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. For information on Waivers related to COVID-19, please visit the "Waivers, Finance and Grants" section on the TEA's COVID-19 Support and Guidance webpage.

2023-2024 Applications will be available in TEAL on the following dates:

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

Waiver Application

The 22-23 Waivers Guidebook and Waiver Process FAQ's may be of assistance while navigating through the State Waivers and the TEAL application process.

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 Instructional Days and Low Attendance Days 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 exemption 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

This table shows the different waiver types and links to their description:

Related Links 

• Instructions for Submitting a CTE Instructional Minutes Calculation Requirement Waiver (8-26-2022)
• Grade 7 Reading Diagnostic Waiver Guidance and Instructions School Year 2022-2023 (8-22-2022)
• To the Administrator Addressed ADSY COVID staffing Waiver Request for 2021-2022 COVID-Related School Closures (2-3-22)
• February 18th Update TEA Inclement Weather Update - February 18, 2021
• July 14th Update Early Childhood Education COVID 19 Updates - July 14, 2020
• To the Administrator Addressed House Bill 3 (HB3) Implementation: Extension: Full-Day Prekindergarten Waiver (2-27-20)
• To the Administrator Addressed  Out-of-District Transportation Waiver and District Attestation (5-19-20)
• To the Administrator Addressed Additional Missed School Day Waivers related to Hurricane Harvey (9-1-2017)
• To the Administrator Addressed Hurricane Harvey Related Waivers (8-29-2017)
•  TEAL Access Instructions
•  Waivers Online Report - Displays the Status of Waiver Requests
• To the Administrator Addressed Minutes of Operation - Updates to HB 2442 (8-31-2017)
• To the Administrator Addressed Information Concerning Changes to Staff Development and Early Release Waivers for 2018-2019 and Beyond (8-31-2017)