The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) will meet in Austin on Friday, Dec. 6. The board will take up for proposal several items Texas AFT has been watching closely.
Texas AFT has been fully engaged with its partners at the Texas Coalition for Educator Preparation (TCEP) regarding the proposed revisions to the teacher pedagogy standards in 19 TAC Chapter 235. Consistent advocacy on these rules has yielded positive changes across this chapter. We anticipate a few more modest changes but are hopeful that the proposal will reflect the desired changes of stakeholders. As we have previously covered, these rules will impact the commissioner’s teacher standards (19 TAC 149) and eventually the teacher evaluation instrument, Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS), so it is critical these are aligned with best practices in pedagogy.
Texas AFT has also participated in stakeholder meetings and submitted numerous comments on proposed changes to 19 TAC Chapter 249 related to educator discipline. While some clarifications have been added, the proposed changes remain concerning. These rules are attempting to clarify, among other issues, what constitutes “grooming” and documentation needed to support contract abandonment.
Also expected as a proposal item will be changes to TAC Chapter 231 related to teacher assignments for special education. These rules should hopefully clarify and provide sufficient flexibility for certified special education teachers to demonstrate content proficiency to serve in their classrooms.
Finally, we hope to get another update on the progression of the Texas-specific teacher performance assessment. The SBEC discussed this in September, and we expect that there may be more details to share regarding the launch of the grant application for Educator Preparation Programs to join the development process under the auspices of the testing vendor, Pearson.
We will provide a full recap in a future edition of the Hotline.