Renee v. Duncan
| Decision Date | 23 July 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 08-16661.,08-16661. |
| Citation | 573 F.3d 903 |
| Parties | Sonya RENEE; Candice Johnson, a minor, by Sonya Renee, her guardian ad litem; Maribel Heredia; Jose Aldana, a minor, by Maribel Heredia, his guardian ad litem; B. Doe, a minor, by N. Doe, her guardian ad litem; Mariel Rubio; Danielle Rubio, a minor, by Mariel Rubio, her guardian ad litem; Stephanie Rubio, a minor, by Mariel Rubio, her guardian ad litem Guadalupe Gonzalez; Daisy Gonzalez, a minor, by Guadalupe Gonzalez, her guardian ad litem; Jazmine Johnson, a minor by Deanna Bolden, her guardian ad litem; Adriana Ramirez, a minor, by Arcelia Trinidad Ramirez, her guardian ad litem Jane Doe, a minor, by John Doe, her guardian ad litem Californians For Justice Education Fund; California Association of Community Organizations For Reform Now, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Arne DUNCAN, in his official capacity; United States Department Of Education, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
John T. Affeldt and Tara Kini, Public Advocates, Inc., San Francisco, CA, for the plaintiffs-appellants.
Alisa B. Klein, United States Department of Justice, Civil Division, Washington, D.C., for the defendant-appellee.
Lisa A. Davis, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati P.C., Palo Alto, CA, for The National Coalition of ESEA Title I Parents, Inc., et al., as amicus curiae.
Donald B. Verilli, Jr., Jenner & Block LLP, Washington D.C., for Teach for America, et al., as amicus curiae.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Phyllis J. Hamilton, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. 3:07-CV-04299-PJH.
Before DOROTHY W. NELSON, WILLIAM A. FLETCHER and RICHARD C. TALLMAN, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by Judge D.W. NELSON, Dissent by Judge W. FLETCHER.
Appellants Sonya Renee, et al., appeal the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees U.S. Department of Education and Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education1 (collectively, the "Secretary"). Appellants object to the Secretary's regulation permitting teachers participating in alternative route programs to be considered "highly qualified" under the No Child Left Behind Act ("NCLB"). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we vacate the district court's order because appellants lack standing.
Since 2002, NCLB has served as the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, first enacted in 1965, which provides the basis for federal education policy. The overarching goal of NCLB is "to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments." 20 U.S.C. § 6301. NCLB also aims to close the "achievement gap between high and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and nonminority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers." Id. § 6301(3). Although the standard of proficiency is determined by each state, NCLB mandates that the state deliver to all of its children the resources to meet that standard. Id. § 6311(b)(1)(A), (B). The Secretary is vested with the authority to enforce NCLB and may withhold funds or take other enforcement action if a state fails to comply substantially with the Act's requirements. Id. § 1234c. However, each state is responsible for ensuring the compliance of its local school districts. Id. §§ 1232c, 7844(a).
NCLB distributes funds to states and schools under two sections relevant to this appeal. Title I funds are used to supplement the educational needs of low-income students. Id. § 6301 et seq. Title II funds are used to "increas[e] the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom." Id. § 6601(1).
The Secretary has stated that an essential component of academic achievement and accountability is that students be taught by "highly qualified" teachers. Letter from Margaret Spellings to Chief State School Officers (Oct. 21, 2005), available at http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/ 051021.html. "[T]eacher quality is one of the most important factors in improving student achievement and eliminating these achievement gaps." Id.
Congress provided that, by the end of the 2005-06 academic year, only "highly qualified" teachers ("HQT") would instruct core academic classes in states receiving federal funding (the "100% HQT requirement"). 20 U.S.C. § 6319(a)(2)(A).2 To ensure that states and districts are on track to meet the 100% HQT requirement, NCLB also required that, beginning with the 2002-03 school year, new hires be "highly qualified." Id. § 6319(a)(1). It is undisputed that, to date, some of California's school districts have not met the 100% HQT requirement.
States and school districts must develop plans to meet these mandates. Id. §§ 6311(a)(1), 6311(b)(8)(C), 6319(a)(2) (state plans); id. §§ 6312(b)(1)(N), 6312(c)(1)(I), 6319(a)(3) (local plans). Where states and districts do not meet the 100% HQT requirement, NCLB mandates that "poor and minority children" not be taught by "inexperienced, unqualified, or out-of-field teachers" "at higher rates than other children." Id. § 6311(b)(8)(C).
