1. (a) General provisions.

   1. (1) The commissioner of education shall establish the Preparing and Retaining Educators Through Partnership (PREP) Grow Your Own Program to enable qualified institutions of higher education (IHEs) and educator preparation programs (EPPs), as determined by the commissioner, to form partnerships with school districts and eligible charter schools to establish innovative staffing pipelines to ensure the availability of high-quality classroom teachers to benefit future school district or charter school students.

   2. (2) The PREP Grow Your Own Program applies to school districts and eligible charter schools that seek to support the following aspiring teacher programs. To attain allotment funding, applicants:

      1. (A) must establish an employee program for school district and eligible charter school employees who remain employed in the school district while completing their bachelor's degree and EPP requirements for teacher certification. Employees must be full-time while serving as a paraprofessional or in a role supporting the instruction of students that is not the teacher of record; and
      2. (B) may establish a program for high school students completing education and training career and technical education (CTE) courses and dual enrollment educator pathway coursework.
   3. (3) For a school district or an eligible charter school to receive funds for the PREP Grow Your Own Program under Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.906 and §48.157, it must meet all provisions described in §153.1302 of this subchapter (relating to General Provisions for the Preparing and Retaining Educators Through Partnership Program) and the program standards listed in subsection (c) of this section.

2. (b) School district and charter school eligibility. To participate in the PREP Grow Your Own Program, applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria in addition to the requirements described in §153.1302(a) of this subchapter.

   1. (1) Approval to participate in a PREP Preservice Program is described in §153.1302 of this subchapter.

      1. (A) For the 2026-2027 school year, applicants must be approved to participate in the PREP Residency Preservice Program (TEC, §21.904).
      2. (B) For the 2027-2028 school year, applicants must be approved to participate in at least one PREP Preservice Program (TEC, §§21.903, 21.904, or 21.905).
   2. (2) Participating school districts and eligible charter schools must have a written partnership agreement with a Texas bachelor's-degree-conferring public institution of higher education as defined in TEC, §61.003(8), or a bachelor's-degree-conferring private institution of higher education authorized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to operate in Texas pursuant to Chapter 7, Subchapter A, of this title (relating to General Provisions) and an accredited Texas EPP if not included within the IHE. For the 2026-2027 academic year, bachelor's-degree-conferring private institutions of higher education that have applied for authorization by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to operate in Texas pursuant to Chapter 7, Subchapter A, of this title are permissible partners for the PREP Grow Your Own Program. The partnership agreement must be established and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Certificate of Authorization or Authority issued prior to PREP Grow Your Own Program implementation.

3. (c) Program standards.

   1. (1) High school program. The participant must ensure the following requirements during the high school student's experience in the PREP Grow Your Own Program.

      1. (A) Students must have access to practice in education and training CTE courses and/or dual credit coursework meeting the requirements described in Chapter 127, Subchapter G, of this title (relating to Education and Training).
      2. (B) During the education and training practicum course, students must be paired with a cooperating teacher who has agreed to participate and meets all the cooperating teacher guidelines developed by the employing school district, their IHE, and EPP partners.

      3. (C) Students must have access to transition supports that provide guidance and support to enroll in a post-secondary pathway. These may include:

         1. (i) providing students information regarding local IHEs or community colleges that offer pathways to teacher preparation programs and approved PREP allotment partnership preservice programs under TEC, §21.902; or
         2. (ii) holding, at minimum, one synchronous IHE/community college recruitment event annually to discuss the school district's or eligible charter school's approved partnership preservice programs.
      4. (D) Students shall obtain the Educational Aide I Certificate to the extent practicable.

   2. (2) School district or eligible charter school employee program. The participant must ensure the following requirements during the employee's experience in the PREP Grow Your Own Program.

      1. (A) Employees must have monthly scheduled release time to support completion of a bachelor's degree while remaining employed in the school district. The school district must work with the undergraduate degree program and the EPP to establish a release time schedule that addresses the employee's needs.
      2. (B) Employees must be employed in a role that includes instructional support for students. Employees must spend at least 25% or more of their day focused on instructional support, including the requirement to practice teaching under the supervision of a cooperating teacher.
      3. (C) Employees must have access to transition supports as described in paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection.
      4. (D) Employees must be paired with a cooperating teacher as described in paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection.
      5. (E) Employees may not serve as a teacher of record while completing the PREP Grow Your Own Program under TEC, §21.902(g)(1). Employee engagement in responsibilities held by a teacher of record for the purpose of learning must meet the requirements described in TEC, §21.902(h).
      6. (F) Employees must attain an Educational Aide III certificate within the first year of beginning participation in the school district's or eligible charter school's PREP Grow Your Own Program.
      7. (G) Employees must complete their bachelor's degree and, at a minimum, be enrolled in an accredited EPP within three years of formally beginning participation in the school district's or eligible charter school's PREP Grow Your Own Program.

4. (d) Performance goals. Performance goals prioritize measurement of the following.

   1. (1) For the PREP Grow Your Own high school program:

      1. (A) evidence of all high school student program requirements under subsection (c)(1)(A)-(C) of this section;
      2. (B) percent of students who obtain the Educational Aide I certificate; and
      3. (C) percent of students enrolled in a bachelor's degree program.

   2. (2) For the PREP Grow Your Own employee program:

      1. (A) evidence of all employee program requirements under subsection (c)(2)(A)-(D) of this section;
      2. (B) percent of employees who obtain the Educational Aide III certificate;
      3. (C) percent of employees enrolled in an EPP within three years of beginning the program; and
      4. (D) percent of employees who complete their bachelor's degree within three years.
5. (e) Timelines for periodic reviews. The commissioner will review the performance goals described in subsection (d)(1) of this section for each school district and eligible charter school participant beginning three years following the initial PREP Grow Your Own Program approval under §153.1302(a)(4) of this subchapter.

6. (f) Funding and spending requirements. School districts and eligible charter schools participating in the PREP Grow Your Own Program must meet funding and spending requirements described in TEC, §48.157.

   1. (1) Funding. The school district's or eligible charter school's PREP Grow Your Own Program will receive the remaining 50% of the funding described in TEC, §48.157, when the PREP Grow Your Own employee completes the bachelor's degree requirements and has, at a minimum, enrolled in an accredited EPP within three years of beginning participation.
   2. (2) Spending. Money received under TEC, §48.157, must be used to implement the PREP Grow Your Own Program (for example, implementation of the high school education and training program, tuition for aspiring teachers, wrap-around and transition supports, strategic staffing training and implementation, costs associated with employee preparation in a PREP Preservice Program, and local salaries for program implementation support).

Source Note:The provisions of this §153.1304 adopted to be effective May 17, 2026, 51 TexReg 3129.