 Welcome
This newsletter compiles the most up-to-date information concerning what EPPs need to know to best support their faculty/instructors, staff, and candidates. Please thoroughly read all the sections for reminders, upcoming events, To Dos, and FAQs.
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Educator Preparation Program Listserv Registration
Topic
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Description
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Event Date & Time
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186 Special Education Specialist EC-12 Constructed Response Item Deep Dive Webinar and Work Session
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The 186 Special Education Specialist EC-12 CRI Deep Dive Webinar and Work Sessions will provide programs an overview of the constructed response item, including the CRI prompt and exhibits candidates can expect to engage with on the exam. Programs will also have an opportunity to work in collaborative groups to review sample CRI responses, share best practices for candidate success on the constructed response item, and discuss curriculum updates. These two identical sessions will be highly interactive! Attending and/or viewing the 186 Preparation Manual Overview webinar prior to work session attendance is strongly encouraged.
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9:00-11:00 am CT,
via Zoom
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Certification Officer Training
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The online Certification Officer Training will be conducted in one full-day session. In this training, we will cover essential aspects of certification officer responsibilities, including admissions processes, clinical experiences, candidate observations, test approvals, compliance protocols, data reporting, and resources & contacts available through TEA.
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Virtual Training
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Updates related to Educator Preparation Program Management
New: Insight to Impact Dashboards Team to Host Sign-up Event
On Wednesday, June 11, from 2-3 p.m. CT, the I2I Dashboards Team will host a Dashboards Sign-up Event to help guide the education preparation program (EPP) community through the process of requesting access to the I2I dashboards. This event was designed for EPP employees who do not yet have access to the I2I dashboards and would like direct support in the process.
This will kick off a quarterly cadence of sign-up events that will provide the EPP community with the opportunity to learn more about the steps in the process, including dedicated time to request access to the dashboards and roles pertinent to their work and time with our team to troubleshoot issues.
Use this registration link for the sign-up event and feel free to share this invitation widely with your EPP community to ensure that all who are eligible and would benefit from using dashboard data to make programmatic decisions have appropriate access. For other events regarding the I2I Dashboards, check out the newly posted I2I Communications Calendar on the I2I Academy website.
New: Expiring Certification Exams in PE, Health, and ELAR 7-12
This is a time-sensitive notice for EPPs with candidates pursuing certificates in Physical Education (PE) EC-12, Health EC-12, and English Language Arts & Reading (ELAR) 7-12. The certification exams for these areas are being replaced. Candidates who have not received standard certification using the expiring exams (158, 157, 231) by September 1, 2025, will need to pass the new exams (258, 257, 331). This week, TEA provided data sets identifying potentially impacted candidates (those who have passing scores on expiring exams but are not yet Standard certified). Data sets are available now in ShareFile. An email was sent to Legal Authorities and Certification Officers notifying them that the data was uploaded into ShareFile along with access instructions for Legal Authorities. Please review these data sets and reach out to the candidates and remind them about the deadline for certification and the steps they need to take to be certified.
New: Save the Date – ASEP Reporting Webinar
Every year, TEA hosts an ASEP Reporting Webinar. This year, the ASEP Reporting 2024-2025 webinar will be on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 10:00-11:00 AM CST. The webinar will provide useful information and reminders about state reporting processes and tips to improve the reporting experience. A link for registration will be provided at a later date.
Reminder: EPP Map Updated
The EPP interactive map is now updated to reflect new changes to approved preparation programs. This cycle update included the addition of newly approved EPPs, designation of SBEC-approved Texas Teacher Residency Providers, inclusion of “doing business as” (dba) names for EPPs, updated employment data of EPP graduates, changes in approved certificates, and EPP address changes.
Please submit a Help Desk ticket to report EPP change in address, telephone number, website, or if your EPP had certificates removed from inventory so that we can include it in the next quarterly update.
Updates related to Educator Standards and Certification Testing
New: 2024-2025 Texas Test of Educator Proficiency (T-TEP) EPP Development Team Grant Update
Congratulations to the following Texas Educator Preparation Programs who were selected to receive the Texas Test of Educator Proficiency (T-TEP) EPP Development Team Selection, Onboarding, and Training Grant Award!
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Region 19 Education Service Center
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Stephen F. Austin State University
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Tarleton State University
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Region 13 Education Service Center
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Region 20 Education Service Center
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Region 10 Education Service Center
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Sam Houston State University
This group of Texas not-for-profit EPPs will apply their expertise in teacher preparation and teacher performance assessments to develop the T-TEP’s content and implementation resources. More information regarding the grant award can be found here.
The EPP standards-focused learning series is postponed until the fall of 2025. Please watch for updates in this newsletter. In the meantime, we will continue to add resources for programs on the standards support webpage.
New: TX165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental EC-12 Pilot Test Opportunity
Pearson is conducting pilot testing for the new 165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental exam (BESS). The new 165 BESS exam is scheduled to launch September 1, 2026 and will replace the current 164 Bilingual Education Supplemental and the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT) exams for Bilingual Spanish certificate-seeking candidates.
