COVINGTON — New, tougher guidelines for hiring teachers paid with federal dollars might worsen the teacher shortage, especially in urban districts such as Covington, where 835 students need special education, educators say.

        Beginning with the 2002-03 school year, all new teachers hired with Title I funds must be “highly qualified,” which means they must have full or permanent certification.

        Title I funds pay for programs that supplement educational services for children in high-poverty communities. Special ed, instructional aides and reading teachers arehired with Title I funds.

        “I think it will really negatively impact school districts that have a high percentage of identified special ed students, and that, in many cases, falls in your urban districts,” said Jack Moreland, superintendent of Covington Independent Schools.

        About 80 percent of the district's more than 4,500 students are eligible for the free lunch program, a common measure of the degree to which students may be at-risk. Covington has 35 special education teachers.

        Mr. Moreland expects the new federal provision to compound the district's problem of finding certified special education teachers, a problem statewide.

        Right now, special ed teachers can be hired in Covington as long as they have a bachelor's degree and a 2.5 GPA.

        In addition to those requirements, certified teachers must have a a total of 24 hours of classroom work. But if a school has a teacher shortage, emergency teaching certificates can be issued to people with lesser qualifications.

        A provision in the law, which was supported by President Bush and called the “No Child Left Behind Act,” also requires that all Kentucky public school teachers have permanent certification by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

        “The (Bush) administration feels that children in disadvantaged communities need the most help and the best teachers, but they are often taught by unqualified teachers or less-qualified teachers aides,” says Melinda Malico, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Education.

        The National Education Association, the largest teachers' union, whose members include elementary and secondary teachers, supports the provision, but spokeswoman Denise Cardinal said it will put a strain on an already-low pool of teachers.

        “It does pose a lot of problems for school districts and schools that are already finding it hard to fill (teaching) slots. No one can deny it's a problem,” she said.

        Boone County Schools Superintendent Bryan Blavatt said the tougher guidelines will have little effect on his teachers.

        “That's not going to have a tremendous impact on us. Most of our people are already certified and qualified,” Mr. Blavatt said.

        Nevertheless, he said, federal officials should provide school districts more funding to help them hire certified teachers.

        Chris Gramke, spokesman for Campbell County Schools, also saw little problem for his district. It only receives about $150,000 from Title I.

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