Office of the Superintendent of Schools
Office of Human Resources
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Approval Of School District Teaching Permit Application
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The purpose of this agenda item is to request that the Houston Independent School District (HISD) School Board approves the district’s application to the commissioner of education for School District Teaching Permits (SDTPs) to be issued to Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers for the 2025-2026 school year. The SDTPs are required by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for a district to hire uncertified CTE educators to teach noncore academic CTE courses. Approval of SDTPs is based on qualifications certified by the superintendent of the school district and issued by authority of the local district board of trustees [Texas Education Code §21.055 (d-1)]. A “noncore academic CTE course” is a CTE course that is not eligible to satisfy foundation graduation course credit in mathematics, science, language arts, or social studies.
The TEA allows school districts to employ educators and other public-school personnel without certification by submitting a request to waive the certification requirement. An SDTP is typically requested 31 days before the time the district seeks to use the STDP. HISD may need to hire and employ uncertified but otherwise qualified teachers in the 2025-2026 school year when certified candidates are not available (often in hard-to-fill positions or specialized fields). The continuing shortage of certified educators in these specialized fields has resulted in the need for school districts to leverage these allowable TEA certification waiver options.
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COST/FUNDING SOURCE(S): |
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STAFFING IMPLICATIONS: |
None |
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THIS ITEM DOES NOT ESTABLISH, MODIFY, OR DELETE BOARD POLICY.
recommendation
RECOMMENDED: That the School Board approves the district’s application to the commissioner of education for SDTPs to be issued to certain teachers, effective October 10, 2025.