Overview

• Redesign certification requirements for bilingual educators.
• Establish a different and unique pathway to certification where certifications are content-specific or validate the Spanish secondary Language Other than English (LOTE) certifications.
• Redesign requirements for the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test #190 (BTLPT) so candidates who are unsuccessful overall on the test are only required to retest the domain(s) they did not master and demonstrate their proficient command of the Spanish with few activities, such as the required lesson plan, which general education teachers are not required to submit.
• Develop high quality dual language programs that could potentially supply ongoing grow-your-own initiatives with qualified candidates.
• Educator Preparation Programs and universities should continue to support pre-service teachers in the development of high levels of proficiency in the target language (i.e., Spanish) by offering select courses taught in these target languages.
• Increase funding for bilingual educators commensurate with the specialized nature of their work, increased workloads, and additional planning requirements.

Initiatives

Free statewide bilingual exam preparation training opportunities.

BTLPT 190 Cohorts - In Progress

• Offers statewide tuition-free certification preparatory trainings and resources for educators seeking ESL or Bilingual certifications.
• Intended to increase the success rate of educators
• Helps LEAs build capacity in critical shortage areas

Bilingual Supplemental 164 TEALearn Course - In Progress

• Designed to prepare teachers for the BES exam
• Will continue to build a community of practitioners who are passionate advocates for the emergent bilinguals in Texas schools

Virtual Bilingual Supplemental 164 Trainings - In Progress

• Designed to provide a virtual option for teachers to prepare for their exam
• Filled with vital information, strategic insights, and practice opportunities
• Gives teachers a thorough and confident understanding of what to expect on the exam

Develop bilingual certification preparation resources

Certification Exam Manuals - In Progress

• Manuals for exams 164 and 190 in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese
• Help prepare for the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program (TExES) exam.
• Help with exam question formats, study resources, and competencies to be tested

Self-Assessment Spanish Proficiency Test - In Progress

• Assist LEA leadership teams in evaluating and improving their bilingual education (BE) and/or English as a second language (ESL) program
• Addresses areas of concern in the bilingual education or English as a second language program and improving student outcomes

Revamping bilingual education certification requirements from 2 exams to only 1 exam

Bilingual education Certification Requirements - In Progress

• TEA Division of Educator Certifications is working with stakeholders to consolidate the BTLPT 190 exam and the bilingual supplemental 164 exam into one to reduce the number of tests for bilingual teachers
• Will assess bilingual pedagogy and Spanish language proficiency

Overview

• DLI programs should be accessible to students beyond their elementary experience to expand the continuous biliteracy development through secondary grades.
• Implement programmatic monitoring specifically focused on identifying and improving the effective components of DLI implementation.
• TEA should develop an agency-approved list of assessments and explore options to provide STAAR assessments in Spanish for upper grades, as commensurate with their program model.

Initiatives

Promote program implementation tools for Dual Language Programs

Texas Effective Dual Language Immersion Framework (TxEDLIF) - In Progress

• Aims to provide districts, campuses, teachers, and parents statewide with tools they need to support
  • Effective implementation and sustainment of dual language immersion programs
  • Expansion of dual language immersion programs PK-12
  • Impact on student outcomes

Dual Language Immersion Academies - In Progress

• Multi-day training of trainers aimed for district and campus leaders, teachers, and support staff
• Contain strands for every level of educator related to:
  • Second language acquisition
  • Understanding and implementing culturally and linguistically sustaining practices
  • Instructional best practices
  • Cross -linguistic connections, and
  • Student achievement

Provide statewide differentiated approaches to language instruction

Content-Based Language Instruction (CBLI) Resources - Complete

• Support an integrated approach to language instruction in which language is developed within the context of content delivery that is culturally and linguistically sustaining
• Provides research, guidance, strategies, and tools for implementation for each level of educator
• Supports the development of the partner language and the acquisition of English for all emergent bilingual students, regardless of program model

Biliteracy Mapping for Open Education Resources (OER)- In Progress

• Tools that map biliteracy content and strategies will be developed to existing TEA Open Education Resources (OER), High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM), and Research Based Instructional Strategies (RBIS)
• Will be able to respond to needs through stakeholder engagement process undergone by TEA and by LEAs related to barriers to implementation regarding current TEA OER materials

Overview

BTLPT 190 Cohorts - In Progress

• TEA should develop an annual or biannual family-focused survey to begin to understand the perspectives of families more acutely.
• TEA should provide clear and consistent guidance and model engagement for families of emergent bilingual students.
• TEA should develop required training for all educators specific to the complexities of language acquisition and the cognitive and academic benefits of bilingualism would strengthen educator efficacy and clarify understandings, improving systemic and instructional decisions impacting EB students

