School Districts

HB 3 Reading Academies Overview

Legislative Background and Requirements

House Bill 3 (HB 3), passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in June of 2019, requires all kindergarten through third grade teachers and principals to attend a “teacher literacy achievement academy.” For simplification and to avoid confusion with other grant programs and past literacy achievement academies, the Texas Education Agency refers to this latest requirement as the HB 3 Reading Academies. All K-3 teachers, including special education teachers, and principals are required to attend the HB 3 Reading Academies. Local Education Agencies (LEAs) continue to have authority to exempt educators who are not teachers of record in required grade levels including, but not limited to art, health education, music, physical education, speech communication and theatre arts, or theatre teachers.

Compliance and Certification Requirements

All certified educators who are currently teaching students in Kindergarten-grade 3, and principals at campuses with K-3 students, are required to have a HB 3 Reading Academies certificate of completion on file in the Searchable Database for TRA completions by the end of the 2023-24 school year. After the 2023-24 school year, educators who are employed in their first year in a Texas public school or charter school are required to enroll and actively participate in the Reading Academies course during their first year of employment. This includes all certified and pre-certified educators who are new to teaching/administering K-3 students, new to Texas, or new to a Texas public school or Texas open-enrollment public charter school.

Human Resources personnel within each LEA are responsible for ensuring that all K-3 teachers and administrators of K-3 students within their schools have a Texas Reading Academies certificate of completion in the Searchable Database for TRA Completions or are enrolled in a Reading Academies course during their first year of employment. Employees who have not met this requirement by the end of their first year of employment may not continue to serve as the teacher of record in a K-3 classroom.

Search Database for TRA Completions

Financial Responsibility for Reading Academies

LEAs may require educators to pay for Texas Reading Academies courses after their first attempt to complete the Reading Academies.

Participation and Completion Standards

An attempt includes an enrollment in a Reading Academies course without completion of the following requirements:

• Active participation in all in-person content sessions
• Active participation in four in-person classroom observations with coaching follow-up sessions
• Submission of module pretests and posttests in the Canvas system
• Passing score of 80% or higher on all module Checks for Understanding in the Canvas system
• Passing score of 80% or higher on all artifacts in the Canvas system

LEAs may require educators to pay for Texas Reading Academies courses when a learner does any of the following:

• Intentionally drops from the course without permission from the district or authorized provider
• Does not participate in all in-person PD sessions and/or coaching cycles
• Does not complete all module assignments and/or artifacts with a score of 80% or higher
• Does not respond to repeated efforts by the cohort leader and/or the authorized provider with offers of support

Authorized providers are only required to provide one in-person make-up session for each day of comprehensive learning (for learners who are not able to attend the session that is originally scheduled.)

Math Teacher Waiver Application

Districts that wish to request a waiver of Texas Reading Academies for mathematics teachers who have passed the STR exam can do so through this application. Districts will need to provide basic information in the application, a screenshot showing the teacher's STR certification, and an assurance that the teacher will only teach mathematics in the 2024-25 school year. The waiver is available until May 31st, 2025. Questions can be submitted to the support portal using this link Support Portal Form Link.

Dispute Resolution Process

Educators who have questions or disputes about their final completion of a Reading Academies course may submit a dispute through their authorized provider within six months after the final completion date for their cohort. Beyond the six-month window, final completion disputes will no longer be considered nor remedied.

Resources

• Reading Academy Content Overview (PDF) (Updated 5/4/2022)
• Science of Teaching Reading Initiatives (PDF) (Updated 5/21/2021)
• Authorized Providers List