Question: Is highly qualified teacher still required under ESSA?
The short answer: Nope, you can toss the phrase “highly qualified teacher” into the trash, as far as the law is concerned.
The longer answer: ESSA got rid of the requirement in the law it replaced, the No Child Left Behind Act, that teachers must be highly qualified, which typically meant they needed to have a bachelor’s degree in the subject they are teaching and state certification. Instead, states must come up with their own definition of an “effective teacher.” The feds are explicitly prohibited from telling states what that can be.
