Texas Educator Equity

Texas Equity Plans

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires all districts that receive Title I funds to create and submit plans describing how the district will improve gaps as they relate to low-income students and students of color being taught at higher rates than other students by inexperienced, out-of-field, and ineffective teachers.

The 2017–2018 school year was the first year Local Education Agency (LEA) Equity Plans were required under ESSA.  To support districts in the equity plan process, TEA developed the Texas Equity Toolkit. The Equity Toolkit is designed to help LEAs work through a process that leads to the identification of effective strategies that can help shrink equity gaps and improve student learning for all.

LEAs that receive Title I funds are required to submit Equity Plans annually in November.

Please continue to monitor the Texas Equity Toolkit for all information related to the Texas Equity Plans including submission timelines and updates.

Highly Qualified Teachers

Beginning with the 2016–2017 school year, schools and teachers will only need to meet state requirements for certification. The federal term of “highly qualified teacher status” will no longer apply.  It is important to note that all state certification requirements adopted in State Board for Educator Certification rule remain in place. Paraprofessionals must still meet the highly-qualified requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for the 2016–17 school year and beyond.  Please see this link for further details on paraprofessionals HQ requirements.