1. (a) Coursework and/or Training for Candidates Seeking Initial Certification.

   1. (1) An educator preparation program shall provide coursework and/or training to ensure the educator is effective in the classroom.
   2. (2) Professional development should be sustained, intensive, and classroom focused.

   3. (3) An educator preparation program shall provide each candidate with a minimum of 300 clock-hours of coursework and/or training that includes the following:

      1. (A) a minimum of 30 clock-hours of field-based experience to be completed prior to student teaching, clinical teaching, or internship. Up to 15 clock-hours of field-based experience may be provided by use of electronic transmission, or other video or technology-based method;
      2. (B) 80 clock-hours of coursework and/or training prior to student teaching, clinical teaching, or internship; and
      3. (C) six clock-hours of explicit test preparation that is not embedded in other curriculum elements.
   4. (4) All coursework and/or training shall be completed prior to educator preparation program completion and standard certification.
   5. (5) With appropriate documentation such as certificate of attendance, sign-in sheet, or other written school district verification, 50 clock-hours of training may be provided by a school district and/or campus that is an approved Texas Education Agency (TEA) continuing professional education provider.
   6. (6) Each educator preparation program must develop and implement specific criteria and procedures that allow candidates to substitute prior or ongoing experience and/or professional training for part of the educator preparation requirements, provided that the experience or training is not also counted as a part of the internship, clinical teaching, student teaching, or practicum requirements, and is directly related to the certificate being sought.
2. (b) Coursework and/or Training for Professional Certification (i.e. superintendent, principal, school counselor, school librarian, educational diagnostician, reading specialist, and/or master teacher). An educator preparation program shall provide coursework and/or training to ensure that the educator is effective in the professional assignment. An educator preparation program shall provide a candidate with a minimum of 200 clock-hours of coursework and/or training that is directly aligned to the state standards for the applicable certification field.
3. (c) Late Hires. A late hire for a teaching position shall complete 30 clock-hours of field-based experience as well as 80 clock-hours of initial training within 90 school days of assignment. Up to 15 clock-hours of field-based experience may be provided by use of electronic transmission, or other video or technology-based method.

4. (d) Educator Preparation Program Delivery. An educator preparation program shall provide evidence of on-going and relevant field-based experiences throughout the educator preparation program, as determined by the advisory committee as specified in §228.20 of this title (relating to Governance of Educator Preparation Programs), in a variety of educational settings with diverse student populations, including observation, modeling, and demonstration of effective practices to improve student learning.

   1. (1) For initial certification, each educator preparation program shall provide field-based experiences, as defined in §228.2 of this title (relating to Definitions), for a minimum of 30 clock-hours. The field-based experiences must be completed prior to assignment in an internship, student teaching, or clinical teaching. Up to 15 clock-hours of field-based experience may be provided by use of electronic transmission, or other video or technology-based method.

   2. (2) For initial certification, each educator preparation program shall also provide one of the following:

      1. (A) student teaching, as defined in §228.2 of this title, for a minimum of 12 weeks;
      2. (B) clinical teaching, as defined in §228.2 of this title, for a minimum of 12 weeks; or

      3. (C) internship, as defined in §228.2 of this title, for a minimum of one academic year (or 180 school days) for the assignment that matches the certification field for which the individual is accepted into the educator preparation program. The individual would hold a probationary certificate and be classified as a "teacher" as reported on the campus Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) data. An educator preparation program may permit an internship of up to 30 school days less than the minimum if due to maternity leave, military leave, illness, or late hire date.

         1. (i) An internship, student teaching, or clinical teaching for an Early Childhood-Grade 4 and Early Childhood-Grade 6 candidate may be completed at a Head Start Program with the following stipulations:

            1. (I) a certified teacher is available as a trained mentor;
            2. (II) the Head Start program is affiliated with the federal Head Start program and approved by the TEA;
            3. (III) the Head Start program teaches three and four-year-old students; and
            4. (IV) the state's pre-kindergarten curriculum guidelines are being implemented.
         2. (ii) An internship, student teaching, clinical teaching, or practicum experience must take place in an actual school setting rather than a distance learning lab or virtual school setting.
   3. (3) For candidates seeking professional certification as a superintendent, principal, school counselor, school librarian, or an educational diagnostician, each educator preparation program shall provide a practicum, as defined in §228.2 of this title, for a minimum of 160 clock-hours.

