The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) will meet in Austin on Friday, April 26. We anticipate a relatively quiet agenda except for the recap of the State Board of Education proceedings and anticipated discussion of the revised request for proposal (RFP) for a Texas-specific performance assessment.
We covered the results of the SBOE ratification of Chapter 230 elsewhere in this week’s Hotline. The board was crystal clear in its directive to the SBEC to continue with a concerted effort to develop the TxTPA. While Texas AFT has never supported a performance assessment as an appropriate certification exam, the SBOE’s comments at its meeting suggest elected SBOE members (if not appointed SBEC members) are listening to stakeholders. The Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam will remain an option for all educator preparation programs and their candidates. The seven remaining programs choosing to use edTPA may still choose to use that exam without a negative impact to program accountability.
Up next week in the SBEC board room there will be a first discussion of the process to review the Texas Pedagogy Standards. A 40-member Educator Standards Advisory Committee representing practicing educators, school district personnel, subject-matter experts, and educator preparation program faculty from across the state have been meeting to discuss and review these standards. We expect a robust conversation in the room with a possible action item at the July meeting.
Also, in July, the SBEC typically conducts a work session before its regular meeting. We do not know the topics for this year’s but hope the board will illuminate them next Friday.
We will provide readers with a full recap of next week’s meeting in a future edition of the Hotline.