From the ECS State Policy Database: Teaching Quality--Paraprofessionals - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Paraprofessional Database - This online database contains research from each of the 50 states regarding paraprofessional certification and qualification requirements, especially relating to the federal requirements for Title I professional development for paraprofessionals and assessment tests and passing scores for those tests, which are accepted and designated by states. See the ECS document Paraprofessional Database Research Navigator for research highlights....

Focus on an Untapped Classroom Resource: Helping Paraprofessionals Become Teachers - Noting the requirements paraprofessionals in Title I-funded schools must meet under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, this policy brief furthers the discussion about paraprofessionals as a potential source of new classroom teachers. The brief outlines policies in Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states that provide financial assistance to paraprofessionals working toward teacher certification, offers state policy suggestions to further support paraprofessionals in this regard, and lists reasons – backed by research – that support helping paraprofessionals become classroom teachers. (Christine L. Smith, SREB, April 2003)...