The State Board for Educator Certification was created in the 1995 session of the Texas Legislature to regulate and oversee certification, continuing education and standards of conduct of public school educators. The SBEC comprises 14 members, 11 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 11 voting members are four public members and seven practitioners: four teachers, two administrators and one counselor.

Certification structure
Teacher certificates issued after Sept. 1, 1999, are subject to a five-year certificate renewal period, with a 150-hour continuing professional education (CPE) requirement that must be met through an SBEC-approved provider. Counselor and librarian certificates issued after Aug. 31, 2000, have a 200-hour CPE requirement for every renewal cycle, as do all educational diagnostician and master teacher certificates. Counselor and librarian certificates issued after Sept. 1, 1999, and before Sept. 1, 2000, had a 150-hour CPE requirement for the first five-year renewal cycle, but now must meet the 200-hour CPE requirement.

Educators who add another class of certificate during a renewal cycle can prorate the additional CPE hours required by the new certificate for the remainder of the renewal cycle.

Certificates issued prior to Sept. 1, 1999, are exempt from these rules. Educators adding new certificate areas should be aware that while their current certificates retain the “lifetime” designation, any certificates added after Sept. 1, 1999, are renewable and subject to the continuing education requirements.

Education aides are required to be certified but are not subject to the continuing education requirements.

Acceptable continuing professional education activities
If you have a renewable certificate or you have voluntarily “opted in” to the certificate renewal system, you are required to obtain CPE from an SBEC-approved provider in order to renew your certificate. For the most part, existing school district-provided inservice should count toward the CPE requirement, as may other activities such as college coursework, professional seminars, serving as a mentor and self-directed study. TCTA is an SBEC-approved provider and members can earn CPE hours through TCTA’s free online seminars at tcta.org/seminars. SBEC counts the following for purposes of CPE:

One semester credit hour earned at an accredited institution of higher education is equivalent to 15 CPE clock hours.

At least 80 percent of the CPE activities should be directly related to the certificate(s) being renewed and focus on the standards required for the initial issuance of the certificate(s), including:

(1) content area knowledge and skills;
(2) professional ethics and standards of conduct;
(3) professional development, which should encompass topics such as:

a. district and campus priorities and objectives
b. child development, including research on how children learn
c. discipline management
d. applicable federal and state laws
e. diversity and special needs of student populations
f. increasing and maintaining parental involvement
g. integration of technology into educational practices
h. ensuring that students read at or above grade level
i. diagnosing and removing obstacles to student achievement
j. instructional techniques

For more information on the CPE requirements and a list of SBEC-approved providers, see the SBEC website at www.sbec.state.tx.us/SBECOnline/certinfo/certren.asp.

Separate and apart from CPE requirements are mandates in some districts for professional development as a condition of employment in the district. The district can decide what it will and won’t count for local employment purposes, but the district cannot decide what will count for CPE purposes.

Confidentiality of educator certification exam scores
Recent TCTA-initiated legislation provides that educator certification exam scores are confidential for the first five attempts on the exam, after which the scores become public.

For further information on test dates and registration, contact the State Board for Educator Certification (TEA Division of Educator Certification and Standards) at (888) 863-5880 or visit the SBEC website.

Phasing out old certificates, phasing in new ones
SBEC is in the process of phasing out old certificates and certification tests and phasing in new ones. As each new certification test (Texas Examination of Educator Standards or TExES) is introduced, there will be a period of at least one year during which both the new TExES test and the Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCET) test to which it most closely corresponds will be administered. After that period of time, the ExCET test will no longer be administered and the TExES test will be required for certification in that field. This is of concern to educators who have pursued but not completed requirements for old certificates, because they cannot get the certificate if they do not apply to SBEC by a certain deadline and often end up having to take a new certification test in order to get a new replacement certificate.

