(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
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