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Some Educator Certification Fees Waived for Military Families

 As of Sept. 1, 2015, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) began waiving certain educator certification fees for eligible military service members, military veterans and military spouses.

The changes stem from Senate Bill 807, which the Texas Legislature passed in Spring 2015.

Fees that will be waived for eligible members of the military community include those for the standard certificate, probationary certificate, one-year certificate, educational aide certificate and the review of credentials.

The certification fees associated with fingerprinting, preliminary criminal history evaluation, renewal (including late and reactivation fees) and reinstatement will not be waived.

Fees associated with certification examinations will be waived depending on which testing vendor administers the examination. Examinations administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which include the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES), the Texas Examinations for Master Teachers (TExMaT), the Texas Assessment of Sign Communications (TASC), and the Texas Assessment of Sign Communications-American Sign Language (TASC-ASL) examinations, will have $11 of the registration fee waived. Registration fees for examinations administered by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS), the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), and the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) will not be waived.

One must apply for the military exemption before finishing the certification application. The following documents must be submitted for review:

  • A written request for the exemption, including your TEA ID or the last four digits of your social security number
  • Active duty service members – A military ID (front and back) and current state ID
  • Veterans – A DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) that shows release or separation from active duty was under honorable conditions  and current state ID
  • Military spouses of active duty service members – The spouse's current state and military ID (front and back), active duty service member’s military ID (front and back), and a copy of the marriage license
  • Current email address and daytime phone number

After the military documents have been reviewed, eligible members of the military community will be notified by email with instructions on how to proceed with the certification process.

During the 2015-2016 school year, the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) will need to adopt rules to address the changes made by SB 807 and the State Board of Education (SBOE) will need to review the adopted rules. The TEA will be working to modify technology systems, websites and other materials to address the legislative changes and inform stakeholders.

 

 

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