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Background on the Texas State Board for Educator Certification
The State Board for Educator Certification was created in the 1995 session of the Texas Legislature. SBEC enables Texas educators to govern their own profession. The board's composition follows the design of other professional boards in which several members are "public" (not employed in an education-related field) and the remainder are practitioners. The SBEC comprises 15 members, 12 of whom are voting members appointed by the governor; of the three nonvoting members, one represents the Texas Education Agency, one represents the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the third is a college of education dean. Among the 12 voting members are seven practitioners: four teachers, two administrators, and one counselor.
Visit the State Board for Educator Certification Web site for a list of board members.
The SBEC's statutory responsibilities include those formerly assumed by the Commission on Standards for the Teaching Profession with regard to establishing certification and teacher education program standards, and the Teachers' Professional Practices Commission with regard to the Code of Ethics and disciplinary actions against certificate-holders. The SBEC's specific legal responsibilities include the following:
- specify the classes of educator certificates to be issued, including emergency certificates
- specify the period for which each class of educator certificate is valid
- specify the requirements for the issuance and renewal of an educator certificate
- provide for disciplinary proceedings, including the suspension or revocation of an educator certificate
- provide for the adoption, amendment and enforcement of the Educator's Code of Ethics
- provide for continuing education requirements
- provide for certification of persons performing appraisals
- designate fees for the issuance and maintenance of an educator certificate that are adequate to cover the cost of administration of the SBEC's functions
