State Board of Education approves new certification rules

The State Board of Education (SBOE) met April 7-11 to discuss new rules for educator certification, updates to the TEKS, and the Permanent School Fund, among other things. 

SBOE has authority over many areas in public education, including the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills required for all students in the state. It also oversees the Permanent School Fund, essentially a pristine line of credit for school districts to use when taking loans for new construction to ensure they get preferential interest rates. TCTA is particularly focused on SBOE's activities related to its oversight of the State Board for Educator Certification. Any rules passed by SBEC must be approved by SBOE to take effect.

Special education content competency

For more than a year, SBEC has worked to update a framework through which special education teachers who are responsible for teaching grade-level content can demonstrate their competency without having to obtain additional certification. The previous framework, called HOUSSE, allowed those teachers to credit years of experience, professional development, college credit hours and more toward their HOUSSE worksheet. With enough credit, they would be considered competent to teach that subject.

TEA initiated a process to replace HOUSSE with a new framework to demonstrate content competency. The initial proposal would have eliminated flexibility offered by HOUSSE and required special education teachers to obtain standard certification in any core subject taught. 

TCTA moved quickly to warn TEA and SBEC of the potentially disastrous consequences of suddenly requiring special education teachers to obtain additional certification, especially considering the shortage of special education teachers in Texas. 

Over the past few years, TCTA has worked closely with TEA and testified before SBEC to develop a new framework that maintains the flexibility of HOUSSE and adds more options for special education teachers to demonstrate content competency. SBEC approved the new framework in February and sent it to SBOE for approval.

SBOE considered the new framework in one of its committee meetings, but on a party line vote, the committee recommended that the full board veto the item over its inclusion of the National Board Certified Teacher designation as a route to demonstrating content competency. 

Many Republicans in the Texas Legislature and a handful on the SBOE take issue with anything associated with a national body of any kind, and NBCT is no exception. There have been similar efforts to remove NBCT as a route to obtaining a Teacher Incentive Allotment designation in the legislature this session. 

TCTA worked to convince key members to support the plan before the full Board voted April 11. With those members' support, SBOE approved the framework as recommended by SBEC. The new framework will be effective Sept. 1, 2025.

Pending the passage of certain bills at the legislature, SBOE and SBEC may have a lot of work ahead regarding teacher certification. TCTA will keep you updated on the latest regarding those bills and how that could affect teacher certification going forward.