The next deadline is for educators wishing to obtain certificates corresponding to ExCET tests that have been deleted (see list below). Such educators must meet all certification requirements on or before Aug. 31, 2007, and must apply online and be recommended by a Texas educator preparation program (if appropriate) no later than Oct. 30, 2007. These deadlines will be strictly enforced. Persons applying or being recommended after Oct. 30, 2007, will not be eligible for these certificates, and will need to meet requirements for one of the new standards-based certificates and pass the appropriate new TExES. Pay close attention to the SBEC website to watch for upcoming deadlines for additional certificates to be phased out.

Certificates corresponding to deleted ExCET tests:

• Basic Business (6-12)
• Business Administration (6-12)
• Business Composite (6-12)
• Secretarial Business (6-12)
• Dance (6-12)
• Journalism (6-12)
• American Sign Language (6-12)
• Special Education – Hearing Impaired (PK-12)
• Visually Impaired (PK-12)
• Speech Communications (6-12)
• Speech Communications-Theatre Arts (PK-12)
• Theatre Arts (PK-12)
• Theatre Arts (6-12)
• Agriculture: Horticulture – Vocational (6-12)
• Agriculture: Production – Vocational (6-12)
• Marketing Education – Vocational (6-12)
• Vocational Office Education (6-12)

Federal “highly qualified” requirements
In addition to state certification requirements, federal law requires all teachers in core academic subjects to be “highly qualified” by the end of the 2006-07 school year (in some cases, later deadlines apply). Those hired after the first day of instruction of the 2002-03 school year who teach core academic subjects in a Title I, Part A program must be “highly qualified” when hired. Specifics on these and other requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act are included on pages 26-28.

Master teacher certification
Persons with Reading Specialist certificates who complete a Master Reading Teacher (MRT) certification program, and persons with a teaching certificate and three years of teaching experience who complete an MRT certification program and pass the MRT certification exam are eligible for $5,000 stipends to serve as Master Reading Teachers on high-need campuses designated annually by the Texas Education Agency.

There are three other master teacher programs modeled after the MRT program.  The Master Math Teacher and Master Science Teacher programs are funded, but the Master Technology Teacher program is not.  Unlike the other master teacher programs, the Master Technology Teacher program involves master teachers as mentors only, not instructors.  More detailed information about the master teacher programs and legislation enacting the master math and science programs is available on the SBEC website.

Educational diagnostician certification
Recently passed legislation requires that educational diagnosticians employed by a school district on or after Sept. 1, 2008, hold a certificate issued by SBEC. A person employed by a school district prior to Sept. 1, 2008, may continue employment without obtaining a certificate or permit as an educational diagnostician for as long as the person is employed by that district.

Out-of-field assignments
Current SBEC rules restrict the ability of a school district to assign certain teachers to out-of-field assignments without the teacher’s consent. A certified teacher employed by the district the previous year or semester in an assignment for which he/she was fully certified cannot be assigned to a position that requires activating a permit unless the teacher has given written consent OR the teacher’s previous assignment no longer exists due to fluctuations in enrollment or changes in course offerings, and no alternative assignment for which the teacher is fully certified is available on that campus. The teacher shall be offered the opportunity to return to his or her previous assignment or an alternative assignment for which the teacher is fully certified as soon as such an assignment is available.

Certification by exam
State law resulting from TCTA-initiated legislation allows teachers who are already certified to become certified in another area or level simply by passing the applicable certification exam, without having to complete an educator preparation program or obtain additional hours. Teachers in this situation can register for the applicable certification exam by indicating that they are obtaining certification by examination and will not have to receive a bar code for the exam from an educator preparation program in order to take the exam.

Disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) teachers
DAEP teachers are required to be fully certified.

Temporary teacher certification
The temporary teacher certificate (TTC) provides an additional certification route for persons who hold a bachelor’s (or higher) degree to enter the teaching profession.

Candidates must:

(1) have a bachelor’s (or higher) degree that is related to one of 10 certificates issued in grades 8-12;
(2) pass the applicable content and professional development certification test, and criminal history background check;
(3) secure employment with and be recommended by a Texas public school district that is approved to offer the TTC program, prior to the start of the school year.

