1. Demonstrates In-Field Status Overview
Staff Interchange:
Demonstrates In-Field Status Overview

2. Agenda Background Frequently Asked Questions Data Fields and Codes
Coding Examples
Reviewing Errors
Additional Resources

3. Background Colorado Law Data and Reporting
Colorado law (C.R.S  ) requires that a teacher hold a valid license or authorization before they can be hired to teach in a public school, including a charter school, unless the school or district has received a waiver from this provision.  Waivers are not applicable to Special Educationteacher qualification requirements.
Data and Reporting
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) annually collects data from local education agencies (LEAs) through the Human Resources Data Pipeline Snapshot to ensure compliance with the above described Federal and State requirements.  Percentages of classes taught by teachers who meet these requirements are reported to the United States Department of Education (USDE) in aggregate.  No personally identifiable information is shared with the USDE as a part of this reporting.

4. Staff Assignment Data File
New fields:
Demonstrates In-Field Status 1
Demonstrates In-Field Status 2
No longer collecting:
Passed Colorado State Board of Education Approved Elementary Or Early Childhood Core Content Test
24 Semester Hours of Secondary Core Content Coursework
Passed Colorado State Board of Education Approved Secondary Core Content Test In Teaching Area

5. Frequently Asked Questions

6. Question 1:
Must teachers qualify as ‘in-field’ as defined by Colorado’s ESSA State Plan before they can be hired?
No.  While CDE encourages LEAs to prioritize the hiring of teachers who have demonstrated subject matter competency in the subject area they will be assigned to teach, teachers’ status as in- or out-of-field will only be used to monitor and publicly report the rates at which low-income and minority students are being taught by inexperienced, out-of- field, and ineffective teachers.

7. Question 2: How is an in-field teacher defined in Colorado?
A teacher must hold at least one of the following in the subject area in which they have been assigned to teach in order to be considered in-field:
Endorsement on a Colorado teaching license
Degree (B.A. or higher)
36 semester credit hours
Passing score on a State Board of Education approved content exam (currently the ETS Praxis Series)

8. Question 3:
The number of semester credit hours required in the definition that was included in the draft ESSA plan was 24.  When did this change?
The State Board of Education approved a motion to change 24 semester credit hours to 36 at the March 9 meeting.  The draft plan, which was posted on February 9, had to remain posted for a 30 day period before we could make any changes to the final version. 

9. Question 4:
What courses can be counted toward the 36 semester credit hours?
LEAs and charter schools should use the endorsement content evaluation worksheets to identify the first 24 credit hours.  CDE recommends that LEAs and charter schools take into account local policies to identify the remaining 12 credit hours that are relevant and applicable to the teaching assignment.

10. Question 5:
Will teachers who were previously highly qualified through 24 semester credit hours be grandfathered in as in-field?
CDE will add the following option to the ‘Demonstrates In- Field Status’ field in the Staff Assignment File:
HQ via 24 hours (this option will be available through the school year) 
These teachers will be considered in-field through the school year after which they will need to have obtained one of the qualifications listed in the definition of an in-field teacher to be considered in field.

11. Data Fields and Codes

12. Demonstrates In-Field Status 1
Report the best option for each teacher
(00 is not an option for any teacher, job class code )
Report 00 (N/A) for all non-teaching staff
Code
Description 01
Subject Area Endorsement on Teaching License 02
Degree (BA or higher) in subject area 03
36 semester credit hours in subject area 04
Passed State Board of Education approved content exam in subject area 06
Highly Qualified via 24 semester hours in subject area 05
None (teacher is out of field)
best

13. Demonstrates In-Field Status 2
Optional and can be reported as ’00’ for teachers
Additional info to report the next best for teachers:
Report 00 (N/A) again for all non-teaching staff
Code
Description 00
N/A – no other method applicable 12
Degree (BA or higher) in subject area 13
36 semester credit hours in subject area 14
Passed State Board of Education approved content exam in subject area 16
Highly Qualified via 24 semester hours in subject area 15
None (teacher is out of field)

14. Reporting Combinations
Demonstrates In-Field Status 1
Demonstrates In-Field Status 2
01 (Subject Area Endorsement on Teaching License)
00 (N/A),
12 (Degree),
13 (36 Semester Hours),
14 (Passed Exam) or
16 (HQ via 24 Semester Hours)
02 (Degree, BA or higher)
03 (36 Semester Hours in Subject Area)
04 (Passed Exam in Content Area)
00 (N/A) or
06 (Highly Qualified) via 24 semester hours in subject area)
00 (N/A)
05 (None (teacher is out of field))

15. ESSA In-Field Crosswalk
Provides allowed endorsements for each teaching subject area code
Provides Subject Area of Degree code for each teaching subject area code
Reference list for Human Resources at: infield-crosswalk

16. Coding Examples

17. Codes for Reference Staff Profile Highest Level of Education
16 = Bachelors
18 = Masters
20 = Doctorate
Subject Area of Degree
1100 = Math
0450 = Elementary Education
Staff Assignment
Job Class Codes
201 = General Ed Teacher
202 = Special Ed Teacher
206 = Title I Teacher
Teaching Subject Area Codes
0500 = English
0800 = PE
1100 = Math
1300 = Science

