Educator Certification

The following information is intended to give current UNT Teacher, Student Services, and Administrator certification seeking candidates an overview of the requirements that must be completed before they are eligible to be recommended for educator certification by UNT. If you have specific questions regarding your academic program, you must contact your academic/program advisor or you can call the College of Education Educator Preparation Office at 940-565-4226 to be directed to the appropriate individual.

Requirements for certification are determined by the State Board for Educator Certification and are subject to change. A list of current certification requirements can be found on the Texas Education Agency website. Students must hold the appropriate degrees, GPA’s, teaching experience, and credentials to be eligible for educator certification. Students should verify with their program to ensure they are eligible for educator certification.

Initial Certificate

Undergraduates

• Complete all coursework, including Student Teaching
• Bachelor's degree (posted to official transcripts)
• Pass all required state certification exams
• Apply for certification and complete fingerprinting
• Pay all applicable fees

Post-Baccalaureate

• Complete all coursework, including Student Teaching or Internship (grades posted to official transcripts)
• Pass all required state certification exams
• Apply for certification and complete fingerprinting
• Pay all applicable fees

Additional Certificates

Educational Diagnostician

• Complete all coursework, including Practicum 
• Hold a Master's degree
• Successfully complete state certification exam
• Three creditable years of teaching experience as a classroom teacher is required documented by submitting a copy of your Teacher Service Record. 
• Must hold a valid classroom teaching certificate

Principal

• Complete all coursework, including Internship 
• Hold a Master's degree
• Successfully complete state certification exam
• Two creditable years of teaching experience as a classroom teacher is required documented by submitting a copy of your Teacher Service Record. 
• Must hold a valid classroom teaching certificate

School Counselor

• Complete all coursework, including Internship 
• Hold a 48-hour Master's degree in counseling
• Successfully complete state certification exam

School Librarian

• Complete all coursework, including Practicum
• Hold a Master's degree
• Successfully complete state certification exam
• Two creditable years of teaching experience as a classroom teacher is required documented by submitting a copy of your Teacher Service Record.

Superintendent

• Complete all coursework, including Internship
• Hold a Master's degree
• Successfully complete state certification exam
• Hold a Principal certificate (or the equivalent) or completed the superintendent certificate application and been approved by the TEA to substitute managerial experience in lieu of a Principal certificate.

Candidates must submit a copy of their Teacher Service Record to the College of Education Educator Preparation Office to prove they have the classroom teaching experience required by the state of Texas in order to hold a Student Services or Administration certificate. Teacher Service Records should be submitted prior to the completion of your program in order to prevent a delay in processing your online state application for educator certification.

The Teacher Service Record document is obtained from your school district’s Human Resources Department/Personnel Office. Teacher Service Records must be completed in full, including signature and title of authorized personnel who is verifying the teaching experience earned. Each year worked as the Teacher of Record must be documented on a separate line. Incomplete or illegible records are not accepted. A copy of your Teacher Service Record can be emailed to Elizabeth.Dracobly@unt.edu. Students must provide their 8-digit UNT ID number their correspondence. Service records submitted without a UNT ID number are unable to be processed.

Candidates who obtained their teaching experience from out-of-state or out-of-country are required to have an authorized representative from their employing school complete the Teacher Service Record form and the Verification of Accreditation Status form located on the Texas Education Agency website under the Service Record Information heading. Teaching experience obtained from a private Texas school only complete the Teacher Service Record form.

Students should apply for their Standard Certificate at the end of their final semester, after they have completed Clinical Teaching/Internship/Practicum, and passed all required state certification exams. Students should not apply if they have not completed all program requirements, including Clinical Teaching/Internship/Practicum requirements, or have not passed all required state certification exams. Do not apply early - your application will be removed. Students who apply early or have not passed all required certification exams will have their application removed.

If you have not taken your TExES exam, visit the UNT TExES Success Office website.

How to Apply for Your Standard Certificate

1. Review the Applying for Certification and Fingerprinting Guide. This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to submit an application to TEA.
2. Go to www.tea.texas.gov.
3. Log into your TEAL account. If you have not set up your account, the system will prompt you to create one. 
4. The TEA will ask you to select a recommending entity from a drop-down menu on your application. You will find your appropriate recommending entity on page 6 of the Applying for Certification and Fingerprinting guide provided above. You must read and follow page 6 of the guide carefully. Incorrect applications will be removed and you will be required to reapply and complete a refund request directly through the TEA.
5. Pay all applicable fees and complete the fingerprinting process. Some Educator Certification Fees Waived for Military Families

The Typical Process for Certification is as Follows:

• Student applies to the Texas Education Agency, pays applicable fees, and completes fingerprinting process.
• Student receives TEA system-generated email acknowledging submitted application.
• Entity reviews application and submits recommendation after verifying all program and state certification requirements have been met.
• Student receives TEA system-generated email stating they have been recommended by entity.
• TEA runs criminal background check on applicant.
• Applicant is certified if background check is clear.

Purpose

The Admission, Review, and Retention Committees of the Department of Teacher Education and Administration serve the purpose of reviewing Teacher Education admission appeals, requests for exemptions from requirements, and issues of academic and professional performance in courses and programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The ARR Committees are not the same as ad hoc faculty committees constituted when a student requests a grade appeal, although some committee members may be the same. For details on grade appeals and the ad hoc committees, see the UNT Undergraduate or Graduate Catalogues. Students also have all the rights, responsibilities, and avenues for appeal that are enumerated by the University of North Texas Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Committees

The Department of Teacher Education and Administration's charter establishes two Admission, Review, and Retention Committees for students in Teacher Education — one for elementary and middle school certification programs (EC-6/4-8) and one for secondary (7-12) and all-level (EC-12) programs. The committees hear student appeals of decisions related to their respective programs' requirements and consider requests for exceptions to these requirements and evaluate referrals from faculty members or programs regarding the admission or retention of specific students in Teacher Education.

