Personnel Qualifications and Program Staffing

LEAs must ensure that special education teachers, related-service providers, and paraprofessionals meet applicable state qualification requirements. Staffing decisions must also allow every student’s IEP to be implemented as written.

• IDEA Section 612(a)(14)

• 34 CFR §§300.156 and 300.207

• Alabama Administrative Code, Chapter 290-8-9

• AAC Rule 290-8-9-.11, Case Manager for Children with Disabilities

• Current ALSDE Educator Certification requirements

Special education teachers must hold the appropriate Alabama certificate or an approved alternative certificate for the assignment.

Certification pathways and testing requirements may change. Before assigning an employee, verify current requirements through ALSDE Educator Certification rather than relying on an older handbook or locally maintained list.

Emergency certificates are not issued for Alabama special education teaching fields. When using another approved alternative pathway, the LEA should document:

• The certificate or application status

• The approved teaching assignment

• Required testing and coursework

• The certificate’s expiration date

• The employee’s progress toward full certification

Instructional paraprofessionals must meet applicable qualification requirements and work under the supervision of an appropriately certified teacher. A paraprofessional may assist with instruction but may not replace the certified teacher’s responsibility for planning, instruction, progress monitoring, or IEP implementation.

AAC Rule 290-8-9-.11 establishes case-management record limits:

• Special education teacher: no more than 20 student records

• Speech-language pathologist: no more than 30 student records

The number of records managed is not the same as the number of students a teacher may serve. Alabama’s case-manager rule does not establish one universal numerical class-size limit for every collaborative, resource, or self-contained setting.

AAC Rule 290-8-9-.11 establishes case-management record limits:

• The intensity of student needs

• Required specially designed instruction

• IEP service minutes

• Number of campuses or classrooms served

• Related-service coordination responsibilities

• Planning, data collection, and progress-reporting requirements

• Whether all IEPs can be implemented as written

A staffing plan is not adequate merely because the LEA’s system-wide average falls below the case-management limit. Individual assignments must still be reasonable and permit full IEP implementation.

• Confusing the case-manager record limit with a daily instructional caseload

• Assigning personnel before verifying the appropriate certificate

• Allowing an alternative certificate to expire without tracking progress

• Using paraprofessionals as substitutes for required certified instruction

• Assigning workloads that make IEP services or progress monitoring impossible to deliver

• Failing to plan for vacancies, extended leave, or staff turnover

Alabama State Department of Education — Special Education Services (SES)

Materials are provided for technical assistance purposes and do not constitute legal advice.