The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) will meet in Austin next week on Dec. 7-8. This will be a highly consequential meeting as the board will be taking up major changes to both how educators are trained and certified in Texas.
SBEC has rulemaking authority over how educators are trained in Texas, including traditional university preparation and alternative certification. Over the last several months, Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff have been engaged in a major update and reorganization of these rules. Included in this overhaul are:
- increased requirements for the intern certificate
- new metrics for the continuing review process for preparation programs
- the inclusion of the new residency pathway (also called an “enhanced certificate”)
The other major decision the board will make relates to a proposed new educator certification exam. Longtime Hotline readers will remember that Texas AFT was part of a coalition that helped defeat the edTPA exam in June 2022. Part of the State Board of Education’s (SBOE) justification for the rejection of the exam was that edTPA was not fully aligned to Texas educator standards, and the SBOE recommended the SBEC consider another option developed specifically for Texas.
Against the consistent feedback of stakeholders, the SBEC has moved forward with a request for proposal process for developing this new certification exam. We expect to hear a robust discussion in the room pertaining to the details of this proposal and how and when it might roll out in the coming years.