Broward County Public Schools requires all Paraprofessionals be "Highly Qualified". Paraprofessionals are part of the Education Support Professional (ESP) unit. Paraprofessionals are the Teacher Assistants and Classroom Assistants that provide support to teachers in the classroom and one-on-one assistance to children with special needs. The goals of a paraprofessional is as follows:

• Providing the highest quality care and supervision to students of the Broward County School System by providing classroom support to enhance the instructional process.
• Participating in a vital role in the instructional process of an individualized program of education.
• Providing bilingual instructional assistance in the class room by assisting in a variety of activities including the preparation of instructional materials, presenting classroom instruction, performing various clerical duties, and assisting and supervising the actions of students to enrich the delivery of education to students.

What Does Highly Qualified Mean? (2 options):

• Classroom Assistant: Standard High school diploma/GED AND passing score on the ParaPro test (457).
• Teacher Assistant: Standard High school diploma/GED, passing score on the ParaPro test (457) AND Teacher Assisting Curriculum from a designated technical college in the Broward County School District. For more details about this program, please visit: McFatter Technical College.

OR

• An official transcript from an accredited college/university reflecting a minimum of 60 credit hours, or an Associate’s degree or higher conferred.

ParaPro Assessment Test:
The ParaPro assessment test is only required if you do not have at least 60 college credits hours or a degree conferred. 

The Para Pro Assessment Test is offered at McFatter Technical College. Please contact Viviana Rodriguez at Viviana.rodriguez@browardschools.com to schedule testing.

• Please note that in the future, the ParaPro Assessment Test may only be available at Testing Centers Nationwide or Remotely using Prometric ProProctor “At Home” (https://www.prometric.com/ParaPro).