Probationary or Intern Certificate Application

When eligible, certification-seeking students will apply for their Internship year certificate and complete the Statement of Eligibility form. The Internship year certificate comes in 2 forms, probationary or intern, and costs $78 payable directly to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) (Learn more about certificates here). Following your application submission, Relay will review your pre-service requirement materials including your Statement of Eligibility form and issue a recommendation to the TEA. This review process can take up to 2 weeks, but may take longer if there are missing items. Upon successful completion you will have an internship year certificate allowing you to complete your Internship year certification requirement.

Application Instructions

Fingerprinting Guide

Statement of Internship Eligibility

Statement of Internship Eligibility FAQs

Application Instructions

Certification candidates who have passed both the appropriate TExES Content test for their certification category and the Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) EC-12 test will be eligible for a Probationary Certificate. Probationary Certificates are valid for one year (12 months) and are renewable for up to one additional 12-month period.

Candidates who have passed the appropriate TExES Content test for their certification category, but who have not passed the PPR EC-12 test, will be eligible for an Intern Certificate. Intern certificates are valid for one year (12 months) and are non-renewable.

Follow the instructions below to apply and secure a recommendation for a Probationary or Intern Certificate.

All Residents: Select Relay Graduate School of Education ACP (University Based) as your recommending entity.

All TFA Corps members: Select Relay Graduate School of Education ACP (Alternative) as your recommending entity.

TEAL (TEA Login) is the security gateway to TEA web resources. To access your Educator Account, you will need a TEAL profile that is set up with access to your profile in the Educator Certification Online System (ECOS).

Once you have accessed your Educator Account, you can apply for your Probationary or Intern certificate. Refer to the Texas Probationary and Intern Certificate Application Guide for instructions.

There is a $78 fee for probationary or intern certificate applications, payable to the TEA.

TEXAS PROBATIONARY OR INTERN CERTIFICATE APPLICATION GUIDE_updated 10.4.19.docx

Your campus Dean’s Office will conduct a final review of your certification file to ensure that your Teaching Internship Eligibility Form and Mentor Teacher Assignment Form have been received and that you have completed the following minimum pre-service requirements:

Signed Educator's Code of Ethics
30 clock-hours of Field-Based Experience with Reflection
150 clock-hours of approved and aligned coursework and training
A passing score on the appropriate TExES Content test
Secured a position as teacher of record in a position that matches your certification category
A passed TEA-approved national criminal background check. To initiate this process, follow the instructions in the Fingerprinting Guide below.
For Probationary Certificates, a passing score on the PPR EC-12 exam

TO SUBMIT: Confirm you have applied in the assignment titled, "Probationary or Intern Certificate App Guide & Notification Upload on My Checklist

Fingerprinting Guide.pdf

Fingerprinting Guide

Fingerprinting for certification is a different process than fingerprinting for AmeriCorps. Fingerprinting through an employer is sometimes acceptable.

Please read the fingerprinting guide for more information about how to tell whether you have fingerprints on file with the TEA and what steps you should take if you do not have fingerprints on file.

Statement of Internship Eligibility

The statement of eligibility form is a communication tool between an educator preparation program and a school district. Relay uses this form to communicate that you have passed a TExES content exam and are eligible for hire in a lead teacher position.

You will receive your Statement of Eligibility Form via e-mail from DocuSign. Once you have added your social security number to the form, you will receive a second e-mail that has a pdf of the form attached. The pdf should be sent to your school district's human resources department for verification of your teaching assignment.

Once your school district signs, you will upload the form to your certification checklist.

Statement of Internship Eligibility FAQs

Where do I send the internship eligibility form for signature?

You will e-mail the form to your school district's human resources department. They will have their own digital signing software, or they can provide a physical signature. E-mail text that you may consider using is provided below.

Hello,

My name is __________________, and I am currently enrolled in Relay's teacher preparation program. I have a statement of internship eligibility that I need to have signed confirming that I have secured a teacher of record position that matches my certification category. Please sign the form and return it to me, so Relay can recommend my probationary/intern certificate. If you have any questions about the form or the teacher preparation program, please e-mail support@relay.edu.

What if there is an error on my form?

Please e-mail support@relay.edu before sending to your employer. Relay will generate a new form correcting the error for you.

I am eligible for the probationary certificate. Is this the right form for me?

The "internship" year is the term that the TEA uses for the year you serve as teacher of record on either a probationary or intern certificate. This form does not communicate whether you are eligible for the probationary certificate. It just communicates that you have met the minimum requirement to be eligible for hire by the school district. If you have passed the PPR EC-12, you are still eligible for the probationary certificate.

Once this form is signed and uploaded, will I be recommended for my certificate?

This form is one of several requirements for recommendation of a probationary or intern certificate. Other requirements that need to be met include: 1. Passing coursework, 2. Complete and approved field based experience hours, 3. an active probationary/intern application in ECOS for Educators, and 4. a signed Educator's Code of Ethics. Certificate recommendations will be issued between June 8 and July 15. If your employer has an early deadline, please request review of your file by e-mailing support@relay.edu.

Please make sure you have met all requirements before e-mailing to request file review.

Do I need to complete the statement of eligibility before applying for my internship year certificate?

You can complete the application for you probationary/intern certificate as soon as you have the appropriate passing test scores. However, TEA states that you must pay the $78 fee within 48 hours to avoid deletion of your application. Relay recommends applying and paying for the certificate as soon as you have passed the tests and received a job offer for a teacher of record position that matches your certification category. Your recommendation will be issued after all requirements have been verified, including the statement of internship eligibility.

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