Membership

Each of these committees consists of three members who are full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty members in Teacher Education and who serve their respective programs as instructors. One member of each committee is elected each year so that there is a rotation of membership. Members are elected by their respective programs' faculty and serve a three-year term. There is no limit to the number of terms a faculty member may serve on the ARR Committee. The TE&A Assistant Department Chair of Initial Certification Programs serves as the Chair and a non-voting member of both ARR Committees (EC-6/4-8 and Secondary/All-Level). Two members of the EC-6/4-8 ARR Committee are elected from the faculty in elementary and/or middle school (EC-6/4-8) education, and one is elected from the faculty in Language, Literacy, and Bilingual Education. The Secondary/All-Level ARR Committee is comprised of three faculty members drawn from the faculty in secondary education. 

Student Initiated Appeals

Students may appeal Teacher Education admission requirements or decisions or appeal Teacher Education program requirements or decisions. To initiate an appeal, a student must completes the College of Education Admission, Retention and Review Appeal Form. The student completes the application and attaches the required materials and documents and other information the student considers relevant. This form and the written materials from the student are used to render a judgment in the appeal. The student typically does not appear before the ARR Committee in person.

The form and documentation are submitted electronically to the Assistant Department Chair of Initial Certification Programs in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. The Assistant Department Chair then contacts and/or sets a meeting of the appropriate ARR Committee. Relevant materials are distributed and/or a meeting is held as soon as possible after the receipt of the appeal by the Department. The Assistant Department Chair of Initial Certification Programs, as Chair of the ARR Committee, requests (as needed) a written statement from the affected program and/or any faculty members involved in the appeal.

Faculty Initiated Appeals

Faculty in Teacher Education may refer a student to the appropriate ARR Committee when there are academic concerns or concerns about the student's potential to succeed in the teaching profession. These concerns include (but are not limited to) poor grades, inadequate academic progress, and/or conduct in or outside the classroom which would negatively affect a student's ability to teach as a student teacher or to succeed as a future teacher. Before making such referrals, faculty members should, if possible, counsel students informally about the concern(s). 

To initiate the referral, faculty members complete an ARR student referral form (i.e. the "Potential for Teaching Success Referral Form") which (a) indicates the nature of the concern involved and includes the faculty member's written statement related to the referral, along with any supporting documentation. The faculty member then sets a meeting with the student, at which time the referral form and supporting materials are discussed. The desired outcome of this meeting is to resolve the referral issue, but if the issues remain unresolved, the faculty member will ask the student being referred to sign the form in order to acknowledge awareness of the concerns, the receipt of counseling about them, and their referral to the ARR Committee. The student may submit a written statement of their position on the referral issue to the Assistant Department Chair of Initial Certification Programs, who serves as Chair of the ARR Committee. 

The faculty member is responsible for delivering the referral form and the faculty member's written materials to the Assistant Department Chair of Initial Certification Programs in TE&A. The Assistant Department Chair then sets a meeting of the appropriate ARR Committee. This meeting is held within ten working days of the receipt of the referral by the Department. The student is responsible for delivering their written statement to the Assistant Department Chair before the meeting. 

The ARR Process

ARR Committee members read the written appeals packet (student, faculty, and/or program) before the ARR Committee confers and/or meets. Students and non-ARR faculty typically do not participate, but they may do so at the ARR Committee's request. All parties to an appeal should have the opportunity to address the ARR Committee if any party is given this privilege. 

All individuals and groups involved in the appeal (student, faculty, program, SAO, PDS school, etc.) are notified in writing of the ARR Committee's decision by the ARR Chair within two working days of the committee's meeting. A copy of all ARR written decisions are sent to the Student Advising Office (SAO). If the recommendation from the ARR is to dismiss or withdraw a student, the Associate Dean for Teacher Education must be notified and must approve the recommendation before any action is taken and before this information is sent to the student or anyone else. The Assistant Department Chair of Initial Certification Programs keeps a copy of all materials from each appeal, and these are stored electronically in a secure University drive and in students' respective SAO files. 

Any party in the appeal has ten working days following the ARR Committees' decision to appeal to the Chair of the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. The Department Chair, after careful review of the decision, makes a ruling within ten working days. Additional appeals may be possible, depending on the nature of the appeal. 

Types of Decisions Made by the ARR Committees

Depending on the nature of the concerns and the ARR Committee's findings, the ARR Committee may decide on a range of actions including (but not limited to) granting or denying admission, removing the student from a program, reinstating a student in a program, or requiring the fulfillment of certain conditions for continuation in a program. It is ARR policy to immediately review the admission status of students who fall below the required 2.75 GPA in any sub area of the degree plan and fail the same education course more than once; continuance in the program requires ARR approval.

Nothing in the ARR procedures shall preclude the University from also reviewing conduct matters that fall under the Code of Student Conduct. 

1. Go to https://tea.texas.gov and log into your TEAL account.

If you don’t already have a TEAL account, you must create one by selecting Request New User Account.

2. Once you log into TEAL, you will see the Self-Service menu on the left and the Applications tab on the right. Under the Applications tab, you will see the View My Educator Certification Account link with your TEA ID number below it.