“Hello, April. Please, be a month of rebirth, regrowth, and renewal.” – Anonymous 

Welcome April, a month of “spring showers and storms.” Although storms can be frightening at times, when the storms are over, the earth is renewed and refreshed. A fresh start for new beginnings! Let all of the troubles and frustrations be washed away with the rain and storms that April brings and hold on to the hope of spring! The finish line for the semester is closer than you think. We are almost there!

Updated: 2022 Vetted Teacher Residency Program List Application [Application Due 4/12/22]  
TEA has opened the next cycle of the Vetted Teacher Residency Program application for EPPs that are actively implementing high-quality teacher residency models with existing district partnerships. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and applicants will receive communication about their application status accordingly.  

Principal Survey Webpage 
Teacher Survey Webpage 

Updated: ASEP Mid-Year Data Sets  
The ASEP Mid-Year data sets were distributed last week via email to EPP legal authorities. This data is provided to allow EPPs to understand the current status of their reporting. In addition to the data sets, we included a link to this informational webinar, which we encourage you to review. 

Every newsletter we take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from EPPs.  

Q: For clinical teachers in their placement, can EPPs waive the three instructional days missed in January and February due to inclement weather in our area at that time?  
A: No, there is nothing in TAC that allows EPPs to waive instructional days due to inclement weather. Candidates will be required to make up days missed due to weather. Note the following are permissible for a reduction in the number of days required for the supervised clinical experience: 

1. Disaster Declaration per 19 TAC §228.1(d): 19 TAC §228.1(d): If the governor declares a state of disaster consistent with the Texas Government Code, §418.014, Texas Education Agency staff may extend deadlines in Chapter 228 for up to 90 days and decrease clinical teaching, internship, and practicum assignment minimums by up to 20 percent as necessary to accommodate persons in the affected disaster areas.  TEA staff have allowed and continue to allow for the 20% reduction in clinical teaching, internship, and practicum assignments for candidates impacted by COVID-19 as identified in the Governor’s COVID-19 Disaster Declaration. Because of this allowance, candidates that have not been able to complete the required number of days in their supervised clinical experience due to interference from the disaster (i.e., COVID) in their assignment area may have the assignment minimum reduced to complete requirements.   

2. Maternity Leave, Military Leave, Illness, or Bereavement 19 TAC §228.35(e)(2)(A)(iv): An EPP may permit a full day clinical teaching assignment up to 5 full days fewer than the minimum and a half day clinical teaching assignment up to 10 half days fewer than the minimum if due to maternity leave, military leave, illness, or bereavement. Note the parallel allowance for internships in 19 TAC §228.35(e)(2)(B)(i), which says an EPP may permit an internship of up to 30 school days fewer than the minimum if due to maternity leave, military leave, illness, bereavement, or if the late hire date is after the first day of the school year.  

3. The parallel TAC for internships is 19 TAC §228.35(e)(2)(B)(i): An EPP may permit an internship of up to 30 school days fewer than the minimum if due to maternity leave, military leave, illness, bereavement, or if the late hire date is after the first day of the school year.

Additional updates on initiatives and opportunities from the TEA.  

New: Teacher Vacancy Task Force 
TEA established the Teacher Vacancy Task Force to address ongoing staffing concerns that have been exacerbated by both population growth and the wide-ranging disruptions of a two-year-long pandemic. The Teacher Vacancy Task Force is working to find teacher-shaped solutions to these challenges - blending a variety of perspectives and experiences from current classroom teachers and school administrators - into thoughtful policy recommendations and an innovative way forward that firmly supports the needs of our teachers. For more information, please go to Teacher Vacancy Task Force Overview.