NCLB also contains several reporting requirements. States and school districts are required to report annually accurate information regarding their progress towards meeting the 100% HQT requirement. Id. §§ 6311(h)(1)(C)(viii), 6311(h)(2), 6319(b)(1)(A). States must also provide this information to the Secretary, id. §§ 6311(h)(4)(G), 6319(b)(1)(B), who then reports to Congress the nationwide statistics on "highly qualified" teachers, id. § 6311(h)(4), (5). Additionally, schools receiving Title I funds must inform a parent when a non-HQT teaches his or her child for more than four weeks. Id. § 6311(h)(6)(B)(ii).
In addition to requiring that all HQTs have a B.A. and competence in their subject matter, Congress defined "highly qualified" to mean that:
(i) the teacher has obtained full State certification as a teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes to certification) or passed the State teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in such State, except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, the term means that the teacher meets the requirements set forth in the State's public charter school law; and
(ii) the teacher has not had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis.
20 U.S.C. § 7801(23)(A) (emphasis added). NCLB does not define the term "full State certification."
On December 2, 2002, the Secretary issued final regulations defining the term "highly qualified." 34 C.F.R. § 200.56. The regulation at issue states that a teacher can be "highly qualified" under NCLB if the teacher "[i]s participating in an alternative route to certification program,"3 id. § 200.56(a)(2)(ii), and demonstrates "satisfactory progress toward full certification as prescribed by the State," id. § 200.56(a)(2)(ii)(4) (the "regulation"). The regulation, like 20 U.S.C. § 7801, has other requirements which are not at issue here.
In California, a fully certified teacher may work in almost any school district for an extended period of time. California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, Requirements for Teachers Prepared in California (Leaflet No. CL-561C), available at http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets.html. There are two levels of full state certification depending on years of experience. See id.; Cal. Educ.Code § 44274.2. A teacher who completes the preparation requirements initially receives a "preliminary" credential, Cal. Educ.Code § 44274.2(a), which is valid for five years, id. § 44251(b)(2). These preparation requirements include, inter alia, "[s]atisfactory completion of a program of professional preparation," id. § 44251(b)(3), which includes "[i]nternship programs," id. § 44259(b)(3)(C), or completion of a more traditional program where teaching, training, and education are combined, id. § 44259(b)(3)(A), (B). A teacher receives the same preliminary credential regardless of the "program of professional preparation." Id. §§ 44259(a), 44274.2. After two years of teaching with the "preliminary" credential, a teacher may receive the "clear" credential, id. § 44274.2(c), which is valid for five years but may be renewed, id. § 44251(b)(3).
Below the full credentials are a series of subordinate credentials. See A.B. 351, 1997 Reg. Sess., at 2 (Cal.1997) (), available at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/97-98/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_351_bill_19971012_chaptered.pdf; Bakersfield Teachers Assoc. v. Bakersfield City Sch. Dist., 145 Cal.App.4th 1260, 52 Cal.Rptr.3d 486, 501 (2006) (). The "intern" credential, for example, permits individuals who have not completed their alternative teacher preparation program (i.e. are participating in their programs) to teach only in a single school district, Cal. Educ.Code §§ 44325, 44463, and only for a period of two years, id. § 44251(b)(1). Indeed, California law requires that districts hire preliminary or clear credential holders whenever they are available ahead of intern credential holders. See Cal. Educ.Code § 44225.7(a), (e).
California has promulgated "highly qualified" teacher regulations in order to implement NCLB. Under...
To continue reading
Request your trial
- Renee v. Duncan
-
Coal. For A Sustainable Delta v. Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency
...action by the State of Illinois permitted but not required by federal agency against whom suit was brought). Similarly, in Renee v. Duncan, 573 F.3d 903 (9th Cir.2009), California public school students and their parents challenged the Secretary of Education's regulation allowing teachers w......
-
Levine v. Vilsack
... ... See, e.g., Renee v. Duncan, 573 F.3d 903, 909-12 (9th Cir.2009); Rubin v. City of Santa Monica, 308 F.3d 1008, 1019-20 (9th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 540 U.S ... ...
-
Renee v. Duncan
...of the district court for lack of Article III standing in a published opinion, with one panel member dissenting. Renee v. Duncan, 573 F.3d 903 (9th Cir.2009) ( Renee I ). We subsequently granted a petition for panel rehearing and withdrew our prior opinion. We reversed the district court on......