Teach the Vote's Week in Review: Feb. 12, 2016

Date Posted: 2/12/2016 | Author: Jennifer Mitchell, CAE
Days away from the start of early voting, the stakes are high for candidates with primary opponents. Read the latest news about the election and education policy developments.
Early voting for the March 1 primary elections begins Tuesday.



The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) is meeting today in Austin. Its agenda includes acting on rule changes pertaining to educator preparation and certification, assignments, and categories of classroom teaching certificates. Disciplinary rule changes are also being considered, for which ATPE has provided input to the board. In addition, SBEC has an opportunity today to propose a rule change to implement a requirement limiting educator certification candidates to five attempts to pass a certification exam unless they can show good cause to justify an additional attempt. The test-taking limit was mandated by the legislature in 2015 as part of House Bill 2205. ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann is attending today's meeting and will provide additional information for Teach the Vote on any significant actions taken by the board. You can also follow @ATPE_KateK on Twitter for real-time updates.
New Commissioner's rules have been proposed to implement suicide prevention training for educators. The proposed rules are tied to House Bill 2186 that the Texas legislature passed in 2015. Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana) filed the bill at ATPE's request to help educators become better trained to spot and react to the warning signs of suicide in students. Click here to read the proposed rules. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is accepting public comments on the rules now through Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Finally, here's an early Happy Valentine's Day wish to you from ATPE and Teach the Vote!

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