Teacher Loan Forgiveness Anxieties

Good evening! Or good day!

I'm currently in the process looking at filing for Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) as a SPED elementary teacher.

I have a very specific question and I don't know who to ask.

The Loan forgiveness specifies you need to be a "highly qualified teacher" and I'm trying to figure out what that means. For my first two years, in New Jersey, I was under a "provisional certification". Does that mean those two years don't count under the five because it wasn't full certification??

Thank you in advance for your insight!