September 10, 2020 Committee on School Initiatives Item 6
Review of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 235, Classroom Teacher Certification Standards
September 11, 2020
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the State Board of Education (SBOE) an opportunity to review the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rule actions that would revise 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 235, Classroom Teacher Certification Standards. The proposed revisions would specify the new standards for the specialized Special Education and Bilingual Spanish certifications, as well as the DeafBlind supplemental certification. Additional changes would also implement the statutory requirements of House Bill (HB) 3, 86th Texas Legislature, 2019, regarding the science of teaching reading standards applying to classroom teachers who teach through grade six; would provide implementation updates; and would reorganize current provisions to improve readability.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the classroom teacher class certificate structure is Texas Education Code (TEC), §§21.003(a); 21.031; 21.041(b)(1), (2), and (4); and 21.048(a-2), as amended by HB 3, 86th Texas Legislature, 2019.
TEC, §21.003(a), states that a person may not be employed as a teacher, teacher intern or teacher trainee, librarian, educational aide, administrator, educational diagnostician, or school counselor by a school district unless the person holds an appropriate certificate or permit issued as provided by the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B.
TEC, §21.031, authorizes the SBEC to regulate and oversee all aspects of the certification, continuing education, and standards of conduct of public school educators, and states that in proposing rules under the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B, the SBEC shall ensure that all candidates for certification or renewal of certification demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to improve the performance of the diverse student population of this state.
TEC, §21.041(b)(1), requires the SBEC to propose rules that provide for the regulation of educators and the general administration of the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B, in a manner consistent with the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B.
TEC, §21.041(b)(2), requires the SBEC to propose rules that specify the classes of educator certificates to be issued, including emergency certificates.
TEC, §21.041(b)(4), requires the SBEC to propose rules that specify the requirements for the issuance and renewal of an educator certificate.
TEC, §21.048(a-2), as amended by HB 3, 86th Texas Legislature, 2019, states that starting January 1, 2021, all candidates teaching Prekindergarten–Grade 6 must demonstrate proficiency in the science of teaching reading on a certification examination.
The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: None.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: The SBEC is statutorily authorized to ensure that all candidates for certification or renewal of certification demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to improve the performance of the diverse population of this state. The SBEC is also statutorily required to appoint advisory committee members to recommend standards for each class of certificate. The standards are the basis for the certification examinations and set the requirements for educator preparation program (EPP) curriculum and delivery. The standards development committees include practicing educators, school district personnel, experts, and EPP faculty. These committee members collaborate to draft educator standards or review existing educator standards to ensure that the educator standards align with the commissioner's educator standards, reflect best practices, and where applicable, align with the current versions of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) that are adopted by the SBOE.
The SBEC rules in 19 TAC Chapter 235, Classroom Teacher Certification Standards, specify the educator standards for the classroom teacher class of certificates. The educator standards are the basis for EPP design to effectively prepare beginning classroom teachers and the foundation for the certification examinations.
At the July 2019 SBEC work session, the staff presented the SBEC with the standards development process and stakeholders involved with drafting the new educator standards for the Special Education and Bilingual Spanish certification examinations as well as a new DeafBlind supplemental certification.
At the December 2019 and February 2020 SBEC meetings, the staff presented the draft rule text of the educator standards that is reflected in the attachment.
The following is a description of the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 235 that incorporates feedback from the standards advisory committees and implements recent legislation.
Subchapter B. Elementary School Certificate Standards
Division 1. Early Childhood: Prekindergarten–Grade 3.
The heading, "Division 1, Early Childhood: Prekindergarten–Grade," would be stricken to eliminate the use of divisions to reduce confusion and to provide clarity on the organization of educator standards within appropriate subchapters. This proposed change would facilitate readability and easily accommodate future additions of content standards into appropriate subchapters.
§235.15. Science of Teaching Reading Standards, Early Childhood: Prekindergarten–Grade 3.