Pilot testing is intended to collect information on the performance of exam questions to be used at future exam administrations. Pilot testing will be available at Pearson VUE test centers throughout Texas from July 21, 2025 through August 17, 2025.
For information on eligibility, incentives, advantages of participating, scheduling, and registration for pilot tests, please visit the Pilot Testing website. Also, note that participation in a pilot test does not satisfy certification requirements or count against a candidate’s test attempts. Participants and educator preparation programs do not receive a Pass/Fail status or a score report. If you have questions or need further information, please contact the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program at estexas@pearson.com.
Reminder: 186 Special Education Specialist EC-12 CRI Deep Dive and Work Session Option 2
Thank you to the 95 participants who attended the first 186 Special Education Specialist EC-12 CRI Deep Dive and Work Session earlier this month. This session provided participants with an overview of the constructed response item included on the 186 Special Education Specialist exam, including the candidate assignment, exhibits included with the constructed response item, and scoring rubrics. Participants then spent most of the session working in small groups to review and analyze sample candidate responses to identify the qualities and characteristics of a strong response.
A second, identical session will be held Monday June 16th, 2025, from 9:00-11:00 am CT. Registration information can be found above. An overview of the session, including preparation reminders, has been provided below. We hope to see you there!
186 Special Education Specialist EC-12 CRI Deep Dive and Work Session
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Engage with an overview of the constructed response item on the exam, including CRI charge and exhibits candidates can expect to engage with
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Review the scoring rubric for the constructed response item
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Work in collaborative groups to review sample responses and determine the qualities and characteristics of strong candidate responses
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Welcome and Context Setting (9:00-9:07)
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Small Group Work (9:30-10:55)
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To prepare for your collaborative small group work:
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Review sample CRI responses for each of the four score points (1-4) included in the preparation manual
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Reflect on the following guiding questions:
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What differences do you see between each of the sample responses?
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What do you notice about how each response utilizes data from the provided exhibits?
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What does each response tell us about what the candidates know and can do?
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How might you think about supporting your candidates as they prepare to complete a CRI?
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Updates related to actions by the State Board for Educator Certification, the State Board of Education, and the Legislature.
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Require all special education teachers to hold a valid special education certificate
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Provide minor technical edits to §231.709 to align with naming conventions used in other subchapters for Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
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Establish a new §231.710 subsection that outlines certification requirements for an assignment of Teachers of Students who are Deafblind and the aligned SBEC-issued certificate.
Updates related to agency initiatives and opportunities
Reminder: 2025-2026 Discipline and Behavior Supports Grant Opens Soon! Exciting news! The 2025-2026 Discipline and Behavior Supports Grant will be open for applications starting June 2nd on the TEA Grants Opportunities webpage! This grant is available to all Regional Education Service Centers, Institutes of Higher Education, and other Nonprofit Organizations committed to advancing effective student-centered behavior interventions that drive meaningful outcomes. The purpose of the grant opportunity is to develop training and technical assistance resources that effectively impact students with significant behavioral challenges, along with the school systems that support those students. The application window will close on August 1, 2025.
There will be a soon-to-be scheduled FAQ/Webinar for potential applicants. In the meantime, if there are any questions about the Discipline and Behavior Supports Grant application or its process, please email: SpecialEducation@tea.texas.gov
We take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from .
Q: If FBE hours must occur after the candidate’s admission into the EPP, can EPPs no longer count FBE hours completed in university freshman or sophomore EPP courses, prior to formal admission into the EPP? [19 TAC §228.43(d)(4)]
A: No. The formal or contingency admission rules in 19 TAC §227.17(f) or 19 TAC §227.15(e) allow EPPs, including university and non-university programs, to accept some coursework completed prior to formal admission. Additionally, the EPP’s policy for accepting transfer credit for prior coursework completed per the requirements in 19 TAC §228.35(1-2) may also allow credit for coursework completed prior to formal admission.
Q: For the 25 FBE hours that can be completed flexibly, do the teacher of record, substitute teacher, or aide roles need to be official positions? [19 TAC §228.43(d)]
A: Yes. The EPP must collect formal evidence that the candidate served in this role for the specified timeframe.
Your best source for information and support at the TEA.
As an Educator Preparation Program, your main point of contact is your Education Specialist.
- View a list of EPPs and their assigned Education Specialist.
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For most efficient assistance, please submit a Help Desk ticket to Preparation Programs.
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EPPs may contact their assigned Education Specialist directly via phone or email.
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Candidates may call (512) 936-8400 and select Option #2: Educator Preparation and Certification for assistance.
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Updated: If EPPs (and candidates) would like to speak to a representative from another area(s), they may call (512) 936-8400 and select one of the options listed below.
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Option 2: Educator Preparation and Certification
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Option 3: Fingerprinting
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Option 6: Investigations
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