DEPARTMENT NEWS
Did you know that Texas SPED Support launched a new Opportunities tab on September 15th? Here you can explore opportunities designed to help Texas school systems grow and sustain a strong pipeline of qualified special education professionals. Find grant opportunities, certification and licensing support, skill-building courses, and recruitment tools tailored to meet the needs of districts, campuses, and educators working in high-need areas.
Empowering ECSE Educators to Improve Student Outcomes Grant Cycle 2 for School Year 2025-2026
We are excited to announce that the Empowering ECSE Educators to Improve Student Outcomes grant cycle 2 for school year 2025-2026 application will open September 15, 2025 – October 31, 2025. This grant will enable Education Service Center (ESC) 10 to administer a program providing funding support for local educational agencies (LEAs) and ESCs seeking training and certification for ECSE professionals during the 2025-2026 school year. Trainings will focus on behavior management and inclusive opportunities and will increase ECSE educators' ability to improve student outcomes for children with disabilities, ages 3 through 5 and not in kindergarten. LEAs also can apply for funding through the program to support prekindergarten teachers with dual certification in special education and general education.
Please note: With the passage of House Bill 2 (HB2), educators pursuing certification in Special Education or Bilingual Education are eligible for financial support. Specifically, the certification exam fee for their first attempt on the associated content pedagogy exam will be waived, as well as the certification application fee. This means that when registering for the exam or submitting the certification application, the cost will be $0. Due to this change, the Empowering ECSE Educators to Improve Student Outcomes Grant – Cycle 2, reimbursement is available only for the Early Childhood: PK–3 (292) test.
For more information please visit the Empowering ECSE Educators to Improve Student Outcomes Grant Cycle 2 site on the Texas SPED Support website!
Small and/or Rural Evaluation Certification Reimbursement Program
Are you a current school staff member interested in becoming an Educational Diagnostician or School Psychologist? The Small and/or Rural Evaluation Certification Reimbursement Program (ECRP) is here to help!
This program provides financial support for certification programs, helping you advance your career while making a meaningful impact in Texas schools. In return, participants commit to serving for at least three years in a small and/or rural school system upon completion.
Click the button below to find our more and apply during the October 1-14, 2025, application window.
A new resource has been published on Texas SPED Support to provide information as required by House Bill 1188, passed during the 89th (2025) Texas legislative session. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, at the first admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee meeting during which the individualized education program (IEP) is developed for a student with an intellectual disability or a developmental delay, schools must provide the parent or legal guardian with information about services and public benefits provided by the local intellectual and developmental disability authority (LIDDA) that serves the county in which the student resides, including support from the LIDDA to understand Medicaid waiver programs.
Schools will use the Connecting to Community Supports resource to share this required information by adding local contact information in the appropriate fields. Check out this helpful new resource!
The application to join the TED CoP is now available! This CoP allows educators in the TED role to explore requirements and best practices for implementation in their LEA. Through virtual meetings and online resources, each CoP member will have opportunities to connect with leaders in the field and with other TEDs.
Educators who are listed in AskTED as the TED for their LEA may submit an application using the link on Texas SPED Support.
Participants may take the updated Standards-Based Individualized Education Program (SB IEP) Process Training in person beginning in October 2025, by finding a trainer at their regional ESC.
The intent of this training is to provide participants with an understanding of the SB IEP process for gathering student data, including the full individual and initial evaluation (FIIE), developing the student’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP) statement, drafting measurable annual goals with short-term objectives/benchmarks, if appropriate, determining what specially designed instruction is needed, and creating a data collection system for monitoring progress on the annual goals.
This course is approved for 12 hours of continuing education credit by the Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA). TSHA approval does not imply endorsement of course content, specific products, or clinical procedures. Instructions for claiming TSHA continuing education credit will be provided at the end of this course.
If you're interested in learning more about Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), the MTSS Introduction Module is the perfect starting point. This module includes 6 foundational training pathways designed to support effective implementation of the MTSS framework.
There are two flexible ways to complete these courses:
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Join a Live Training: Connect with an MTSS specialist in your region to participate in a synchronous training session. You can find contact details by visiting View Trainers by Region.
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Learn at Your Own Pace: Prefer self-paced learning? Simply click View Course to enroll in the asynchronous version and complete the training on your own schedule.
Whether you're new to MTSS or looking to strengthen your understanding, this module offers a solid foundation to build on.
State Performance Plan Indicator (SPPI) 13 measures the percent of youth aged 16 and above with an IEP that includes certain required elements for transition planning. The Data Collection Guidance for Secondary Transition has been redesigned for school year 2025-2026. This resource may be used by school staff to find evidence of compliance with secondary transition requirements in the IEP. Explore this resource to find an overview of the changes to data submission for SPPI 13 and support to determine compliance for each of the eight items on the SPPI 13 checklist.
For the 2025–2026 school year, the TEA has updated the data submission process for State Performance Plan Indicators (SPPI) 7 (Preschool Outcomes) and SPPI 13 (Secondary Transition). These indicators have transitioned from the legacy Texas Education Agency Login (TEAL) application to the Special Education Data System (SPEDS) Summer submission in the Texas Student Data System (TSDS).
