27-February-2008

René Islas of B&D; Consulting was quoted in the Education Daily article on "Education Department Steps Up Title II Accountability Enforcement." During the first round of monitoring between 2004 and 2006, the Education Department focused on whether states had appropriate High Qualified Teacher (HQT) definitions rather than on the Title II's accountability consequences.

"The states didn't even have the capacity to measure where they were in terms of the percentage of teachers who were highly qualified," Islas said. "They didn't even know what their baseline was, so they couldn't set accurate targets for Title II."

Now, the agency appears to be redoubling its efforts to enforce Title II accountability. The provisions "give (the Education Department) legal leverage," Islas said. "There's a legal argument requiring states to be more targeted in how they use Title II funds."