 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
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Topic
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Description
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Event Date & Time
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165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental EC-12 Exam in Focus Webinar
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The webinar will give an in-depth look into the development, structure, and scoring of the assessment.
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11:00 AM – 12:30 PM CST
Virtual
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165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental
EC-12 Exam Constructed Response Item (CRI) Deep Dive and Preparation Manual Overview Webinar
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The webinar will provide an in-depth look into the exam’s newly developed constructed response items (CRIs) and review the structure and content of the exam preparation manual.
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11:00 AM – 1:00 PM CST
Virtual
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Exam Launch Reminders and Resources
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186 Special Education Specialist EC-12
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165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental
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Core Subjects Redesign, Phase 1
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Core with Fine Arts/Health/PE
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Core with Special Education
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Texas Test of Educator Proficiency (T-TEP) (pending SBEC action)
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Core Subjects Redesign,
Phase 2
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Core with Bilingual Education Spanish
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187 Bilingual Special Education
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Updates related to Educator Preparation Program Management
Reminder: 2025-2026 Mid-Year Dataset Availability for ASEP Reporting
The mid-year datasets for reporting year 2025-2026 have been shared with Legal Authorities or Primary Points of Contact through ShareFile. The Legal Authority or Primary Point of Contact was notified once the datasets were available in ShareFile, and the email included guidance for understanding the data. All listed Back-up Legal Authorities and Certification Officers also received an email notifying them that the datasets were shared with the EPP’s Legal Authority or Primary Point of Contact.
As in prior years, the mid-year datasets include:
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Year-to-Date Pass Rates
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Year-to-Date Observations
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5-Year Continuing Enrollment Status
No action is required on your end; however, we encourage EPPs to use the datasets to monitor ASEP progress for the year.
Updates related to the PREP Program Allotment
Reminder: PREP Program Allotment Newsletter
To keep up with the latest information regarding the PREP Program Allotment, please sign up for the PREP Newsletter. You may sign up for the PREP Program Allotment Newsletter on the TEA Email Updates website under the Academics Heading.
Reminder: PREP Program Allotment Website
Information regarding the PREP Program Allotment can be located on the PREP Program Website. This page will be updated regularly with information, required documents, and learning opportunities.
Updates related to Educator Standards and Certification Testing
Reminder: 165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental EC-12 TExES Exam Preparation Manual Now Available
In advance of the September 2026 launch of the 165 Bilingual Education Spanish Supplemental EC-12 exam, the preparation manual is available on the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program website. The preparation manual includes:
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Aligned examination framework
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Approaches to different question types
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Sample selected-response questions
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In-depth rationales for correct and incorrect responses
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Sample constructed response questions, sample responses, and rationales
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List of preparation resources
Updates related to Insight to Impact
New: Observation Dashboard Milestone Reached
With the assistance of Dashboard Governance Committee (DGC) members, the Insight to Impact (I2I) Observation Dashboard has reached yet another milestone recently. Lone Star College, Urban Teachers, Texas State University, Texas A&M International, and Texas A&M Central Texas comprised the subset of DGC members willing to conduct user acceptance testing (UAT) for the dashboard application’s development.
Since feedback from the field is fundamental to ensuring optimal outcomes with the technology, the I2I Dashboards Team deeply appreciated the DGC members’ invaluable feedback, which helped test the application’s functionality. Now that this round of testing, which began on March 9 and concluded on March 31, has been completed, the team is working towards launch in Summer 2026.
New: I2I Dashboards Data Treasure Hunt: Candidate Characteristics
TEA recently hosted an Insight to Impact Dashboards (I2I) training on how to get the most out of the Candidate Characteristics Dashboard. To ensure that the lesson sticks, we created a fun, interactive “treasure hunt” for EPP staff to practice finding actionable insights about their respective programs. Those who complete the treasure hunt and email TEA will not only be featured in the EPP Newsletter but also receive a prize (in addition to a hard-earned high-five)!
New: Dashboards Sign-up Event Video Posted
For those who missed the March 26 Insight to Impact Dashboards Sign-up Event, you’re in luck. The recorded event video is now posted for members of the EPP community who would like to learn more about the steps needed to receive dashboard access, depending on roles pertinent to their work.
Feel free to share this video widely with your EPP community to ensure that all who are eligible and would benefit from using dashboard data to make programmatic decisions have appropriate access.
We take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from .
Q: If a candidate’s mentor teacher changes during their internship, do we create a new clinical experience record for the candidate or do we reach out to TEA for assistance to make the change?
A: Add another clinical experience record. If the candidate is assigned a new cooperating teacher, host teacher, mentor, or site supervisor during the clinical experience, the EPP should add a new clinical experience record with the same start/end dates as the original record but with the new cooperating teacher/host teacher/mentor/site supervisor information.
Q: If a candidate does not complete clinical teaching, do we still enter the observations? If so, what do we need to do so that our EPP is not held accountable for completing the required number of observations?
A: Yes, enter all observations completed and then submit a Request for Exception (RFE) to except that person’s observations out of your data set.
Your best source for information and support at the TEA.
As an Educator Preparation Program, your main point of contact is your Education Specialist.
- View a list of EPPs and Education Specialist Assignments.
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For most efficient assistance, please submit a Help Desk ticket to Preparation Programs.
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EPPs may contact their assigned Education Specialist directly via phone or email.
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Candidates may call (512) 936-8400 and select Option #2: Educator Preparation and Certification for assistance.
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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 Preparation and Certification
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Option 3: Fingerprinting
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Option 6: Investigations
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