSE appears within the text of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Secretary noted that the Department intends to pursue the further phase-out of HOUSSE procedures through the reauthorization of NCLB, which is expected next year. This latest communication followed-up on a letter sent by the Department of Education to the CSSO in May suggesting this phase-out.

In response to the May letter, CEC formally requested that the Department of Education provide clarification on how the phase-out of HOUSSE procedures would impact special education teachers, and we are still awaiting a response. While it remains unclear as to if and how the Department would apply this phase-out to special educators, as HOUSSE procedures exist in NCLB and the recently reauthorized IDEA 2004, CEC remains committed to communicating with the Department on this issue and will provide clarification in a future update.

CEC believes that students with disabilities are entitled to the same high quality instruction as their non-disabled peers. As a result, CEC has long supported high standards for special educators and to that end has actively advocated for personnel preparation and higher education programs that would provide special educators and those studying to become a special educator the resources needed to provide a high quality education to students with disabilities.

CEC will continue to report on the Department’s efforts to phase-out HOUSSE and will provide further information in future updates.

Read Secretary Spelling’s letter.

Access CEC’s highly qualified teacher resources.