State Waivers Unit

The State Waivers Unit of the Texas Education Agency is responsible for the coordination of expedited and general state waivers and class size exceptions. See Texas Education Code (TEC) §7.056, Waivers & Exemptions, for rules.

2024-2025 Applications will be available in TEAL on the following dates:

General & Expedited 

July 8, 2024

NOTE: As of February 9, 2024, LEAs have the option to select 2024-2025 using the current 2023-2024 Staff Development Minutes Waiver application.

Attendance  (Missed School Day, Low Attendance)    August 1, 2024
Class Size

August 26, 2024

NOTE: Due to the delayed 2022-2023 accountability ratings release, the 2023-2024 class size exception application opened on November 17, 2023. The deadline to submit the initial exception request has been extended to December 20, 2023.

Note: Once a new waiver year opens, the prior school year waiver application will no longer be available.

Waiver Application

The 23-24 Waivers Guidebook and Waiver Process FAQ's may be of assistance while navigating through the State Waivers and the TEAL application process.

Waiver Categories

Most waiver types are placed into one of four categories:

  • Expedited Waivers  are waivers that require basic information from the district.
  • General Waivers are waivers that require detailed information surrounding the district's waiver request.
  • Attendance Waivers include Missed School Days, Low Attendance Days, and Additional Days School Year (ADSY) waivers. The district or campus can request a waiver for excused absences if instructional days are missed or if attendance is low due to weather, health, or safety issues. 
  • Maximum Class Size Exception is required under the provision of TEC §25.112 if any class for grades PK-4 exceeds the allowable class size limit of 22 students per class (22:1). An exception expires at the end of the school year for which it is granted.
  • Other Waivers are specific requests that do not fall under any of the above categories.

Waiver Types

The following list shows the different waiver types and links to their description:

Expedited

General

Attendance

Related Links 

Contact Information

State Waivers
Phone: (512) 463-9630
Email: waivers@tea.texas.gov

Certification Waivers
Phone: (512) 936-8400 (option 2)
Educator Certification and CPE Help Desk

Test-Limit Waivers
Phone: (512) 463-9039
Educator Testing and Preparation Programs Help Desk