Repealed Date: 09/01/2024

(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.
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  (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.

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