To assist LEAs, the TEA has released two new guidance documents that outline key differences between the legacy TEAL collection and the updated TSDS SPEDS Summer submission. These resources are designed to help LEAs understand the submission requirements and procedures.
For questions or support, please contact your regional education service center TSDS Champion (ESCs 1-10 and ESCs 11-20) or email [email protected].
Learning Ally partners with you to help eligible students build confidence and access the same content as their peers.
This October, Learning Ally Offers:
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Race to Read: Continues through October 31st! Check out the Race to Read website for new book lists and classroom resources.
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Spotlight on Dyslexia Diving Deeper Series: Explore topics like immersive dyslexia simulations, the International Dyslexia Association’s new definition of dyslexia, and advanced bilingual dyslexia assessment case studies.
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Educator Coaching Sessions: Free sessions offered through November to help you set up accounts and get students reading.
New to Learning Ally? Get started today by enrolling for your TEA funded account through the Educator Access Form.
186 Special Education Specialist EC-12
Candidates who took the 186 Special Education Specialist Exam through September 28, 2025, can expect their scores to report on October 10, 2025. Scheduled score reporting dates can be found on the Pearson Scores page.
161 Special Education EC-12 or 163 Special Education Supplemental exam
161 and 163 are no longer offered. The last day to apply and recommend candidates using the 161 Special Education EC-12 or 163 Special Education Supplemental exam is September 1, 2026.
Online Representative Exams for 185 Deafblind EC-12 and 186 Special Education Specialist EC-12
Aligned with the September launch of both the 185 Deafblind EC-12 and 186 Special Education Specialist EC-12 exams, a new, interactive format for Representative Exams is now available. All educator preparation programs (EPPs) need to be onboarded into this new system. Please contact [email protected] for assistance with account setup. Deafblind EC–12 (185) and Special Education Specialist EC–12 (186) are currently the only fields available in this new online format. EPPs can still purchase Representative Exams for other available examination fields in a PDF format. Additional exam resources can be found on the Educator Testing site.
We are always looking for ways to connect with our partners in the field!
Whether through site visits, collaborative review opportunities, or focus groups, there are numerous ways to connect with TEA and support the field of education. If you are interested in participating in engagement opportunities, sign up by clicking the button below.
Each year the TEA invites groups of Texas educators to provide feedback on the development of state assessments (STAAR, STAAR Alternate 2, and TELPAS) through educator committees across all assessed grades and content areas. Developing high-quality, aligned questions relies on the expertise and experience of Texas educators. Participants collaborate with other educators from across the state to review and approve each potential question for state assessments. TEA is currently accepting applications from all districts to participate in item review committees all subjects and grade levels.
If you know of any educators (including yourself!) who might be interested in participating in these review meetings, please encourage them to apply using the link below. Meetings are typically held during the spring and summer. If selected, an invite will be sent with all the logistical information.
The commitment is generally two to three days in Austin with all travel, accommodations, and substitute coverage paid for by TEA. All participants will earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
TEA is looking to grow its pool of qualified monitors and conservators to help the state’s school districts and charter networks remedy issues related to governance, accreditation, academic performance, financial accountability, or other special investigations. Monitors, conservators, and management teams provide leadership, guidance, and support to school systems working to overcome historical systemic challenges and operate effectively and sustainably to improve student outcomes. Monitors and conservators are appointed, as needed, by the Commissioner of Education.
If you are interested and would like access to the job description, would like to recommend a colleague, or apply for a monitor and conservator appointment by the commissioner, please visit www.tea.texas.gov/mc-appointments for more information.
Data-Based Individualization Hypothesis Development Tool
This new interactive tool is designed by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) to assist educators in developing a hypothesis to explain why a student has not made adequate progress in an academic intervention. It also helps identify next steps for intensifying the intervention.
Data-Based Individualization 101 Webinar: Getting Started with Intensive Intervention
Are you new to data-based individualization (DBI)? Are you struggling to determine how support students who don't respond to the intervention and supports that you are providing? This webinar explains the rationale for using intensive intervention, walks participants through the five steps of the DBI process, and highlights practical lessons learned from implementation efforts across the country.
Principal Navigator: Strengthening Services for Students with Disabilities
The Strengthening Services for Students with Disabilities Navigator was developed by the Lead IDEA Center in collaboration with NCII and the PROGRESS Center to give principals actionable strategies to improve classroom teaching practices and enhance service delivery for students with disabilities.
This tool offers strategies for tackling common challenges and emphasizes the principal’s role in setting up a schoolwide system for tracking progress, identifying students who are not meeting IEP goals, and guiding data-driven interventions.
New Tool from the MTSS Center
The MTSS Team Audit Activity is designed to assist educators in evaluating the teaming structures for MTSS implementation. It is used to integrate teams, improve efficiency, and determine a suitable teaming structure for MTSS.
New Resource to Help Educators Create Accessible Content
Looking for resources to help educators make their digital materials accessible to all students? Discover nine essential skills for creating accessible instructional content that remove barriers for students with disabilities. These practical techniques from the National Center on Accessible Digital Educational Materials & Instruction (NCADEMI) work across your favorite authoring tools from document editors to learning management systems and multimedia authoring platforms.
New Video from Louisiana DeafBlind Project
The Louisiana DeafBlind Project recently released a video explaining the important role that interveners have in the success of students who are deafblind. Learn more about the project here.
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