The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) met in Austin on Feb. 14. There were three items up for adoption that Texas AFT has been closely following for many months.
Texas AFT, in alignment with its partners at the Texas Coalition for Educator Preparation (TCEP), was active throughout the rulemaking process on Chapter 235, Classroom Teacher Certification Standards. One small change was made prior to adoption and that was to include in the definition of “high-quality instructional materials”(HQIM) a caveat that only those materials that have been adopted by the State Board of Education (SBOE) are to be considered HQIM. Stakeholders advocated for this small but necessary adjustment, and we are pleased to see the continued responsiveness of the SBEC to feedback from the field. It has been critical all along to get this teacher pedagogy standards “right” as they will inform both the anticipated Texas-Test of Educator Proficiency (T-TEP) as well as the commissioners rules related to Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS).
Further the board adopted rules related to Chapter 231, Requirements for Public School Personnel Assignments. Most of the previous discussion and revision has been centered on the High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation” (HOUSSE) worksheet which for many years has been the tool used to document content-area competency for special education teachers of record. This worksheet has gone through multiple iterations in its year-long revision process, improving substantially with consistent engagement from stakeholders.
Previously, the board decided to approve alternate rule text that identified that special educators who had already met federal content competency requirements via the “old” worksheet are grandfathered from the substantive requirements of the new worksheet. Testifiers argued in December that without the more explicit wording, the proposed rule would be insufficient to give educators and their administrators notice that not all educators must complete all of the new worksheet.
At this meeting, SBEC added a few last-minute changes to the worksheet, including an increase to the time that special education teachers can count professional development toward their content competency from three years to five, adding flexibility for secondary teachers who cover multiple content areas, and credit for earning a teacher incentive allotment (TIA) designation or a National Board Certification.
And last on our watchlist was Chapter 249, Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Contested Cases. This is another item that has undergone significant changes, and many due the advocacy of all the teacher organizations. In December, there was substantial discussion around the definitions of “grooming behaviors” and “solicitation,” and more specifically where the burden of proof lies if an accusation is made in regard to these behaviors. Texas AFT again provided feedback and many of the changes made at this meeting were in favor of the educator and in the spirit of writing clear and actionable rules. No significant changes were made at adoption.
All three chapters of rules were adopted and will go before the State Board of Education (SBOE) at the April meeting for final approval.
As part of their consent agenda, the board approved the next round of teacher residency programs. Twelve new programs were approved, 10 university programs and two education service centers (ESCs).
Due to the departure of Dr. Scott Muri and Tommy Coleman from the board after the Dec. 2024 meeting, there was a need to elect a new vice chair and secretary. Courtney MacDonald was nominated and elected as vice chair and Bena Glascock was nominated and elected as secretary. As a reminder to Hotline readers, the SBEC is a governor-appointed body; Gov. Abbott has not yet appointed new members to replace a superintendent and a community member on the board.
An additional item of note, the board received an update on the work of A+ Texas Teachers to meet their agreed order with SBEC. The monitor found that A+ met the compliance points of administrative code that were part of the order, including candidate admissions and late hire procedures. The monitor will continue to provide quarterly reports until September 2025. The program must also be a part of the continuing approval review pilot cohort beginning this year. The board approved the motion to restore the accreditation status of A+ Texas Teachers.
The SBEC will meet once again in Austin in April.