HB 2 New Teacher Certification Requirements

Fruitvale ISD Teacher Waiver and Action Plan

Board Approved Plan on 2/19/26

Submitted for TEA Approval on 2/20/26

Under the Fruitvale ISD District of Innovation (2022-2027), the district requested the following exemption from the teacher certification statue TEC §21.003:

The district will strive to maintain the state’s current expectations for employee teacher certification and will make every attempt to hire individuals with appropriate certifications for open teaching positions (TEC §21.003). However, when that is not reasonably possible, the district needs the flexibility to hire individuals who hold qualifying college degrees (bachelors, masters, or doctoral) and who possess knowledge and experience from coursework, professional training, trades, industries, and/or vocations.  In addition, Fruitvale ISD shall have the authority to allow certified teachers to teach one subject outside their certified field.

With the adoption of House Bill 2 in the 2025 Texas Legislative Session, the district can no longer seek an exemption from this teacher certification statue (TEC §21.003) in elementary reading and math subjects starting in the 2026-2027 school year.  This restriction expands in the 2027-2028 school year to all foundation subjects (reading, math, science, and social studies) in all grades.  The district can maintain this DOI exemption for non-foundation subjects (e.g., CTE, music, physical education, and local credits). 

2025-2026 District Teacher Certification Data

The district has 35 teachers employed across the district.  Currently, four teachers are employed to teach in a foundational subject area and do not hold a teacher certification for their teaching assignment. These teachers are enrolled in an alternative certification program (e.g., iTeach Texas) to complete their teacher certification requirements.

2025-2026 Action Plan

The district is monitoring the progress of each teacher to ensure they remain on track with their alternative certification program requirements.  Despite seeking an additional waiver to mitigate this legislative change, the district expects each of these teachers to enter the 2026-2027 school year with a teacher or intern certification for their subject area(s)/grade(s).

2026-2027 & Beyond Action Plan

Teachers assigned to foundational subjects, starting in the 2026-2027 school year, must hold an intern certification at minimum in order to receive a teacher contract of employment.  They will need to complete their alternative certification program requirements in a timely manner in order to obtain a teacher certification for their assigned teaching subject(s) and grade(s) prior to the expiration of the intern certification. 

Fruitvale ISD is a small, rural public school district that offers a full PK-12 program.  Due to our geographical location and fiscal challenges, we struggled to fill teaching positions each school year.  This challenge led us to seek the DOI exemption in 2022. With the implementation of House Bill 2, the district seeks this additional teacher certification waiver to ensure we can fill openings with quality candidates.  We have paraprofessionals within our district completing bachelor’s degrees in education.  This additional teacher certification waiver will help us transition these individuals to teaching positions as they navigate teacher certification requirements.