SBEC adopts consolidated supplemental and special education certificate standards (new 19 TAC §2.35 Subchapter F)

The State Board for Educator Certification considered a proposal to reorganize and update Chapter 2.35 certificates and standards and voted to publish the proposed rule in the Texas Register. TEA staff said the proposed rule would repeal the separate subchapters for supplemental and special education certificate standards and create a new consolidated Subchapter F: “Supplemental and Special Education Certificate Standards.”

Staff explained the reorganization aims to align bilingual special education standards — which straddle supplemental and special education rule groups — with other supplemental certificate standards, and to harmonize language across standards for clarity. Among the language updates were changes that use the term “emergent bilingual students” consistently and small edits to the bilingual Spanish standards to clarify “oral discourse” and “Spanish conventions.” Staff said the proposed consolidation also replaced the previous EC–6 and 6–12 special education standards with a single EC–12 set that includes grade-band callouts where appropriate (for example, transition knowledge tied to secondary-level IEP transition requirements).

Board members asked clarifying questions about the grade-band callouts and the interaction between the consolidated standards and the new special education specialist certificate. Staff said programs proposing to offer the new special education specialist certificate would need to submit application materials or amendment requests as required by Chapter 228 and TEA would provide implementation guidance.

A motion to approve the proposed new 19 TAC Chapter 235 Subchapter F (supplemental and special education certificate standards) and repeal the prior subchapters was made by Ms. McDonald, seconded by Ms. Glasscock, and carried. The board directed publication of the proposed rule in the Texas Register for public comment.