Last summer, the Texas Legislature gave traditional public schools across the state an assignment: stop using uncertified teachers in core classes — math, reading, science and social studies — by the 2027-28 school year.
Some Houston-area districts, however, need a little more time and help to finish the task.
Twenty-three local districts that combined to employ a few thousand uncertified teachers in core classes applied for and received a state-approved extension on the deadline, pushing their cutoff to the start of 2029-30, a review of extension applications shows. Each application details strategies for ending their reliance on uncertified teachers in core classes, including stronger partnerships with certification partners and expanding initiatives to help students and support staff become educators.
The 23 Houston-area districts receiving an extension include several of the region’s largest (Houston, Fort Bend, Klein) and many of its smallest (Angleton, Friendswood, Willis). Charter and private schools are not required to follow the mandate.
The extensions, which were offered as part of a new state law limiting the use of uncertified teachers, provided a temporary reprieve to districts that have increasingly relied on less-credentialed educators.
About 12% of Texas public school teachers — including 11% in core classes — were uncertified last school year, triple the rate from 2020-21, according to data published by the Texas Education Agency. District leaders across the state have said the rise, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, stemmed from a shrinking pool of certified teachers.
University of Texas researchers have found students across grade levels and subjects learn less from uncertified teachers compared to educators certified through traditional university programs. Texas Education Agency data also shows about 60% of uncertified teachers leave the public education workforce within five years, compared to about 40% of teachers certified through universities or alternative programs.
Texas certification generally requires a bachelor’s degree, completion of an approved educator preparation program and passage of certification exams, although the specific requirements vary by certification route. Most teachers obtain certification through a four-year university degree or an alternative certification program.
Jenita Parekh, associate director of research for the Kinder Institute’s Houston Education Research Consortium, or HERC, said the ultimate impact of certification requirements on students will depend on the quality of teacher preparation provided by districts, certification programs and universities. HERC researchers are collaborating with several local school districts to evaluate the connection between teacher preparation pipelines and teacher retention, mobility and impact on student learning.
“Research shows that certification matters, but the way someone gets certified matters too,” Parekh said. “We want to make sure that we’re supporting and developing highly effective teachers that stay in teaching, and not just checking a ‘certified’ box for compliance.”
While their blueprints for meeting the certification requirements varied, districts often cited these four strategies in their state-mandated plans.
Expanding teacher preparation partnerships
Texas school districts typically partner with one or more of the state’s 120 accredited educator preparation programs, or EPPs, which help 20,000-plus people complete the certification process annually. The organizations include for-profit entities, university-affiliated groups and most of the state’s 20 Education Service Centers.
In their extension applications, nearly all Houston-area districts said they plan to continue established partnerships, build upon existing agreements or find additional EPPs.
The partnerships often involve collaboration on tutoring and test prep assistance for teachers pursuing certification, embedding prep work in the day-to-day classroom and sharing data on the progress of aspiring certified educators.
In recent years, about 40% of newly certified teachers obtained their certification through an EPP.
Building ‘Grow Your Own’ pipelines
Districts have increasingly turned to “Grow Your Own,” or GYO, initiatives that aim to prepare future educators before they ever lead a classroom.
The programs, often operated in concert with local universities, typically take two forms. Some districts offer career pathways to high schoolers, hoping that students will graduate, earn a bachelor’s degree and educator certificate, and return to their home district to teach. Some provide support to teaching assistants and other noninstructional staff members who aspire to become certified teachers.
As part of the bill that created the teacher certification mandate, state lawmakers allocated funding for districts operating GYO systems. They can receive $8,000 to $12,000 per high school student or employee in a GYO program, with a cap of 40 participants.
In Clear Creek ISD, district administrators aim to access the funding stream this year, with the goal of getting more paraprofessionals into the teaching ranks. In Channelview ISD, the district launched its first GYO program for students this school year in partnership with San Jacinto College, offering high schoolers a career pathway in education.
“Grow Your Own seems promising from the perspective that a district is building the capacity of its own community, and you have someone who already understands the community and the district,” Parekh said.
“There’s some bidirectional investment there that could potentially help with retention, but we need more evidence to know whether GYO programs result in higher teacher retention. We’ll be digging into this more in our study.”
Using pay and other incentives to encourage certification
Several districts are wielding the power of the purse to reduce their count of uncertified teachers.
Starting this school year, uncertified teachers in Houston ISD will not be eligible for the district’s pay-for-performance system. As a result, they will miss out on extra pay that could total tens of thousands of dollars, depending on their performance evaluation rating.
In Santa Fe ISD, uncertified teachers are paid $10,000 less than certified teachers. New hires with a certification earn about $60,100 annually in the district.
Alief ISD is covering some costs related to obtaining certification, offering to help pay for certification program fees, tutoring and test preparation.
Getting uncertified hires into certification programs quickly
Many districts said they will continue hiring uncertified teachers in core classes over the next few years, gradually reducing their reliance on them until the 2029-30 deadline.
In the meantime, several said they will immediately start requiring that uncertified educators enroll in an EPP within one month of their hire date.
