Welcome
This newsletter compiles the most up-to-date information concerning what EPPs need to know to best support their faculty/instructors, staff, and candidates. Please thoroughly read all the sections for reminders, upcoming events, To Dos, and FAQs.
If you are not currently subscribed to the newsletter, please sign up at the link below.
Educator Preparation Program Listserv Registration
Upcoming Events
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New Certification Officer Training
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This training will provide information to Certification Officers related to requirements and processes for EPPs including the use of the various functions within ECOS for Entities. Please register to attend virtually. You do not have to be a new Certification Officer to attend. Note: This notice will be in the newsletter for 2 weeks as a preview for planning purposes. We will publish this training information again 2 weeks prior to the event.
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Tuesday, November 7, 2023, from 9:00 AM-3:30 PM
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New: Texas Teacher Residency Learning Series
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US Prep, national technical assistance provider for quality teacher preparation through residency transformation, will be hosting a fall learning series to support programs in learning more about teacher residency models. Please see the full message below to register for any of the upcoming events!
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Multiple events: See description below
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Upcoming Deadlines
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EPP Commendations Category 4: Innovative Educator Preparation
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Tuesday, October 10, 2023
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Updates related to Educator Preparation Program Management
New: ASEP Reporting 2022-2023 is now closed
TEA thanks all EPPs for submitting your data for 2022-2023 ASEP Reporting. Thank you also for your commitment to submitting quality data and for your commitment to quality educator preparation. Data submissions into ECOS for 2022-2023 are now closed. Your education specialists are reaching out with any remaining next steps, and the data team will be working on processing all the data over the coming weeks.
New: 2022-2023 ASEP Reporting Affidavit
The last item that is required to be submitted for ASEP reporting is the ASEP reporting affidavit. This can be found on the Program Provider Resources page under Forms and Documents. Your ASEP Affidavit 2023 is due by 5 PM CST on Friday, September 22, 2023. Submit the electronically signed affidavit to Preparation Programs in Help Desk.
New: ASEP 2023-2024 Technical Manual posted
We are targeting to post the updated 2023-2024 Technical Manual by the end of this week on the Program Provider Resources page under Form and Documents. This year’s manual includes updated information about reporting applied data and late hire flag in ECOS, as well as adding the required TEA ID for Cooperating Teacher/Mentor Teacher/Site Supervisor when reporting clinical experience records in ECOS. The updated technical manual also includes additional useful guidance for effective reporting such as how to create a CSV file when uploading data in ECOS.
Educator preparation programs at public colleges and universities are required to report certification rates of teacher education graduates to the LBB. To facilitate the reporting process and ensure the consistency and accuracy of data, TEA supports public colleges and universities by making available a tool to collect graduate information from the entities and, using data in the TEA database, calculate the certification rate for constituents. Guidance for using the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS) to upload and retrieve your certification rate is available in the updated Technical Manual.
More information will be distributed to public colleges and universities via email later this week. Remember, this reporting is only for public colleges and universities – if your EPP is not at a public college or university, your EPP does not complete the LBB reporting process.
Reminder: Insight to Impact - Professional Roles Dashboards
New dashboards for the Insight to Impact Dashboards are being developed and will be launched in October 2023. These dashboards will provide details about the initial employment, employment and retention, candidate characteristics, exam pass rates, and clinical experience for individuals receiving professional certifications. The roles included in these dashboards are counselors, educational diagnosticians, librarians, principals, and reading specialists. Please continue to watch this newsletter for information about this release and other I2I updates!
Reminder: Vetted Teacher Residency Program Applications (FYI, no action required)
Applications are currently undergoing final review and notification is still on track for September 2023. All applicants will be notified individually and will receive a comprehensive summary of their application’s review. In the meantime, please see the opportunity above to register for the Texas teacher residency programs learning series that begins this Friday, September 8, 2023.
Reminder: Dyslexia Training through TEALearn
Due to the changes from HB 3928, the Dyslexia course has been temporarily closed for required updates. TEA is working as quickly as possible to ensure correct information is updated and we anticipate that the course will open again soon. TEALearn anticipates the course will open by next week.
Updates related to Educator Preparation and Certification
Reminder: Remove Erroneous and Unused Applications in ECOS
EPP managers and advisors, we are seeking your support to ensure that our Educator Certification Online System (ECOS) functions as effectively and efficiently as possible for educators. As a reminder, please be certain to periodically check for erroneous applications in ECOS Entities and remove them promptly. To complete this task, you will need to access ECOS Entities, check the “Remove” button next to the application, then select “Remove Selected Recommendations” for any Standard, Probationary or Intern applications that have been submitted but you do not intend to recommend. Failure to remove such applications may lead to educator confusion and duplicate payments. We appreciate your support and your attention to this matter
Updates about SBEC, Rules, and Legislation
Updates related to actions by the State Board for Educator Certification, the State Board of Education, and the Legislature.
Reminder: The September SBEC meeting will be held Friday, September 29th. More information about the SBEC meeting, including the meeting agenda and access to view the meeting virtually, can be found on the SBEC webpage.
FAQs
We take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from EPPs.
Q: Is a teaching certificate required for certification as a School Counselor?
A: No, certification as a teacher is not required for issuance of the School Counselor certificate. Please see 19 TAC Chapter 239, Subchapter A and 19 TAC Chapter 230 for certification requirements.
Q: One of our candidates completed clinical teaching in 2021-2022 but due to additional requirements that had to be completed, the candidate was not marked as a finisher until 2022-2023. Will the candidate’s observations be included in the data set for 22-23 observation data?
A: Yes, if you entered the observations into ECOS in 2021-2022, then we will pick them up in the 2022-2023 data because that is the clinical teacher candidate’s finisher year (2022-2023).
TEA Updates
Additional updates on initiatives and opportunities from the TEA.
Update: Texas Teacher Residency Learning Series – Slide Decks and Recordings Available!
Interested in learning more about the impact of teacher residency programs across Texas? Register for US PREP’s webinar series (https://www.usprepnationalcenter.com/webinars) as well as access slide decks and recordings. Discover the transformative impact residencies have on teacher candidates, schools, and PK-12 students and see how immersive residency experiences are impacting teacher preparation and education in urban and rural areas.
Your best source for information and support at the TEA.
As an Educator Preparation Program, your main point of contact is your Education Specialist.
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Or EPPs (and candidates) may call (512) 936-8400 and select Option #5: Educator Preparation Programs. If an Education Specialist is not available to answer the call at that time, please leave a voicemail. An Education Specialist will promptly return the call.
Updated: If EPPs (and candidates) would like to speak to a representative from another area(s), they may call (512) 936-8400 and select one of the options listed below.
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Option 2: Educator Certification
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Option 3: Fingerprinting
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Option 6: Investigations
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Option 8: General Office Information
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