Texas: College and Career Policies

Texas adopted health standards in 1998.

Texas requires 10 additional course for graduation.

Administrators and those with professional certificates must complete 200 hours of professional development in order to renew their certificates

Texas has fine arts standards in music, theatre, and art, adopted in 2013.

The Texas State Board of Education has full authority to adopt assessments per state law.

T-TESS is the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System. It is a new teacher evaluation system for the state of Texas designed to support teachers in their professional development and help them grow and improve as educators. It is being piloted by approximately 60 districts in the 2014-2015 school year, will be implemented as a refined system in the 2015-2016 school year in approximately 200 districts, and is scheduled to be rolled out statewide in the 2016-2017 year. The rules adopted by the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the Commissioner of Education are part of a larger body of state agency rules that are collected and published by the Office of the Secretary of State as the Texas Administrative Code (TAC).

Texas is working to develop a new educator evaluation system, as teachers and principals alike gave feedback saying the current system, PDAS, is not conducive to continual professional growth. T-TESS is the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System. It is a new teacher evaluation system for the state of Texas designed to support teachers in their professional development and help them grow and improve as educators. It is being piloted by approximately 60 districts in the 2014-2015 school year, will be implemented as a refined system in the 2015-2016 school year in approximately 200 districts, and is scheduled to be rolled out statewide in the 2016-2017 year.

The Texas State Board for Educator Certification oversees the certification process as noted in Sec. 21.031.

In order to become a certified teacher in Texas, an applicant must hold a bachelor's degree, complete an approved teacher preparation program, and pass a certification examination.

The State Board for Educator Certification adopts the rules and standards by which teacher preparation programs are measured as noted in Sec. 21. 044.

In order to be approved, a teacher preparation program must include the components of entity commitment to adequate preparation of certification candidates, program standards, and community collaboration; criteria for admission to an EPP; curriculum; program delivery and evaluation; and a plan for ongoing support of the candidates.