Section 235.15 would be repealed and proposed as §235.101 to implement HB 3, 86th Texas Legislature, 2019, which requires classroom teachers who teach students through sixth grade to pass the appropriate science of teaching reading examination. This change would remove the Prekindergarten–Grade 3 age-appropriateness limitation in order to require the science of teaching reading examination for all teachers who teach reading to students through sixth grade and would move these standards to proposed new Subchapter E to further emphasize the importance of reading instruction and preparation.
§235.19. Implementation Date, Early Childhood: Prekindergarten–Grade 3.
Section 235.19 would be repealed as it contradicts provisions in §228.30 regarding the EPP curriculum required for candidates and the implementation dates for EPP requirements in §228.60. This change would provide consistency and clarity to EPPs and certification candidates as it relates to expectations around the content of preparation for certification and the scope of the information to be assessed on certification examinations for licensure.
Division 2. Early Childhood–Grade 6.
The heading, "Division 2: Early Childhood–Grade 6," would be stricken to eliminate the use of divisions to reduce confusion and provide clarity on the organization of educator standards within appropriate subchapters. This proposed change would facilitate readability and easily accommodate future additions of content standards into appropriate subchapters.
§235.25. Implementation Date, Early Childhood–Grade 6.
Section 235.25 would be repealed as it contradicts provisions in §228.30 regarding the EPP curriculum required for candidates and the implementation dates for EPP requirements in §228.60. This change would provide consistency and clarity to EPPs and certification candidates as it relates to expectations around the content of preparation for certification and the scope of the information to be assessed on certification examinations for licensure.
Subchapter C. Middle School Certificate Standards
§235.59. Implementation Date, Grades 4–8.
Section 235.59 would be repealed as it contradicts provisions in §228.30 regarding the EPP curriculum required for candidates and implementation dates for EPP requirements in §228.60. This change would provide consistency and clarity to EPPs and certification candidates as it relates to expectations around the content of preparation for certification and the scope of the information to be assessed on certification examinations for licensure.
Subchapter D. Secondary School Certificate Standards
§235.89. Implementation Date, Grades 7–12.
Section 235.89 would be repealed as it contradicts provisions in §228.30 regarding the EPP curriculum required for candidates and §228.60 implementation dates for EPP requirements. This change would provide consistency and clarity to EPPs and certification candidates as it relates to expectations around the content of preparation for certification and the scope of the information to be assessed on certification examinations for licensure.
Subchapter E. Science of Teaching Reading Standards
§235.101. Science of Teaching Reading Standards.
Proposed new §235.101 would maintain the current science of teaching reading standards from §235.15 and would be included in proposed new Subchapter E, Science of Teaching Reading Standards, that would provide a specific subchapter devoted to teaching reading and its impact on all children.
In addition, proposed new §235.101(a)(1)–(5) would specify the categories of classroom teachers that will be assessed by the science of teaching reading standards.
Proposed new §235.101(b) would clarify the current components of reading descriptions as follows.
Proposed new §235.101(b)(2) would add the phrase, "and alphabet knowledge," to clarify the expectations of print awareness in reading development.
Proposed new §235.101(b)(4) would add the phrase, "(decoding and encoding)," to clarify the expectations of phonics in reading development.
Proposed new §235.101(b)(5) would add the word, "reading," to clarify the expectations of fluency in reading development.
Proposed new §235.101(b)(7) would add the phrase, "syllabication and morphemic analysis," as a component of reading to include all components of reading development.
Proposed new §235.101(c)(1) would add the phrase, "providing explicit, systematic instruction that is sequential and multimodal (e.g., sequential lessons, gradual release model, structured literacy)," to add further specificity to the foundational reading skills in reading pedagogy.
Proposed new §235.101(c)(3) would add the word, "implementing," regarding instruction to add further specificity to the component of foundational reading skills in reading pedagogy.
Subchapter F. Supplemental Certificate Standards
§235.117. Bilingual Spanish Standards.
Proposed new §235.117 would provide the Bilingual Spanish educator standards. Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff have engaged in a process with stakeholders to draft educator standards for Bilingual Spanish standards. The proposed new Bilingual Spanish standards ensure a pathway of language preparedness for individuals completing educator preparation programs for certification and the classroom students receiving instruction in Spanish and English from well-prepared educators.
