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TITLE 19EDUCATION
PART 7STATE BOARD FOR EDUCATOR CERTIFICATION
CHAPTER 228REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS
RULE §228.35Preparation Program Coursework and/or Training

    (D) An EPP may request an exception to the clinical teaching option described in this subsection. An exception must include an alternate requirement that will adequately prepare candidates for educator certification and ensure the educator is effective in the classroom. The request for an exception must be submitted in a form developed by the TEA staff which shall include:

      (i) the rationale and support for the alternate clinical teaching option;

      (ii) a full description and methodology of the alternate clinical teaching option;

      (iii) a description of the controls to maintain the delivery of equivalent, quality education; and

      (iv) a description of the ongoing monitoring and evaluation process to ensure that EPP objectives are met.

    (E) Exception requests will be reviewed by TEA staff, and the TEA staff shall recommend to the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) whether the exception should be approved.

    (F) Candidates need to experience a full range of professional responsibilities that shall include the start of the school year. The start of the school year is defined as the first 15 instructional days of the school year. If these experiences cannot be provided through clinical teaching, they must be provided through field-based experiences.

  (3) An internship or clinical teaching experience for certificates that include early childhood may be completed at a Head Start Program with the following stipulations:

    (A) a certified teacher is available as a trained mentor;

    (B) the Head Start program is affiliated with the federal Head Start program and approved by the TEA;

    (C) the Head Start program teaches three- and four-year-old students; and

    (D) the state's prekindergarten curriculum guidelines are being implemented.

  (4) An internship or clinical teaching experience must take place in an actual school setting rather than a distance learning lab or virtual school setting.

  (5) An internship or clinical teaching experience shall not take place in a setting where the candidate:

    (A) has an administrative role over the mentor or cooperating teacher; or

    (B) is related to the field supervisor, mentor, or cooperating teacher by blood (consanguinity) within the third degree or by marriage (affinity) within the second degree.

  (6) For certification in a class other than classroom teacher, each EPP shall provide a practicum for a minimum of 160 clock-hours whereby a candidate must demonstrate proficiency in each of the educator standards for the certificate class being sought.

    (A) A practicum experience must take place in an actual school setting rather than a distance learning lab or virtual school setting.

    (B) A practicum shall not take place in a setting where the candidate:

      (i) has an administrative role over the site supervisor; or

      (ii) is related to the field supervisor or site supervisor by blood (consanguinity) within the third degree or by marriage (affinity) within the second degree.

    (C) An intern or probationary certificate may be issued to a candidate for a certification class other than classroom teacher who meets the requirements and conditions, including the subject matter knowledge requirement, prescribed in §230.37 of this title.

      (i) A candidate for an intern or probationary certificate in a certification class other than classroom teacher must meet all requirements established by the recommending EPP, which shall be based on the qualifications and requirements for the class of certification sought and the duties to be performed by the holder of a probationary certificate in that class.

      (ii) An EPP may recommend an additional practicum under a probationary certificate if:

        (I) the EPP certifies that the first practicum was not successful, the EPP has developed a plan to address any deficiencies identified by the candidate and the candidate's field supervisor, and the EPP implements the plan during the additional practicum; or

        (II) the EPP certifies that the first practicum was successful and that the candidate is making satisfactory progress toward completing the EPP before the end of the additional practicum.

    (D) A practicum is successful when the field supervisor and the site supervisor recommend to the EPP that the candidate should be recommended for a standard certificate.

  (7) Subject to all the requirements of this section, the TEA may approve a school that is not a public school accredited by the TEA as a site for field-based experience, internship, clinical teaching, and/or practicum.

    (A) All Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, wherever located, and all schools accredited by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) are approved by the TEA for purposes of field-based experience, internship, clinical teaching, and/or practicum.

    (B) An EPP may file an application with the TEA for approval, subject to periodic review, of a public school, a private school, or a school system located within any state or territory of the United States, as a site for field-based experience. The application shall be in a form developed by the TEA staff and shall include, at a minimum, evidence showing that the instructional standards of the school or school system align with those of the applicable Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and SBEC certification standards.

    (C) An EPP may file an application with the TEA for approval, subject to periodic review, of a public or private school located within any state or territory of the United States, as a site for an internship, clinical teaching, and/or practicum required by this chapter. The application shall be in a form developed by the TEA staff and shall include, at a minimum:

      (i) the accreditation(s) held by the school;

      (ii) a crosswalk comparison of the alignment of the instructional standards of the school with those of the applicable TEKS and SBEC certification standards;

      (iii) the certification, credentials, and training of the field supervisor(s) who will supervise candidates in the school; and

      (iv) the measures that will be taken by the EPP to ensure that the candidate's experience will be equivalent to that of a candidate in a Texas public school accredited by the TEA.

    (D) An EPP may file an application with the TEA for approval, subject to periodic review, of a public or private school located outside the United States, as a site for clinical teaching, internship, or practicum required by this chapter. The application shall be in a form developed by the TEA staff and shall include, at a minimum, the same elements required in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph for schools located within any state or territory of the United States, with the addition of a description of the on-site program personnel and program support that will be provided and a description of the school's recognition by the U.S. State Department Office of Overseas Schools.

(f) Mentors, cooperating teachers, and site supervisors. In order to support a new educator and to increase educator retention, an EPP shall collaborate with the campus or district administrator to assign each candidate a mentor during the candidate's internship, assign a cooperating teacher during the candidate's clinical teaching experience, or assign a site supervisor during the candidate's practicum. If an individual who meets the certification category and/or experience criteria for a cooperating teacher, mentor, or site supervisor is not available, the EPP and campus or district administrator shall assign an individual who most closely meets the criteria and document the reason for selecting an individual that does not meet the criteria. The EPP is responsible for providing mentor, cooperating teacher, and/or site supervisor training that relies on scientifically-based research, but the program may allow the training to be provided by a school, district, or regional education service center if properly documented.

(g) Ongoing educator preparation program support for initial certification of teachers. Supervision of each candidate shall be conducted with the structured guidance and regular ongoing support of an experienced educator who has been trained as a field supervisor. Supervision provided on or after September 1, 2017, must be provided by a field supervisor who has completed TEA-approved observation training. The initial contact, which may be made by telephone, email, or other electronic communication, with the assigned candidate must occur within the first three weeks of assignment. For each formal observation, the field supervisor shall participate in an individualized pre-observation conference with the candidate, document educational practices observed; provide written feedback through an individualized, synchronous, and interactive post-observation conference with the candidate; and provide a copy of the written feedback to the candidate's cooperating teacher Cont'd...

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