Initiatives

Implement an awareness campaign on the benefits of bilingualism

Speakers from the Workforce Webinar Series: Cognitive Benefits - In Progress

• Outreach resources and a three-part webinar series will be developed to correct misinformation and misunderstandings related to the language acquisition process
• Local university researchers and Texas students will be invited to share with the community the cognitive benefits of bilingualism in the workforce

Speakers from the Workforce Webinar Series: Economic Benefits - In Progress

• An aware campaign will elevate the economic benefits of bilingualism in the workforce
• Local large corporations, small businesses, and Texas students will be invited to share their personal experiences with the community

Provide statewide guidance/information to families of EB students

Parent/Family Newsletter - In Progress

• Quarterly newsletters disseminated to families of EB students sharing strategies for at-home learning
• A new section will be added highlighting the benefits and celebrations of bilingual individuals

Title III Engagement Series - In Progress

• Three virtual events that assist LEAs in planning events which provide valuable information from presenters at the top of their fields across the state of Texas
• Experts and interpreters are provided by TEA so LEAs can host watch parties for parents, families, and their communities in their native languages.

Provide statewide guidance/information to educators

Leadership Academy - September 2024, January 2025, May 2025

• Three-part professional development series featuring short sessions that support school leaders who have emergent bilingual students in their classrooms

Annual Title III Symposium - In Progress

• Professional development event offering networking opportunities for educators
• Centered around research-based strategies to ensure that emergent bilingual students experience an increase in academic achievement and positive school outcomes

Elevating EBs Podcast - In Progress

• Serves as an innovative form of communication for educators, school leaders and district staff that serve EB students
• This format will allow for more guest speakers, more guidance, and more resources for those that support EB students

Overview

Adopt a uniform process for identification and monitor bilingual learning

• Development or procurement of assessments that authentically measure what students know in both languages, allowing the knowledge of one language to influence the other. This is consistent with the dynamic process of language acquisition.
• Development of a statewide program and progress monitoring approach to consistently track trends and outcomes of bilingualism and biliteracy and further recommend the state review and redesign how linguistic progress is assessed and measured for this population.

Initiatives

Revisions to State Policy

Chapter 89 Crosswalk - Complete

• The commissioner’s rules in Chapter 89 Subchapter BB have been updated to align terminology as well as clarifies policies and procedures to ensure emergent bilingual students are provided a full opportunity to participate in a bilingual education or an English as a second language program

Chapter 89 Rule Revisions - In Progress

• The proposed revisions to this subchapter of Chapter 89 will specifically address the dual identified EB student.
• The goal of the EB Support Division is to ensure that school systems meet students’ linguistic needs in addition to needs associated with their identified disability.

Reclassification Updates - Complete

• The reclassification criteria chart was updated in 2023.
• Updated to shadow school systems the required state and federal guidelines when classifying an emergent bilingual student
• Prior to this change, reclassification had not been revisited since 2019

Revisions for Identification Process

Revised Home Language Survey - Complete

• The Emergent Bilingual Support Division developed aligned documents for the Home Language Survey (HLS)
• The third question was an additional change designed to determine other languages with which a student may have had significant interaction

Standardized forms - In Progress

• The state of Texas will now have eleven standardized letters to be used statewide when communicating with parents, as part of the Chapter 89, Subchapter BB amendments
• These letters include:
  • Denial Letters
  • Identification and Approval of Placement
  • Reclassification & Program Exit/Continuance
  • Change of Service

Enhance Systems of Program Monitoring

Streamlined Bilingual Exceptions and ESL Waivers Process - In Progress

• This cyclical process will be moved to be part of the existing waivers platform that is used by TEA for other waiver applications
• This electronic method will allow TEA to track trends more accurately to allow for more targeted supports in meeting the requirements for program implementation laid out in the statute

Bilingual Exceptions and ESL Waivers Guidance Book - In Progress

• As part of the approval process, TEA staff will continue to meet with leadership from every applying school system to provide technical assistance and support related to program implementation.
• This guidance book will further provide technical assistance

Overview

Increase the number of dual language immersion (DLI) programs

• Engage with stakeholders to re-examine the current requirements for bilingualism and biliteracy and work with other state agencies to collect and publish data related to the post-secondary performance of recipients.

Initiatives

Enhancing systems that support secondary implementation of DLI programs

Guidance for Secondary DLI Programs - Not Started

• TEA will create further guidance on secondary Dual Language Immersion programs to facilitate the creation of secondary DLI programs across the state

Monitoring Dual-Identified student graduation data - Not Started

• The TEA EB Support Division will collaborate with the Special Education Program and Policy Department to develop a suite of professional development resources and monitor dual-identified student graduation rates

Continued Targeted efforts to Goals 1-4

• If the Agency implements the previously identified strategies, then we will see an increase in the number of bilingual and multilingual graduates