The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which took effect in 2002 and requires that all teachers be highly qualified in the core academic content area(s) they teach, places major emphasis upon teacher quality as a factor in improving achievement for all students. This emphasis grows out of the research showing that teachers' mastery of the academic content they teach is critical to engaging students and is a significant factor in raising levels of student achievement. Newly hired and veteran teachers must satisfy the definition of a Highly Qualified Teacher. Veteran teachers must be HQT by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. Federal regulations require that new and newly hired teachers be highly qualified at the time of hire. This packet contains the forms principals need to complete the HQT requirement. New teachers, new teachers to the building or teachers with new assignments shall complete Forms A-E. Veteran teachers in the same building will receive a status sheet. The form(s) will be used to determine whether the teacher satisfies the definition of a Highly Qualified Teacher based on the federal criteria. Teachers who do not yet meet the requirements have until the end of the 2005-2006 to comply. All forms and status sheets will be available from the EMIS coordinator following the EMIS October report.