 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.
You may subscribe to the newsletter or access previous editions
using the links below:
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Topic
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Description
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Event Date & Time
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Observation Tool Launch Webinar
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The I2I Dashboards Team will host a training on the Observation Tool.
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Thursday, August 27, 2026
3:00 – 4:00 PM CST
via Microsoft Teams
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187 Bilingual Special Education EC–12 Framework Webinar
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The 187 Bilingual Special Education EC–12 Framework Webinar will guide program faculty or staff through an overview of the new Bilingual Special Education EC–12 Exam Framework, the exam timeline, and the context of the creation of the certificate. Programs will have an opportunity to discuss curriculum alignment and implementation planning needed to support the new Bilingual Special Education EC–12 certification pathway.
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Thursday,
September 3, 2026
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM CST via ZOOM
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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
New: Update to Foreign Credential Evaluation Requirements for Out-of-Country Applicants
TEA Educator Certification has updated the Foreign Credential Evaluation (FCE) guidance for applicants seeking an out-of-country credentials review under 19 TAC Chapter 245.
Applicants may now select a foreign credential evaluation service of their choice. In accordance with 19 TAC §245.10, the evaluation must be an original detailed report or course-by-course evaluation for professional licensing prepared by a foreign credential evaluation service recognized by TEA staff. Recognition is determined during the credentials review process based on whether the evaluation complies with rule requirements and provides sufficient information to evaluate the applicant's academic preparation and educator credentials.
The Out-of-Country Credentials Review webpage has been updated to reflect this change and no longer references specific credential evaluation associations or providers.
The Educator Certification License and Permit Specialist team will continue to exercise due diligence when completing out-of-country credentials reviews by carefully reviewing each FCE submitted to ensure compliance with the requirements of 19 TAC §245.10. Educator preparation programs are likewise encouraged to continue their careful review of FCEs submitted by candidates to ensure they contain sufficient information regarding degree equivalency before relying on them for admission.
Updates related to ASEP Reporting 2025-2026
New: ASEP Data Distribution
The Principal and Teacher Survey rosters were shared with EPP Legal Authorities, via ShareFile, on July 31, 2026. EPPs have the option to review their data and submit a request for exception (RFE) form, if needed.
As a reminder, beginning last year, the RFE forms were transitioned from a PDF to Excel to improve user experience and streamline data reporting. With this change, EPPs are now able to enter and submit all ASEP exceptions within a single form.
In the coming weeks, TEA will share 2 more ASEP data rosters: the Student Growth datasets, in mid to late August 2026, and the Year-to-Date Observation datasets, in early September 2026.
The deadline for RFE submission is September 15, 2026. However, TEA recommends EPPs submit their RFE form as soon as it is ready. TEA will begin reviewing RFEs in late August. Once reviewed, TEA will send a copy back to you for your records and to inform you of the status of all requested exceptions. If you submit the form early and it is returned prior to September 15, 2026, you may re-submit if you wish to make any updates or corrections prior to the September 15 deadline. RFEs, including updates or corrections, will not be accepted after September 15. This approach has been the practice in prior years.
Reminder: Help Desk Ticket Processing Delay
We are currently experiencing a higher-than-normal volume of Help Desk tickets, which may result in longer response times than usual. Please be assured that all tickets are received, retained, and tracked. Your ticket has not been lost, and our team is actively working through requests as quickly as possible.
To help us process requests more efficiently, please avoid submitting duplicate tickets for the same issue, as this can increase processing times for everyone.
We appreciate your patience and understanding during this busy period and thank you for your continued cooperation as we work to address all requests.
Countdown to ASEP Reporting 2025-2026
To assist EPPs with completing ASEP Reporting with ease, we have developed weekly reminders for those EPP staff working on ASEP Reporting. Each week, you will receive weekly reminders in this Newsletter that include timely tasks that will lead to successful completion of data reporting by September 15, 2026. Please remember that the 2024-2025 Technical Manual published on the Program Provider Resources page on the TEA website is a wonderful “how to” resource for using the various functions needed for reporting in ECOS and contains some useful tips for problem solving, if needed.
New: Week 5 ASEP Tasks 8/10-14/2026: Create Clinical Experience Records
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Verify that each candidate who completed any part of a clinical experience (clinical teaching, internship, or practicum) in 2025-2026 has a Clinical Experience Record.
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Ensure that all cooperating teachers, mentor teachers, host teachers, and site supervisors are entered to create the Clinical Experience Record.
Note: You can download the Clinical Experience Records from ECOS into a spreadsheet to assist with reviewing and verifying your data. Be sure to review the 2024-2025 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page if you need assistance with downloading records from ECOS.
Reminder: Week 4 ASEP Tasks 8/3-7/2026: Update the Finisher Records List.
