(a) New entity approval. An entity seeking initial
approval to deliver an educator preparation program (EPP) shall submit
an application and proposal with evidence indicating the ability to
comply with the provisions of this chapter, Chapter 227 of this title
(relating to Provisions for Educator Preparation Candidates), Chapter
229 of this title (relating to Accountability System for Educator
Preparation Programs), and Chapter 230 of this title (relating to
Professional Educator Preparation and Certification). The proposal
will be reviewed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff and a pre-approval
site visit will be conducted. The TEA staff shall recommend to the
State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) whether the entity should
be approved. A post-approval site visit will be conducted after the
first year of the EPP's operation.
(1) The proposal shall include the following program
approval components:
(A) ownership and governance of the EPP;
(B) criteria for admission to the EPP;
(C) EPP curriculum;
(D) EPP coursework and/or training, including ongoing
support during clinical teaching, internship, and practicum experiences;
(E) certification procedures;
(F) assessment and evaluation of candidates for certification
and EPP improvement;
(G) professional conduct of EPP staff and candidates;
(H) EPP complaint procedures;
(I) required submissions of information, surveys, and
other accountability data; and
(J) as required under Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.0443(b)(1)
and (2), proactive instructional planning techniques throughout the
course work for candidates and across content areas and inclusive
practices for all students, including students with disabilities,
throughout coursework and clinical experience for candidates.
(2) The proposal shall also include identification
of the classes and categories of certificates proposed to be offered
by the entity.
(b) Continuing entity approval. An entity approved
by the SBEC under this chapter shall be reviewed at least once every
five years; however, a review may be conducted at any time at the
discretion of the TEA staff.
(1) At the time of the review, the entity shall submit
to the TEA staff a status report regarding its compliance with existing
standards and requirements for EPPs. An EPP is responsible for establishing
procedures and practices sufficient to ensure the security of information
against unauthorized or accidental access, disclosure, modification,
destruction, or misuse prior to the expiration of the retention period.
Evidence of compliance is described in the figure provided in this
paragraph.
Attached Graphic
(2) Unless specified otherwise, the entity must retain
evidence of compliance described in the figure in paragraph (1) of
this subsection for a period of five years.
(3) TEA staff shall, at the minimum, use the following
risk factors to determine the need for discretionary reviews and the
type of five-year reviews:
(A) a history of the program's compliance with state
law and board rules, standards, and procedures, with consideration
given to:
(i) the seriousness of any violation of a rule, standard,
or procedure;
(ii) whether the violation resulted in an action being
taken against the program;
(iii) whether the violation was promptly remedied by
the program;
(iv) the number of alleged violations; and
(v) any other matter considered to be appropriate in
evaluating the program's compliance history;
(B) whether the program meets the accountability standards
under TEC, §21.045; and
(C) whether a program is accredited by other organizations.
(c) Approval of clinical teaching for an alternative
certification program. An alternative certification program seeking
approval to implement a clinical teaching component shall submit a
description of the following elements of the program for approval
by the TEA staff on an application in a form developed by the TEA
staff that shall include, at a minimum:
(1) general clinical teaching program description,
including conditions under which clinical teaching may be implemented;
(2) selection criteria for clinical teachers;
(3) selection criteria for cooperating teachers;
(4) description of support and communication between
candidates, cooperating teachers, and the alternative certification
program;
(5) description of program supervision; and
(6) description of how candidates are evaluated.
(d) Addition of certificate categories and classes.
(1) An EPP that is rated "accredited," as provided
in §229.4 of this title (relating to Determination of Accreditation
Status), may request additional certificate categories be approved
by TEA staff, by submitting an application in a form developed by
the TEA staff that shall include, at a minimum, the curriculum matrix;
a description of how the standards for Texas educators are incorporated
into the EPP; and documentation showing that the program has the staff
knowledge and expertise to support individuals participating in each
certification category being requested. The curriculum matrix must
include the standards, framework competencies, applicable Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills, course and/or module names, and the benchmarks
or assessments used to measure successful program progress.
(2) An EPP rated "accredited" and currently approved
to offer a certificate for which the SBEC is changing the grade level
of the certificate may request to offer the preapproved category at
different grade levels by submitting an application in a form developed
by the TEA staff that shall include, at a minimum, a modified curriculum
matrix that includes the standards, course and/or module names, and
the benchmarks or assessments used to measure successful program progress.
The requested additional certificate categories must be within the
classes of certificates for which the EPP has been previously approved
by the SBEC.
(3) An EPP that is not rated "accredited" may not apply
to offer additional certificate categories or classes of certificates.
(4) An EPP that is rated "accredited" may request the
addition of a certificate class that has not been previously approved
by the SBEC, but must present a full proposal on an application in
a form developed by the TEA staff for consideration and approval by
the SBEC.
(e) Addition of program locations. An EPP that is rated
"accredited," may open additional locations, provided the program
informs the SBEC of any additional locations at which the program
is providing educator preparation 60 days prior to providing educator
preparation at the location. Additional program locations must operate
in accordance with the program components under which the program
has been approved to operate.
(f) Contingency of approval. Approval of an EPP by
the SBEC, including each specific certificate class and category,
is contingent upon approval by other lawfully established governing
bodies such as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, boards
of regents, or school district boards of trustees. Continuing EPP
approval is contingent upon compliance with superseding state and
federal law.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section,
a program that is approved to offer certificates that the SBEC has
replaced with new certificates, which require a science of teaching
reading assessment, may be approved to offer the certificates by submitting
on or before December 1, 2020, a request to offer the new certificates
in a form developed by the TEA staff. This request must include at
a minimum an attestation signed by the program's legal authority of
the program's intent to modify its curriculum by January 1, 2021,
as necessary to prepare candidates for the new certificate. Programs
may be approved to offer the new certificates only for the route(s)
for which they are approved to offer the existing certificates. A
program that does not file a request for approval to offer the new
certificates on or before December 1, 2020, may apply for authorization
using the process described in subsection (d) of this section. The
eligible certificates are as follows:
(1) a program approved to offer Core Subjects: Early
Childhood-6 may request to offer Core Subjects with Science of Teaching
Reading: Early Childhood-6;
(2) a program approved to offer Core Subjects: Grades
4-8 may request to offer Core Subjects with Science of Teaching Reading:
Grades 4-8;
(3) a program approved to offer English Language Arts
and Reading: Grades 4-8 may request to offer English Language Arts
and Reading with Science of Teaching Reading: Grades 4-8; and
(4) a program approved to offer English Language Arts
and Reading/Social Studies: Grades 4-8 may request to offer English
Language Arts and Reading/Social Studies with Science of Teaching
Reading: Grades 4-8.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §228.10 adopted to be effective July 11, 1999, 24 TexReg 5011; amended to be effective October 12, 2003, 28 TexReg 8608; amended to be effective August 9, 2007, 32 TexReg 4755; amended to be effective December 14, 2008, 33 TexReg 10016; amended to be effective October 27, 2014, 39 TexReg 8388; amended to be effective December 27, 2016, 41 TexReg 10280; amended to be effective October 15, 2020, 45 TexReg 7255; amended to be effective September 1, 2022, 47 TexReg 2750 |