Subchapter G. Special Education Certificate Standards
§235.131. Special Education Standards: Early Childhood–Grade 6.
Proposed new §235.131 would provide the special education standards for Early Childhood–Grade 6 certificates and would be included in new Subchapter G, Special Education Certificate Standards, that would provide a specific subchapter devoted to special education and the impact on all children. The proposed educator standards would emphasize the knowledge and skills critical to establishing a solid foundation for students who receive special education services in classroom settings that span Early Childhood–Grade 6.
§235.133. Special Education Standards: Grades 6–12.
Proposed new §235.133 would provide the special education standards for Grades 6–12 certificates and would be included in new Subchapter G, Special Education Certificate Standards. The proposed educator standards would emphasize the knowledge and skills critical to establishing a solid foundation for students who receive special education services in classroom settings that span Grades 6–12.
§235.135. DeafBlind Standards, Early Childhood–Grade 12.
Proposed new §235.135 would provide the DeafBlind standards for Early Childhood–Grade 12 certificates and would be included in new Subchapter G, Special Education Certificate Standards. The proposed educator standards would emphasize the knowledge and skills crucial to establishing a solid foundation for students who are DeafBlind in classroom settings that span Early Childhood–Grade 12.
The attachment reflects the proposed rule text changes.
SBOE Review of Proposed SBEC Rules
Under the TEC, §21.042, the SBEC must submit a written copy of each rule it proposes to adopt to the SBOE for review. The SBOE may reject the proposed rule by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the SBOE present and voting but may not modify a rule.
FISCAL IMPACT: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The TEA staff has determined that there is no additional fiscal impact on state and local governments and there are no additional costs to entities required to comply with the proposal.
LOCAL EMPLOYMENT IMPACT: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The proposal would have no effect on local economy; therefore, no local employment impact statement is required under Texas Government Code (TGC), §2001.022.
SMALL BUSINESS, MICROBUSINESS, AND RURAL COMMUNITY IMPACT: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The proposal has no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses, microbusinesses, or rural communities; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in TGC, §2006.002, is required.
COST INCREASE TO REGULATED PERSONS: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The proposal does not impose a cost on regulated persons, another state agency, a special district, or a local government and, therefore, is not subject to TGC, §2001.0045.
TAKINGS IMPACT ASSESSMENT: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The proposal does not impose a burden on private real property and, therefore, does not constitute a taking under TGC, §2007.043.
GOVERNMENT GROWTH IMPACT: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The TEA staff prepared a Government Growth Impact Statement assessment for this proposed rulemaking. During the first five years the proposed rulemaking would be in effect, it would not create or eliminate a government program; would not require the creation of new employee positions or elimination of existing employee positions; would not require an increase or decrease in future legislative appropriations to the agency; would not require an increase or decrease in fees paid to the agency; would not create a new regulation; would not expand, limit, or repeal an existing regulation; would not increase or decrease the number of individuals subject to its applicability; and would not positively or adversely affect the state's economy.
PUBLIC BENEFIT AND COST TO PERSONS: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The public benefit anticipated as a result of the proposal would be more rigorous, relevant, and reliable requirements for the preparation, certification, and testing of classroom teachers upon entry into the profession and retention of these qualified professionals for years to come. There is no anticipated cost to persons required to comply with the proposal.
DATA AND REPORTING IMPACT: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The proposal would have no new data and reporting impact.
PRINCIPAL AND CLASSROOM TEACHER PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: No changes have been made to this section since published as proposed. The TEA staff has determined the proposal would not require a written report or other paperwork to be completed by a principal or classroom teacher.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: In accordance with the SBEC rulemaking process, a summary of comments received by the SBEC on its proposed rules is shared with the SBOE under separate cover prior to this SBOE meeting.
MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:
Take no action on proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 235, Classroom Teacher Certification Standards.
Staff Members Responsible:
Ryan Franklin, Associate Commissioner, Educator Leadership and Quality
Jessica McLoughlin, Director, Educator Standards and Testing
Attachment:
Text of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 235, Classroom Teacher Certification Standards