   4. (4) Subject to all the requirements of this section, the TEA may approve a school that is not a public school accredited by the TEA as a site for field-based experience, internship, student teaching, clinical teaching, and/or practicum.

      1. (A) All Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, wherever located, and all schools accredited by the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) are approved by the TEA for purposes of field-based experience, internship, student teaching, clinical teaching, and/or practicum.
      2. (B) An educator preparation program may file an application with the TEA for approval, subject to periodic review, of a public school, a private school, or a school system located within any state or territory of the United States, as a site for field-based experience, or for video or other technology-based depiction of a school setting. The application shall be in a form developed by the TEA staff and shall include, at a minimum, evidence showing that the instructional standards of the school or school system align with those of the applicable Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) certification standards. To prevent unnecessary duplication of such applications, the TEA shall maintain a list of the schools, school systems, videos, and other technology-based transmissions that have been approved by the TEA for field-based experience.

      3. (C) An educator preparation program may file an application with the TEA for approval, subject to periodic review, of a public or private school located within any state or territory of the United States, as a site for an internship, student teaching, clinical teaching, and/or practicum required by this chapter. The application shall be in a form developed by the TEA staff and shall include, at a minimum:

         1. (i) the accreditation(s) held by the school;
         2. (ii) a crosswalk comparison of the alignment of the instructional standards of the school with those of the applicable TEKS and SBEC certification standards;
         3. (iii) the certification, credentials, and training of the field supervisor(s) who will supervise candidates in the school; and
         4. (iv) the measures that will be taken by the educator preparation program to ensure that the candidate's experience will be equivalent to that of a candidate in a Texas public school accredited by the TEA.
      4. (D) An educator preparation program may file an application with the SBEC for approval, subject to periodic review, of a public or private school located outside the United States, as a site for student teaching or clinical teaching required by this chapter. The application shall be in a form developed by the TEA staff and shall include, at a minimum, the same elements required in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph for schools located within any state or territory of the United States, with the addition of a description of the on-site program personnel and program support that will be provided and a description of the school's recognition by the U.S. State Department Office of Overseas Schools.
5. (e) Campus Mentors and Cooperating Teachers. In order to support a new educator and to increase teacher retention, an educator preparation program shall collaborate with the campus administrator to assign each candidate a campus mentor during his or her internship or assign a cooperating teacher during the candidate's student teaching or clinical teaching experience. The educator preparation program is responsible for providing mentor and/or cooperating teacher training that relies on scientifically-based research, but the program may allow the training to be provided by a school district, if properly documented.

6. (f) On-Going Educator Preparation Program Support. Supervision of each candidate shall be conducted with the structured guidance and regular ongoing support of an experienced educator who has been trained as a field supervisor. The initial contact, which may be made by telephone, email, or other electronic communication, with the assigned candidate must occur within the first three weeks of assignment. The field supervisor shall document instructional practices observed, provide written feedback through an interactive conference with the candidate, and provide a copy of the written feedback to the candidate's campus administrator. Informal observations and coaching shall be provided by the field supervisor as appropriate.

   1. (1) Each observation must be at least 45 minutes in duration and must be conducted by the field supervisor.
   2. (2) An educator preparation program must provide the first observation within the first six weeks of all assignments.
   3. (3) For an internship, an educator preparation program must provide a minimum of two formal observations during the first semester and one formal observation during the second semester.
   4. (4) For student teaching and clinical teaching, an educator preparation program must provide a minimum of three observations during the assignment, which is a minimum of 12 weeks.
   5. (5) For a practicum, an educator preparation program must provide a minimum of three observations during the term of the practicum.
7. (g) Exemption. Under the Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.050(c), a candidate who receives a baccalaureate degree required for a teaching certificate on the basis of higher education coursework completed while receiving an exemption from tuition and fees under the TEC, §54.214, is exempt from the requirements of this chapter relating to field-based experience or internship consisting of student teaching.

Source Note:The provisions of this §228.35 adopted to be effective December 14, 2008, 33 TexReg 10016; amended to be effective December 26, 2010, 35 TexReg 11239.