- Verify that all 2025-2026 finishers are correctly listed on the Finisher Record List (FRL) with a status of “Finisher” (F). If a finisher is on the FRL for certificate categories they are not finishing, remove the certificate categories that the candidate will not be finishing.
- If candidates left your EPP without completing program requirements during the 2025-2026 reporting year, remove all certificate categories from your FRL and ensure any associated test approvals have also been removed. The candidate's record must be updated to "Removed" during the 2025-2026 reporting year. Once ASEP closes on September 15, 2026, you will no longer be able to make changes to the FRL for the 2025-2026 reporting year.
- Remember to review the candidates from your mid-year data set in ShareFile. This data was provided to you in your ShareFile folder in March 2026 and it includes the number of consecutive years of enrollment for your candidates. Pursuant to 19TAC §228.31(b), EPPs must have an exit policy that identifies a point of dismissal for inactive candidates after no more than two years of inactivity Please review candidate records to determine whether any inactive candidates should be exited in accordance with your program’s published policy. Note: Candidates that are removed will need to apply and be admitted if they want to work with the EPP in the future.
Reminder: Week 3 ASEP Tasks 7/27-7/31/2026: Complete all admission reporting.
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Each year TEA invoices each EPP for each unique admission. To do this accurately, we ask that you verify that each candidate admitted in 9/1/2025-8/31/2026 has an accurate admission record, and includes all required admission data has been included in the record. If you need to update a record, you can do so manually or by bulk upload. Instructions are included in the 2024-2025 Technical Manual located on the Program Provider Resources page of the TEA website.
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EPPs can also view their admissions in ECOS. The steps are as follows:
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Go to ASEP>Maintain Admissions in your greenscreen.
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Select 2025-26 Reporting Year and click the green Search button. You will see all candidates admitted for 2025-2026.
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At the bottom of the page, you will see “Click Here to download the data in comma delimited format (Excel sheet)
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Reminder: Admission records for candidates admitted in 2025-2026 cannot be created after 8/31/2026 except for candidates admitted in the last week of August beginning August 25, 2026. Those records can be entered until ECOS locks the ASEP reporting year on 9/15/2026 but should be entered within seven days of the date of formal or contingency admission per 19 TAC §227.17 or 19 TAC §227.15, respectively. This means that for all candidates admitted between 9/1/2025 and 8/25/2026, the deadline for ensuring that their admission records are complete and correct is 8/31/2026.
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Be sure to review the 2024-2025 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page. It is located under Forms and Documents. This is a helpful resource as it provides step-by-step instructions for completing admission reporting.
Reminder: Week 2 ASEP Tasks 7/20-24/2026:
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Ensure that TEA has your updated EPP Contact Information.
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Each EPP should have one Legal Authority or, for an EPP at a school district or Education Service Center, a Primary Contact, and at least one Backup Legal Authority. If you have recently had a change in these staff, please use the EPP Change Request Form to update the contact information.
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Each EPP must have a Primary Title II Pearson and Title II IPRC contact and should have a Secondary contact for each, if possible. Ensure that TEA has these current contacts. The following organizations must also have current contact information for your Title II contacts:
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Make sure that the following contacts are correct (your assigned TEA specialist can provide you a list of contacts that we have on file for your EPP):
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Your LBB contact if you are a college or university.
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The staff that manages your data.
To verify contacts with TEA, please submit a Help Desk ticket to the Preparation Programs tile.
Reminder: Week 1 ASEP Tasks 7/13-17/2026:
1. Know your assigned Education Specialist. This is the TEA staff member that you will need to reach out to when you have questions about ASEP Reporting. The EPP Education Specialist Assignments list is published on the Program Provider Resources page under Forms and Documents. Your Education Specialist is one of four staff members:
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Trinity Bankhead
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Rebecca Bunting
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Jennifer Gonzalez
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Lorrie Ayers, Director
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2. Become familiar with the Help Desk, which EPPs should use for all questions related to ASEP Reporting. Your Education Specialist will address your EPP’s questions in the Help Desk. We are in the Help Desk under the Educator Testing and Preparation Programs tile. |
3. Review the 2024-2025 Technical Manual on the Program Provider Resources page. It is located under Forms and Documents. This is a helpful resource as it provides useful information needed to complete ASEP Reporting.
4. Review your ASEP reporting processes from 2024-2025. We recommend that you review internal documents, correspondence with your Education Specialist, and any place where you encountered difficulties. Particularly if your EPP encountered challenges with Observation reporting or was subject to an informal review, we encourage you to review your processes and reach out to your assigned Education Specialist early and proactively seek support.
5. Register for the ASEP Reporting 2025-2026 webinar on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 10:00 AM CST. The webinar will provide useful information and reminders about state reporting processes and tips to improve the reporting experience. Please find the link in the Upcoming Events section above.
