 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 Constructed Response Item (CRI) Deep Dive Webinar
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The webinar will provide an in-depth look into the exam’s newly developed constructed response items (CRIs). *Please review the 165 BESS EC-12 Exam Preparation Manual before the webinar.*
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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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187 Bilingual Special Education
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Texas Test of Educator Proficiency (T-TEP) (pending SBEC action)
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Updated one pager anticipated Summer 2026
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- Core EC-6
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Core with Fine Arts/Health/PE
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Core with Bilingual Education Spanish
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Core with ESL
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Updates related to Educator Preparation Program Management
Update: Certificate Issuance Timelines
EPPs should update internal policies and procedures to reflect changes to certificate issuance. Educator certificates will no longer be issued automatically and will only be issued after completion of the SEMARC check. SEMARC (Statewide Educator Misconduct and Accountability Clearinghouse) will be integrated with the DNHR (Do Not Hire Registry), with corresponding updates visible to LEAs in the DNHR upload results file.
EPPs should review internal certificate recommendation timelines and candidate communications to account for a potential delay of several days while the background check is completed. If a certificate is not issued after several days, EPPs should direct candidates to contact Educator Fingerprinting at 512-936-8400 (option 3) or through the Fingerprinting Help Desk.
Updates related to the PREP Program Allotment
Reminder: PREP Intent to Apply for 2027-2028
On Monday, June 29, 2026, EPP Legal Authorities and Backup Legal Authorities/Primary Points of Contact received an Intent to Apply form to indicate which PREP Allotment routes (Residency, Traditional, Preservice Alternative) your EPP intends to apply to offer for the 2027-2028 academic year. The legal authority or a designee will need to complete this form for inclusion as potential partners for school systems. Please complete this form as quickly as possible to ensure your EPP is listed on the LASO V application. Note that EPPs will need to be in compliance with all PREP Allotment requirements, including training faculty and leadership on Texas Reading & Math Academies and the Science of Learning requirements, to ensure eligibility for the PREP Allotment routes.
The form is due by July 27, 2026. If your program’s Legal Authority is unavailable, the backup Legal Authority may complete the form if designated to do so. For ESC/district/charter EPPs, the Primary Point of Contact may complete the form. Reach out to EPPreview@tea.texas.gov if you did not receive a link.
Reminder: Entering PREP Candidates into ECOS
As communicated during the PREP ECOS Training held on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the ECOS portal for entering candidates participating in the PREP Allotment will open on July 1, 2026. As a reminder, EPPs will need to upload their residency candidates into ECOS so that school systems can identify them to generate PREP Allotment funding for 2026-2027. Candidates must be identified in ECOS by school systems by mid-August to ensure funding. The webinar was recorded and will be posted on the PREP Website soon.
Reminder: Partnership Agreement Completion Deadline
Thank you to everyone who worked with your school system partners to complete the partnership agreements required for participation in the PREP Allotment programs. Due to requests from both school systems and EPPs, TEA allowed a draft agreement to be uploaded. However, for funding to be approved for distribution in 2026-2027, fully executed written agreements (MOUs) must be submitted by August 5, 2026. Please be in communication with your school system partners to ensure compliance with this requirement.
Updates related to actions by the State Board for Educator Certification, the State Board of Education, and the Legislature.
New: SBOE Review of SBEC Adopted Rules: June 2026
The State Board of Education (SBOE), as reflected in the posted June 2026 agenda materials, has completed its review of State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rule adoptions implementing legislation from the 89th Legislature. This includes revisions to 19 TAC Chapters 227, 228, and 230, which align with House Bill 2 and establish the framework for implementation—most notably supporting the Preparing and Retaining Educators Through Partnership (PREP) Allotment and its associated pathways for educator preparation providers.
Additionally, the Board reviewed SBEC rule actions related to 19 TAC Chapters 247 and 249 (Educator Code of Ethics and educator discipline) and took no action, allowing these updates to move forward as adopted.
These new rules will be effective August 2, 2026 (20 days after filing with the Texas Register). Note, sections of these rules may have a different delayed implementation date; please consult each section as appropriate.
Updates related to Insight to Impact
New: Observation Dashboards Pilot Program Completes Next Step Successfully
The June pilot program for the Insight to Impact Observation Dashboards reached another milestone after a pilot group of EPP representatives used the dashboards in production from June 10-30, 2026.
A small but mighty group of EPP staff members from Teach Us, University of Texas – Austin and Texas A&M – Texarkana all participated in the soft state launch. The I2I Dashboards Team would like to extend its gratitude and appreciation to the EPPs who volunteered to help move this project forward.
The next steps for the Observation Dashboards Team are to incorporate feedback from users and perform additional testing with EPP partners before going live in August. If you would like any training on the Observation Dashboards, please feel free to reach out to Tanisha Jones at Tanisha.Jones@tea.texas.gov.
New: I2I Dashboards Team Hosted Last Quarterly Sign-up Session
Last Thursday, the I2I Dashboards Team hosted its last Dashboards Sign-up Event of the quarter, designed to help guide the EPP community through the process of requesting access to the I2I dashboards. This event was created for EPP employees who didn't have access to the I2I dashboards and wanted direct support in the process of viewing them.
For those who still would like access, but couldn't attend, you can view this video recording from a previous sign-up event that details how to receive access. Please feel free to share the recording 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.
Also, please continue to check the EPP Newsletter for the date for next quarter's sign-up session. For all other events regarding the I2I Dashboards, you can visit the I2I Communications Calendar on TEA’s continuously updating I2I Academy website.
We take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from EPPs.
Q: How does a teacher candidate or currently certified classroom teacher receive the Special Education or Bilingual Education certification application fee waiver?
A: The EPP must first verify that the candidate has completed all program requirements and passed the required exams and then submit the official recommendation for certificate issuance. While the EPP’s recommendation is pending, the application status will display as “Pending” for candidates.
Candidates should apply for standard certification through TEAL and complete the application but should not submit payment.
Once the EPP submits the recommendation for a qualifying certification area, the system will automatically apply the fee waiver, and no payment will be required. Candidates do not need to submit a help desk ticket to receive the waiver.
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.
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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