With tighter government control being placed on public education, school districts have had to re-think in many cases how they handle the teaching of their students. This has had the most impact on classroom instruction and teacher requirements in each state. For example, teachers are now required to be “highly qualified” and must pass a state examination in order to receive certification. Those individuals who work as a classroom as a paraprofessional must now have at least 60 college hours in many states before they can work in the classroom.
There has also been increased pressure put on regular classroom teachers to get students to perform at higher levels on yearly mandated tests in each state. This is often a source of contention when it comes to the performance of students who are in a lower socioeconomic population and who have special needs. As more and more children with disabilities are integrated into the regular classroom there has been a greater challenge to help them meet the new educational guidelines. This is having the positive effect of bringing more attention to scientifically-based techniques and individualized instruction.
As time goes on there will still have to be much reform and revamping of the current requirements in order to meet the realistic needs of classrooms. Those schools that serve children who are in low socioeconomic families have to face even more obstacles in dealing with health issues, behavioral problems and increased amounts of students with disabilities. Educators and administrators will have to continue to work together to meet requirements and find solutions. This means that the current structure of public education is going to have to take on a whole new approach that can readily adapt to the needs of these special populations.