The board may issue educator certificates to out-of-state applicants who meet listed degree, credential, and exam requirements, and it must post procedures and meet certain processing deadlines for some applications.
Sec. 21.052. CERTIFICATION OF EDUCATORS FROM OUTSIDE THE STATE. (a) The board may issue a certificate to an educator who applies for a certificate and: (1) holds: (A) a degree issued by an institution accredited by a regional accrediting agency or group that is recognized by a nationally recognized accreditation board; or (B) a degree issued by an institution located in a foreign country, if the degree is equivalent to a degree described by Paragraph (A); (2) holds an appropriate certificate or other credential issued by another state or country; and (3) performs satisfactorily on: (A) the examination prescribed under Section 21.048; or (B) if the educator holds a certificate or other credential issued by another state or country, an examination similar to and at least as rigorous as that described by Paragraph (A) administered to the educator under the authority of that state. (a-1) The commissioner may adopt rules establishing exceptions to the examination requirements prescribed by Subsection (a)(3) for an educator from outside the state, including military service members, military spouses, and military veterans, to obtain a certificate in this state. (b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), a person is considered to hold a certificate or other credential if the credential is not valid solely because it has expired. (b-1) The board shall propose rules in accordance with Chapter 55, Occupations Code, to establish procedures to expedite the processing of an application for a certificate under this section submitted by an educator who is a military veteran or military spouse, including rules for providing a permanent change of station order for purposes of establishing residency and for providing a military identification card. (c) Repealed by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 930 (H.B. 1178), Sec. 2, eff. June 20, 2025. (d) Repealed by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 930 (H.B. 1178), Sec. 2, eff. June 20, 2025. (d-1) Repealed by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 930 (H.B. 1178), Sec. 2, eff. June 20, 2025. (e) Repealed by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 930 (H.B. 1178), Sec. 2, eff. June 20, 2025. (f) The board shall post on the board's Internet website the procedures for obtaining a certificate under Subsection (a) and the notice required under Section 55.010, Occupations Code. (g) Repealed by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 757 (S.B. 1839), Sec. 12(2), eff. June 12, 2017. (h) This subsection applies only to an applicant who holds a certificate or other credential issued by another state in mathematics, science, special education, or bilingual education, or another subject area that the commissioner determines has a shortage of teachers. In any state fiscal year, the board shall accept or reject, not later than the 14th day after the date the board receives the completed application, at least 90 percent of the applications the board receives for a certificate under this subsection, and shall accept or reject all completed applications the board receives under this subsection not later than the 30th day after the date the board receives the completed application. An applicant under this subsection must submit: (1) a letter of good standing from the state in which the teacher is certified on a form determined by the board; (2) information necessary to complete a national criminal history record information review; and (3) an application fee as required by the board. (i) In this section: (1) "Active duty" means current full-time military service in the armed forces of the United States or active duty military service as a member of the Texas military forces, as defined by Section 437.001, Government Code, or similar military service of another state. (2) "Armed forces of the United States" means the army, navy, air force, space force, coast guard, or marine corps of the United States or a reserve unit of one of those branches of the armed forces. (3) "Military service member" means a person who is on active duty. (4) "Military spouse" means a person who is married to a military service member. (5) "Military veteran" means a person who has served on active duty and who was discharged or released from active duty. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1306, Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 577 (S.B. 1912), Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 2007. Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1013 (H.B. 4152), Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 757 (S.B. 1839), Sec. 7, eff. June 12, 2017. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 757 (S.B. 1839), Sec. 12(2), eff. June 12, 2017. Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1048 (H.B. 1934), Sec. 1, eff. June 15, 2017. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 46 (H.B. 139), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2021. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 930 (H.B. 1178), Sec. 2, eff. June 20, 2025.