Updates related to the PREP Program Allotment
Reminder: Deadline Extended for the Partnership Agreement Completion
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 24, 2026. Reminder that the school system partner is responsible for submission of this document. Please be in communication with your school system partners to ensure compliance with this requirement. We are now waiting to receive approximately 300 partnership agreements, down from over 700 in mid-July. The PREP partnership agreement form may be completed and submitted online.
Please visit the PREP Allotment webpage to find helpful program information, guidance documents, resources, and updates.
Updates related to Educator Standards and Certification
New: Fall 2026 PASL Updates
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Plagiarism Process Changes Beginning with Fall 2026, scores will be automatically canceled when plagiarism is confirmed by the Assessment Development team under established policies. Candidates may still appeal to the Office of Testing Integrity, but scores will no longer be reviewed by the Office of Testing Integrity before cancellation. Related handbook and website language have been updated to reflect this process change.
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New Artifact Requirement Artifacts submitted as evidence must be no more than five years old relative to the administration window. See handbook p. 20 and FAQ p. 15 for details.
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Task 3 Video Clarification Updated guidance in the handbook (p. 23) and FAQ (p. 19) clarifies that at least one colleague must participate in the 10-minute reflection video. This change aims to reduce zero scores resulting from individual reflections submitted in place of collaborative discussions.
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Additional Score Feedback Information
The FAQ (p. 20) now includes information on obtaining more detailed score feedback. While paid score reviews remain available, this additional feedback option may be especially useful for candidates who receive a score of 0, as those scores are less likely to change through the review process.
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Library of Examples Updates
The Assessment Development team is currently updating the library of examples to include sample artifacts that help clarify commonly observed issues. Additional information will be shared once these resources are available on the PASL website.
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Links: handbook, and FAQ document
Reminder: Bilingual Special Education EC-12 Exam (187) Framework Overview Webinar
The 187 Bilingual Special Education EC–12 Framework Webinar will guide program faculty or staff through an overview of the new Bilingual Special Education EC–12 Exam Framework, the exam timeline, and the context of the creation of the certificate. Programs will have an opportunity to discuss curriculum alignment and implementation planning needed to support the new Bilingual Special Education EC–12 certification pathway. Given that this is a new certification field, we strongly encourage program faculty and staff to attend to learn more. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Thursday, September 3, 2026
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10:00 AM - 12:00 PM CST via ZOOM
Updates related to Insight to Impact
New: Observation Tool Launch Webinar
On Thursday, August 27, from 3-4 p.m. CT, the I2I Dashboards Team will host a training on the new Observation Tool. The tool was designed to address the difficulties with observation collection and reduce the burden of analysis for users.
Reminder: I2I Observation Tool Statewide Launch in September
September 1, 2026, will mark the launch of the I2I Observation Tool, which is oriented toward TEA’s efforts to provide continuous improvement tools to Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) across the state. The tool is designed to address observation collection difficulties and reduce the burden of analysis for users.
Learn more about the design, benefits, support received and how to access the tool on the Insight to Impact’s website blog.
Updates related to agency initiatives and opportunities
New: TREO Review and Stakeholder Input of SBEC Rules
The Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office (TREO) is conducting a Regulatory Efficiency Review (RER) of State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rules. As part of the RER process, external stakeholders have 14 days to provide feedback. TEA is seeking public input on the draft RER report.
We take this space to highlight questions that we have heard from EPPs.
Q: How did the GPA requirement change in §227.10(a)(3)?
A: The language changed from “an applicant shall have a GPA of at least 2.5 before admission’ to “an application shall have a GPA of at least 2.50 on a four-point scale or the equivalent before admission.” This update was made to allow EPPs flexibility in determining GPA from a variety of different types of transcripts such as those from competency-based universities that may not have a clear GPA.
Q: What is the process of transitioning teachers from one route to the residency route if they already have an admission record? For example, a candidate was originally admitted under ALT but now wants to pursue residency.
A: This situation is not considered a correction, and a new admission record should not be created. The candidate was appropriately admitted under the original route, and that admission record must remain unchanged. When a candidate transitions to the residency route, the change is reflected through updates to the Finisher Records list rather than through admission records. The EPP must update the candidate’s enrollment records to accurately reflect the new route. The enrollment record associated with the original route must be updated to a status of “Remove,” indicating that the candidate is no longer enrolled in that route. The EPP must then add a new enrollment record under the residency route and assign it a status of “Other Enrolled” to reflect the candidate’s active participation in the residency pathway. After the enrollment records have been updated, all subsequent program activity for the candidate should align with the residency route. For example, any continued clinical experiences or, if applicable, test approvals should correspond to the residency route.
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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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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