House Bill 2 (HB 2) Implementation: Teacher Candidate Certification Fee Waivers and Reimbursements

taa-2025-06-26-house-bill-2-implementation-teacher-candidate-certification-fee-waivers-and-reimbursements.pdf259.38 KB

Date:	June 26, 2025
Subject:	House Bill 2 (HB 2) Implementation: Teacher Candidate Certification Fee Waivers and Reimbursements
Category:	Educator Certification
Next Steps:	Share with appropriate staff

House Bill (HB) 2 was passed by the 89th Texas Legislature and signed into law by Governor Abbott on June 4, 2025. The bill established two separate certificate fee incentive structures for hard-to-staff areas outlined below. These certification reimbursement and fee waiver incentives reflect the first set of recommendations related to compensation from the Teacher Vacancy Task Force, established in 2022 by Governor Abbott, to examine teacher retention and recruitment challenges across Texas.

While many details of HB 2 implementation are still being refined, the following information is being provided to support immediate decision-making for school systems related to recruitment and support communication for the 2025-2026 school year.

Special Education and Bilingual Education Certification Fee Waivers

Effective with Governor Abbott’s signing of HB 2 on June 4, 2025, educators seeking certification in Special Education or Bilingual Education fields will have both their certification exam fee waived for their first attempt on the associated content pedagogy exam and certification application fee waived. This means that at the time of exam registration or certification application, the associated fee will be $0. Candidates in educator preparation programs seeking these certifications will still be required to pay for their pedagogy test and fingerprinting fees.

Fees Waived as of June 4, 2025: Certification exam fee ($116-136) + Certification application fee ($78)
= Total cost savings of $194-214.

Special Education and Bilingual Education Certification Exam Fee Waivers
As of June 4, 2025, the exam fee will be waived for the first administration of select certification examinations listed below. These waivers are available to teacher candidates pursuing initial certification and certified educators pursuing additional certification by examination in the eligible fields listed below:

Certification Area	Associated Exam Fee now waived at first attempt
Bilingual Education Supplemental: Spanish	164 Bilingual Education Supplemental TExES $116 190 Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test (BTLPT) – Spanish TExES $116
Bilingual Education Supplemental: American Sign Language	164 Bilingual Education Supplemental TExES $116 184 American Sign Language (ASL) EC-12 TExES $116 073 Texas Assessment of Sign Communications-American Sign Language (TASC-ASL) $116
Bilingual Education Supplemental: Arabic	164 Bilingual Education Supplemental TExES $116
Bilingual Education Supplemental: Chinese	164 Bilingual Education Supplemental TExES $116
Bilingual Education Supplemental: Japanese	164 Bilingual Education Supplemental TExES $116
Bilingual Education Supplemental: Vietnamese	164 Bilingual Education Supplemental TExES $116
Deafblind Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12	185 Deafblind EC-12 TExES $136
Special Education Specialist: Early Childhood-Grade 12	186 Special Education Specialist: EC-12 TExES $136
Special Education: Early Childhood-Grade 12	161 Special Education EC-12 TExES (last operational date 08/31/2025) $116
Special Education Supplemental	163 Special Education Supplemental TExES (last operational date 08/31/2025) $116
Teacher of Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Early Childhood-Grade 12	181 Deaf and Hard of Hearing EC-12 TExES $116 072 TASC $116 073 TASC-ASL $116
Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12	182 Visually Impaired TExES $116 283 Braille TExES $116

How does a teacher or teacher candidate receive the Special Education or Bilingual Education certification exam fee waiver?
The agency is taking steps to automate this process to ease the clerical burden on candidates. The bill takes effect immediately; however, there are a few different registration software systems that must be updated. For exam fees, website upgrades will be completed as of 8/1/2025:

For those who register for eligible exams from 6/4/25 through 7/31/25:
- Register and pay the exam fee on the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program website.
- Individuals will continue to register and pay the exam fee on the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program website. Eligible individuals who have paid for and taken an exam during this period will automatically receive a refund for the exam fees—no action is required. Refund requests for the $116 or $136 exam administration fee will begin on 7/1/25 and continue weekly.
For eligible certified Teachers and Teacher candidates who register for eligible exams on 8/1/25 or after:
- To receive the $116 or $136 test registration fee waiver, individuals will register on the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program website. The exam fee will be automatically waived for eligible candidates at the time of registration beginning on 8/1/25—no additional steps are necessary.

