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Congress may order rules for school aides By Vicki Guarino Qualifying for the job of aiding and assisting in public school classrooms could get much tougher. As federal lawmakers consider requiring at least two years of college credit for anyone working with students, local and state school officials are launching training initiatives and lobbying to ease the burden new standards would put on teachers� aides and the districts that hire them. "Our message to our members is this is going to become a reality at some time," says Ed Edwards of the Oregon School Employees Association, the organization that represents school assistants. "There will be some requirements.�� Hundreds of non-licensed assistants in Jackson County public schools could be affected by proposed standards. These aides perform a variety of jobs, ranging from monitoring playgrounds to tutoring special-needs students, to coaching reading groups. Aides pass various local district requirements for education and specialized training and skills, but have not had to meet any state or federal standards or licensing. Proposed federal education requirements could involve hours of college classes and hundreds of dollars in tuition. It is still too early in the federal lawmaking process to know for certain what, if anything, will be required. Edwards says that as debate in Washington now stands, committees are discussing whether to require all teaching aides to have a two-year associate�s degree, two years of credits, or passing marks on "rigorous" reading and math tests. It�s still possible that Congress won�t enact higher education standards for aides. In contrast, the OSEA and local school administrators like Medford�s Julie York are seeking more flexible standards that take into account the training programs administrators already have and are working to expand. York met with federal education officials last year about this issue, when she was a principal in the Three Rivers District. She became coordinator of special programs in Medford this summer. York has been active in negotiations to put flexibility and state and local controls into any federal aide-certification process. She says districts should be allowed to prove their aides are qualified, trained and prepared for their jobs � just as Oregon districts do now for teachers fulfilling the continuing education requirements for their state license renewals. Without some flexibility, school administrators say their districts could lose aides who have done good work for years, and have too few qualified applicants to fill positions. "The pool of applicants would just dry up," Edwards agrees. "The districts wouldn�t be able to fill all the positions." While the debate goes on, Rogue Community College is launching a new set of classes directed toward an Oregon teacher�s aide certificate. Classes start Sept. 18, and coordinator Susan Roudebush is worried that too few classroom aides are aware of the potential legislation and how it could affect them. "The aides I have spoken with are very concerned, but I haven�t talked to very many," Roudebush says. OSEA is recommending that aides sign up for classes, if possible. "Our advice to our members is, �It doesn�t hurt to get a jump on this�," Edwards says. The impetus for standards came a couple of years ago, with a report from Southern California critical of public school practice of putting poorly educated, poorly trained aides in charge of classrooms. Federal lawmakers felt obligated to act, Edwards says. In response, officials from Oregon and other states have defended their school practices for both supervising and training. In Oregon, Edwards and school administrators point out, aides work directly under a licensed teacher�s supervision and they receive training. For example, Medford and Central Point school districts regularly hold training for aides and sponsor their attendance at OSEA training. York says she is in the process of expanding district-sponsored training for aides. In Central Point, where 50 to 60 aides regularly help out in classrooms, jobs typically go to experienced volunteers or part-time assistants, and training is a regular event, says personnel director Randy Gravon. "I think most other districts operate that way," Gravon adds. Although Gravon praises the intent behind the federal proposal to give more training to the people who work with kids, he worries about the burden strict regulation would impose. Many aides work part time; salaries range from $7.50 to $11 an hour; and districts have limited funds to cover their tuition costs. 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