18. Codes for Reference: In-Field Status
Demonstrates In-field Status 1
01 = Subject Area Endorsement on Teaching License
02 = Degree (BA or higher) in subject area
03 = 36 semester credit hours in subject area
04 = Passed State Board of Education approved content exam in
subject area
06 = Highly Qualified via 24 semester hours in subject area
05 = None (teacher is out of field)
Demonstrates In-field Status 2
12 = Degree (BA or higher) in subject area
13 = 36 semester credit hours in subject area
14 = Passed State Board of Education approved content exam in
16 = Highly Qualified via 24 semester hours in subject area
15 = None (teacher is out of field)

19. Secondary Math Teacher
Henry is a 8th-12th grade math teacher. He is licensed with an endorsement in Mathematics Education (7- 12th), and has a Bachelor’s degree in math:
Demonstrates In-Field status with endorsement, since it matches the teaching subject area
Staff Profile
Education Level
Subject Area of Degree 1
Subject Area of Degree 2
Subject Area of Degree 3 16
1100
0000
Staff Assignment
Job Class Code
Teaching Subject Area
Demonstrates In-Field Status 1
Demonstrates In-Field Status 2
201
1100 01 12

20. 6th Grade English Teacher
Holly is a 6th grade Special Education English teacher. She is licensed with an endorsement in Elementary Education, and has a Bachelor’s degree in English, which included 36 semester hours:
Endorsement in Elementary Education Does Not Equal English, Demonstrates In-Field with Degree instead:
Staff Profile
Education Level
Subject Area of Degree 1
Subject Area of Degree 2
Subject Area of Degree 3 16
0500
0000
Staff Assignment
Job Class Code
Teaching Subject Area
Demonstrates In-Field Status 1
Demonstrates In-Field Status 2
202
0500 02 13

21. Elementary PE Teacher
Joe is a K-3rd grade PE teacher. He is teaching at a school with a licensure waiver. His bachelor’s degree is in Elementary Education, but the district determines he has 36 semester hours:
Without a license, the endorsement is also not available. However, the teacher has the 36 semester hours:
Staff Profile
Education Level
Subject Area of Degree 1
Subject Area of Degree 2
Subject Area of Degree 3 16
0450
0000
Staff Assignment
Job Class Code
Teaching Subject Area
Demonstrates In-Field Status 1
Demonstrates In-Field Status 2
201
0800 03 00

22. Math/English 9th Grade Teacher
Mary is a math and science teacher. She is licensed with an endorsement in Mathematics Education (7- 12th), and has a Bachelor’s degree in math and in Science.
Staff Profile
Education Level
Subject Area of Degree 1
Subject Area of Degree 2
Subject Area of Degree 3 16
1100
1300
0000
Staff Assignment
Job Class Code
Teaching Subject Area
Demonstrates In-Field Status 1
Demonstrates In-Field Status 2
201
1100 01 12
1300 02 00

23. Reviewing Errors

24. HR200/DC234
Error Message: A matching endorsement for the teaching subject area code reported was not found for this teacher in the licensure database…
Actions to Correct:
Verify the SSN reported in file matches SSN on license/endorsement, and update SSN in file if needed
Update the field ‘Demonstrates In-Field Status 1’ to another code: 02
Degree (BA or higher) in subject area 03
36 semester credit hours in subject area 04
Passed State Board of Education approved content exam in subject area 06
Highly Qualified via 24 semester hours in subject area 05
None (teacher is out of field)

25. HR201/DC233 If teacher has degree in teaching subject area…
Error Message: The subject area of degree 1, 2 or 3 does not match the teaching subject area reported for this teacher. Without this, the ‘Demonstrates In-Field Status 1’ cannot be reported with code 02 for Degree in Subject Area…
If teacher has degree in teaching subject area…
Report matching subject area of degree in Staff Profile file for their record
Report highest level of education with code 16 or higher (BA or above)
Be sure teaching subject area and subject area of degree are matched in the ESSA crosswalk
If teacher does not have degree in teaching subject area:
Update the Demonstrates In-Field 1 Status code 03
36 semester credit hours in subject area 04
Passed State Board of Education approved content exam in subject area 06
Highly Qualified via 24 semester hours in subject area 05
None (teacher is out of field)

26. HR202/DC235 If teacher does not have degree in teaching subject area:
Error Message: The subject area of degree 1, 2 or 3 does not match the teaching subject area reported for this teacher. Without this, the ‘Demonstrates In-Field Status 2’ cannot be reported with code 12 for Degree in Subject Area…
If teacher does not have degree in teaching subject area:
Update the Demonstrates In-Field Status 2 code
If teacher has degree in teaching subject area…
Report matching subject area of degree in Staff Profile file for their record
Report highest level of education with code 16 or higher (BA or above)
Be sure teaching subject area and subject area of degree are matched in the ESSA crosswalk 00
N/A – no other method applicable 13
36 semester credit hours in subject area 14
Passed State Board of Education approved content exam in subject area 16
Highly Qualified via 24 semester hours in subject area 15
None (teacher is out of field)

27. Additional Resources

28. Resources Teacher Qualifications Under ESSA Website:
Contact:
Jennifer Simons: or
Staff Interchange Website:
Contacts:
Annette Severson: or
Kristi Gleason: or