It is recommended that district staff verify the renewal status of teachers, administrators, and support personnel on each campus.
Fingerprinting
The Department of Public Safety has entered into a contract with Identix, a private vendor, to provide digital fingerprinting service for applicants for educator credentials. On June 7, 2006, the Texas Education Agency began using the Fingerprint Applicant Services of Texas (FAST). The digital fingerprinting service is not required, but is strongly encouraged. The $47 fingerprinting fee will be charged online. Applicants will be required to pay the vendor a fee of $9.95 for the fingerprinting service. The rejection rate guaranteed by the vendor is 2% as opposed to the 25% rejection rate for inked and rolled prints. The average turn around time is 48 hours as compared to the two weeks currently being experienced for inked and rolled fingerprints.
Authorize grades EC-12 foreign-language certification for Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Vietnamese.
Create new standard educator certificate for Generalist: Grades EC to 6 that will replace the Generalist: Grades EC to 4 certificate. A grandfather clause allows Grades EC to 4 Generalist certified teachers who have been on a permit allowing them to teach in self-contained classrooms in grades 5 and/or 6 as of last school year (2006-2007) to continue to do so through the 2009-2010 school year if allowed by the employing school district. The new certificate is only designated to self-contained (multi-subject) classrooms, and not classrooms where different teachers teach different subjects - and that the change in the certificate structure will help districts meet federal No Child Left Behind "Highly Qualified" teacher mandates.
SBEC Moves Forward with Rule to Expand Fingerprint Mandate
SBEC estimates that about 400,000 currently certified educators will have to under go fingerprinting by the September 1, 2011 deadline set by SB9. TEA will then send emails to the affected employees informing them that they have 80 calendar days to be fingerprinted. the employees' districts must ensure that the acknowledgement of that fact from the employee or by delivering a copy of the notice to the educator.
Career and Technology Education certificate that requires skill and experience in an occupation:
Health Science Technology
Marketing Education
Trades and Industrial Education (NOT available by exam only)
Educators Must Update Their Mailing Address/Name Change
In accordance with the Texas Administrative Code §230.431 (c), an applicant for or holder of an educator's certificate shall provide SBEC a current United States mailing address. A certificate applicant or holder shall notify SBEC of a change of address within 45 calendar days of the effective date of such change, unless another rule under this title requires earlier notification.
An educator may update their address and phone number by logging into their Educator Profile on the SBEC website athttp://www.sbec.state.tx.us/SBECOnline/default.asp. An educator may submit documentation for a name change by sending a letter to Roman Echazarreta, Director of Credentialing Services, Texas Education Agency, 1701 N. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701.