Candidates who already hold a temporary credential issued by SBEC (including a permit or probationary credential) may obtain a TTC as long as they have not held one or any combination of the credentials listed above for MORE THAN ONE SCHOOL YEAR. An individual is only allowed to serve for a maximum of three school years on temporary credentials before obtaining the standard certificate.

The TTC is valid for two years and cannot be renewed. The employing school district must provide TTC-holders with 80 hours of pre-service training, a mentoring program and at least 300 hours of ongoing professional development during the two-year employment period.

After two years of continuous employment on a TTC, the TTC teacher may apply to SBEC for a standard teaching certificate only if recommended by the employing district based on a favorable review of the person’s performance, including classroom performance and performance in any teacher training program(s). Each school district must predominantly base the review of a person’s performance on the increase in achievement of the students over which the person has had charge.

Out-of-state/out-of-country certification
Certain out-of-state/country certified educators may become certified in Texas without having to pass the Texas certification exams if they passed a comparable test in their home state or country of employment. SBEC has initiated an extensive and ongoing comparability study of current certification tests administered in other states and countries. Results of the SBEC studies as they progress are available via the SBEC website at www.sbec.state.tx.us.

New legislation allows an out-of-state educator teaching in a district experiencing enrollment increases due to the impact of military base closings to have at least one full year from final SBEC review of his/her credentials to complete all Texas certification requirements.

Local/district teaching permits
Texas law provides that a district can hire an individual with a bachelor’s degree who is not certified to teach by submitting the person’s name and credentials to the commissioner of education. The commissioner, in turn, must veto the request within 30 days or it is considered approved. The federal No Child Left Behind Act, however, no longer allows this practice for those teaching core curriculum courses who were hired after the first day of the 2002-03 school year, or for existing hires after the end of the 2006-07 school year. The commissioner of education’s office has stated that, in an effort to not circumvent teacher certification laws, such permits will not be approved for the following: persons serving on emergency permits to teach in Texas; certified educators from out of state; persons who hold a Texas teaching certificate; persons who have had their credentials sanctioned or who have had their application for credentials denied; and persons who have been unable to pass the appropriate Texas certification exam.

Criminal background checks/fingerprinting
A new law requires national criminal background checks, including fingerprinting, for all employees, applicants, shared service providers and contract employees who will have direct contact with students, including substitute teachers, student teachers and volunteers other than parents, guardians or grandparents of students enrolled in the district. One-time volunteers and volunteers who will be in the presence of a school employee would not be subject to background checks. This is a change from the previous law, which only required fingerprinting for employees certified since 2003. SBEC is required to establish a schedule for completing the required background checks and must obtain all the required checks no later than Sept. 1, 2011. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has entered into a contract with a private vendor to provide a digital fingerprinting service to those individuals who require fingerprinting for state licensing purposes in Texas. This includes applicants for educator credentials. The program is known as Fingerprint Applicant Services of Texas (FAST). For more information and a list of live scan locations, visit the SBEC website at http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/SBECOnline/fp/livescan.asp.

Virtual certificates online
Anyone holding a valid Texas public school educator certificate can view and print his/her certificate instantaneously through a secure link on the SBEC website at www.sbec.state.tx.us. The virtual certificate is the official record of an educator’s certification status, eliminating the need for school districts and individuals to keep paper copies on file. The virtual certificate satisfies the requirement of the Texas Education Code to present a certificate prior to employment with a school district. Virtual certificates are posted immediately upon approval, and printed certificates are mailed approximately one week later. All certificate-holders should carefully compare the printed certificate against the online certificate to ensure accuracy, since the virtual certificate is considered the official record.

Extension of certification renewal deadlines
Legislation passed during the 2005 legislative session extends certification renewal deadlines for certified educators serving on active military duty.

More information
Additional information on certification, including the testing program schedule and how to become a teacher in Texas, is available on the SBEC website.

Web posted: 08/02/07