Special Education and Bilingual Education Application Fee Waivers

How does a teacher candidate or certified classroom teacher receive the Special Education or Bilingual Education certification application fee waiver?
The application fee software system is different than the exam fee software system. The upgrade timelines have not yet been finalized. Until then, this process will apply:

To receive the $78 certification application fee waiver, individuals must first be approved by TEA for a waiver of test registration fees related to the first administration of applicable special education or bilingual examinations administered by Pearson beginning 6/4/25.
Following completion of testing, individuals must verify that all required passing examination scores for Special Education certification and/or Bilingual Education certification are reported in the “Examination History” tab of their Educator Certification Online System (ECOS) account.
Once verified, individuals must submit the appropriate online applications to TEA.
Following submission of the online certification application, individuals must submit a Help Desk Ticket to Educator Certification with the subject line: SPED or BIL Certification Application Fee Waiver Request per HB 2. This will alert TEA staff to complete a final review of your application and process the manual override of the $78 certification application fee.
In the future, this process will be automated. Additional information will be shared in the next few months.
See the candidate and teacher communication flyer for additional technical guidance.

Career and Technology Education Certification Reimbursements

Per TEC §29.190, beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year, CTE teachers are eligible for reimbursement of certification fees, including certification exam fees, certification application fees, and the cost of fingerprinting. Note: this is a different starting effective date and a different funding structure than that used for special education and bilingual certifications, given the language in the statute.

What fees will be reimbursed during the 2025-2026 school year?
As of September 1, 2025, teachers will be eligible for one reimbursement subsidy when they achieve standard certification in select Career and Technical Education (CTE) fields. The subsidy will be applicable to teachers who achieved their certification on or after 9/1/25. The subsidy comes in the form of a reimbursement payment to the district, and it is the district’s responsibility to ensure reimbursement of costs is applied to the teacher. Districts may choose to do this by paying these fees directly for the teacher up front at time of registration. The reimbursement for each CTE teacher is for the following fees:

The $116 or $136 certification exam fee
The $78 certification application fee for the standard certificate
The $49 cost of fingerprinting, if applicable.

Who qualifies for reimbursement?
Teachers seeking standard certification in a certification area below may be eligible for reimbursement for the associated exam identified below:

Certification Area	Associated Exam Fee to be reimbursed starting 9/1/2025
Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources: Grades 6-12	272 Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources 6-12 TExES $116 370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Business and Finance: Grades 6-12	276 Business and Finance 6-12 TExES $116 370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Family and Consumer Sciences Composite: Grades 6-12	200 Family and Consumer Sciences – Composite Examination AAFCS $116 370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Hospitality, Nutrition, and Food Sciences: Grades 8-12	201 Hospitality, Nutrition, and Food Science Concentration Examination AAFCS $116 370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Human Development and Family Studies: Grades 8-12	202 Human Development and Family Studies Concentration Examination AAFCS $116 370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Health Science: Grades 6-12	273 Health Science 6-12 TExES $116 370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Marketing: Grades 6-12	275 Marketing 6-12 TExES $116 370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Technology Education: Grades 6-12	171 Technology Education 6-12 TExES $116 370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Trade and Industrial Education: Grades 6-12	370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136
Trade and Industrial Workforce Training: Grades 6-12	370 Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities for Trade and Industrial Education 6–12 TExES $136

How does a teacher receive reimbursement?
The Texas Education Agency will provide guidance for district reimbursement for eligible teachers in Fall 2025.

Communication Support for District Administrators Regarding Certification Fee Waivers and Reimbursements

Attached to this TAA is an initial applicant-facing communication regarding immediate fee waivers for Special Education and Bilingual fields. Additional communication tools and web resources, including candidate guidance regarding the CTE reimbursements, will be made available throughout the next few months. District administrators may use these tools and resources to support and recruit prospective teachers.

Additionally, for immediate questions regarding the contents of this TAA, please email HB2@tea.texas.gov.

Individuals with more detailed questions about the fee waiver processes for Special Education and Bilingual Education should submit a TEA Help Desk Ticket to Educator Certification. Please use the subject line: Time-Sensitive Inquiry HB 2 Fee Waivers for Special Education and Bilingual Education to ensure your ticket gets prioritized review and resolution by TEA staff.