1. (a) The purpose of identifying military service members, military spouses, and military veterans is to establish a process to count applicable military service for timely admission into educator preparation programs, expedite the completion of certification credential reviews, support certification examination and licensure application fee exemptions as applicable, and support certification renewal of members of the military community.
2. (b) Effective September 1, 2023, in support of House Bill 621 and Senate Bill 544 passed by the 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, this chapter has been updated to include military veterans, peace officers, fire protection personnel, emergency medical services personnel, who meet the qualifications outlined in this chapter to be issued a three-year temporary certificate to be placed in a career and technology education assignment, and to include qualified instructors for the Community College of the Air Force to be issued a one-year temporary certificate upon enrollment in a Texas-approved educator preparation program.
3. (c) Effective January 5, 2023, Title 50--War and National Defense, Chapter 50--Servicemembers Civil Relief, Subchapter VII-Further Relief, was amended to add Section 4025a, which states in any case in which a servicemember or the spouse of a servicemember has a covered license and such servicemember or spouse relocates his or her residency because of military orders for military service to a location that is not in the jurisdiction of the licensing authority that issued the covered license, such covered license shall be considered valid at a similar scope of practice and in the discipline applied for in the jurisdiction of such new residency for the duration of such military orders. The servicemember's or spouse's covered license or certificate must be in good standing with the licensing authority that issued such professional license or certificate and has been actively used during the two years immediately preceding the relocation. Requirements to have a specific number of years of experience in roles other than classroom teacher do not apply to applicants eligible for certification via provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
4. (d) In the event of conflict with any other rule in the Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 7, this chapter shall supersede with regard to the certification of military service members, military spouses, and military veterans.

Source Note:The provisions of this §234.1 adopted to be effective August 28, 2016, 41 TexReg 6201; amended to be effective March 7, 2024, 49 TexReg 1278; amended to be effective March 11, 2025, 50 TexReg 1819.