Lubbock ISD outlines plan to certify adjunct teachers; HR to submit certification plan to TEA

Crystal Floyd, Lubbock ISD’s executive director of human resources, presented the district’s teacher certification plan during a workshop segment of the board meeting, describing how the district will move adjunct teachers toward full certification in foundation curriculum subjects and comply with Texas Education Agency guidance.

Floyd said TEA guidance and House Bill 2 informed the district’s approach and that the plan will be submitted to TEA by March 2. She described goals for increasing yearly certification percentages through recruiting, retention and pipeline strategies; the district’s stated target is to reach full compliance for foundation curriculum subjects by 2029–2030 (transcript references to “29 30” in the presentation).

Key supports Floyd described include recruiting earlier job fairs (the district’s job fair is scheduled for March 7, a Saturday), tuition/reimbursement arrangements (including iTeach billing the district directly so adjuncts are not out-of-pocket), mentorship and campus-level monthly check-ins, PD-led office hours and monitoring via Google Sheets maintained by HR. Floyd stated the district has documentation and a monitoring cadence and will provide quarterly cabinet updates and an annual board report in December on certification progress.

Floyd said the district currently tracks 203 adjuncts in foundation curriculum content areas (math, science, social studies, and English language arts/reading). If an adjunct does not have a statement of eligibility by the timeline set out in the plan, Floyd explained the district’s policy: in most cases, separation is requested; however, an executive principal may approve a deficiency plan or the district may hold a resignation letter while allowing time for a near-term retest or completed registration.

Trustees asked clarifying questions about scheduling job fairs (including evening events for single parents), barriers to certification, whether observation-hour requirements are waived for in-class adjuncts, and possible financial supports to cover coursework. Floyd said many programs provide payment plans and that most adjuncts either go through iTeach (which bills the district directly) or through programs where the district reimburses the educator; she noted about $6,000,000 in TIA incentive payments were paid out in “24 25,” according to a flyer cited in the presentation.

Next steps: Floyd said the board will be asked to vote on the certification plan on Feb. 26 and the district will submit the required plan to TEA by March 2; the HR office will continue monthly monitoring of adjunct progress and report to cabinet quarterly and to the board annually.

Sources and provenance: Presentation and Q&A by Crystal Floyd (transcript segments where the plan, adjunct counts and timelines were discussed) were used to assemble this summary.