PROBATIONARY CERTIFICATE INFORMATION

(It is the Intern’s responsibility to apply for a Probationary Certificate, monitor to ensure it is received in a timely manner, and provide a copy to the employing school district.)

Qualifications for Probationary Certificate

• Be enrolled in an SBEC approved alternative certification program
• Meet “Highly Qualified” status
• Be employed by an accredited and/or approved Texas public or private school
• Ways to meet “Highly Qualified” status:
• 4-8 and 8-12 Content Teachers
• Pass the Content TExES Teacher Certification exam in which seeking certification and/or
• Have at least 24 semester hours with 12 semester hours of upper division university coursework in the content area.
• EC-4 Generalist teachers must pass the EC-4 Generalist TExES exam.
• Special Education teachers must pass the EC-12 Special Education TExES test and content TExES test.

What are the Steps to Obtaining a Probationary Certificate?

Step 1:  The Alternative Certification Office (ACP) will:

Upon receipt of documentation that the Intern is considered Highly Qualified, the ACP Office will generate a “Statement of Eligibility for Internship” that should accompany any employment application submitted to a school district.

Step 2: The Intern (employed ACP student) will:

Once employed, provide a signed contract of employment with an accredited and/or approved Texas public or private school to the Alternative Certification Office.

Step 3:  The Intern will:

Ensure that the school district official completes and returns “Statement of Eligibility” to the ACP Office.  The Statement of Eligibility may be faxed, mailed or scanned and emailed.

Step 4:  The Alternative Certification Office (ACP) will:

Complete any necessary documents and send those documents to the Teacher Certification Office.

Step 5:  The Intern will:

Apply for Probationary Certification and pay the fee by following the steps below.

• Go to www.sbec.state.tx.us.
• Choose “Online Services for Educators.”
• Select “Why should you create an account with SBEC?” 
• Follow the instructions to apply for PROBATIONARY certification.
• Apply under Texas A&M University-Texarkana “Alternative” program.
• For additional instructions, click here “Setting Up a New Educator SBEC Online Account.”
• Background Check:
• New applicants for educator credentials are required to submit fingerprints to the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) so that a national criminal background check can be conducted by the FBI.
• SBEC highly recommends the utilization of the Fingerprint Applicant Service of Texas (FAST) that provides electronic capture and submission of your fingerprints through live scan technology. 
• It is extremely important that you click on the following link for additional information on the FAST Process before beginning the process.

Step 6:  The A&M-Texarkana Teacher Certification Office will complete the following upon receiving notification from SBEC that the intern has applied for certification:

• Verify employment via the Statement of Eligibility.
• Make the recommendation for certification to SBEC.

Step 7:  The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) will complete the following:

• Receive and process the applicant’s payment.
• Initiate a criminal background review. 
• Issue the applicant a probationary certificate if the criminal background review is satisfactory.

Step 8:  The Intern will:

• Upon receipt of probationary certificate, provide a copy to your employing school district.