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.

A district may submit a waiver request using the Waivers application located in the Texas Education Agency Login (TEAL) system. If you do not have access to TEAL or the Waivers application, see the State Waivers Guidebook (linked below) for instructions.

A State Waivers Division mailing list has been established to provide e-mail notifications of important deadlines and website updates. To subscribe, go to the TEA email updates page, enter your contact information, and select State Waivers from the Publications list.

2025-2026 Applications TEAL Availability Dates

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

General & Expedited

July 7, 2025

NOTE: As of March 17, 2025, LEAs have the option to select 2025-2026 using the current 2024-2025 Staff Development Minutes Waiver application.

Attendance (Missed School Day, Low Attendance, ADSY)

August 1, 2025

Accelerated Instruction

Anticipated: Late August/Early September

Class Size

August 25, 2025

State Waivers Guidebook

The 24-25 Waivers Guidebook is a guide for districts and charter schools that includes information related to available waivers, associated requirements, agency policies, and pertinent resources.

Waiver FAQs

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