Certificate Renewal and Continuing Professional Education Requirements

All Standard Educator certificates issued by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) after August 31, 1999, must be renewed every five years. A standard certificate that is not renewed will be placed on inactive status. Educators seeking to renew a certificate with TEA must:

• Hold a valid Texas Standard Certificate that has not been, nor is in the process of being, sanctioned by TEA;
• Successfully undergo a national criminal background check by submitting fingerprints to TEA for review (if you haven’t already been fingerprinted);
• Not be in default on a student loan or in arrears on child support;
• Complete the required number of clock hours of CPE;
• Pay the appropriate renewal fee ($20) online to TEA.

How to Renew a TEA Educator Certificate

Six months before the five-year renewal deadline, TEA will email an educator a reminder to renew. When an educator is ready to renew during his/her birth month, the following steps are to be completed:

1. Log in to the TEA Login (TEAL) system at: https://pryor.tea.state.tx.us/
2. Click on “Applications” and “Renew a Standard Certificate”
3. Complete an online Affidavit affirming that all requirements for renewal have been met, including CPE
4. Pay a $20 renewal fee online to TEA

More Information: TEA How to Renew a Certificate

CPE Hours Required

See the “Tracking Worksheets” at the above TEA CPE website for guidance on specific CPE hour requirements. TEA has certain minimums and maximums on CPE hours (i.e., independent study, serving as a mentor educator, classroom instruction, etc.).

The overall CPE requirement for each class of certificate is as follows:

• Classroom teachers must complete 150 clock hours every five years;
• School Counselors, Learning Resource Specialists, School Librarians, Reading Specialists, Master Teachers,
• Principals and Superintendents must complete 200 clock hours every five years.

Educators must complete the required total number of CPE hours each five-year renewal period. Educators with multiple levels of certificates (i.e., an EC-6 Generalist and Principal certificate) need to complete 200 total combined clock hours of CPE every five years. All college course work will count as CPE credit if the content of the course meets the TEA requirements as listed on TEA’s Tracking Worksheets. College semester credits are calculated for CPE using the following clock hour equivalents:

CPE Providers

All accredited colleges, universities, Texas school districts and education service centers are automatically TEA-approved as CPE Providers. All other entities and companies must formally apply with TEA for consideration and approval as a CPE provider. Only those CPE activities from approved, registered providers will be recognized by TEA for Standard Certificate renewal purposes. UHCL is TEA-approved CPE Provider #101509.

CPE Activities

It is the responsibility of the educator and the employing school district to determine which workshops or training sessions meet the requirements for standard certificate renewal. UHCL faculty and staff will not make these determinations. This allows maximum flexibility for educators to identify appropriate CPE activities to meet their individual needs.

CPE clock hours may be accrued through a variety of methods. At UHCL, educators may choose to take college credit courses as Career Enhancement or as part of a certification or degree program. See the UHCL Graduate Catalog for program details and the UHCL Class Schedule for scheduling. Educators may also choose from a variety of free and inexpensive workshops and conferences offered by the UHCL Center for Educational Programs (CEP) at: http://cep.uhcl.edu listed under “Professional Development.”

CPE Documentation

Educators are responsible for maintaining a record of their CPE credits, but they will not need to submit evidence of completion of CPE credits unless specifically requested by TEA for audit purposes. At the conclusion of each CPE activity, a CPE provider must give to each educator a written document that lists the following:

• The provider's name
• TEA CPE Provider number
• Educator's name
• Date
• Content of the activity
• Number of clock hours (or semester credit hours) that count toward satisfying CPE requirements.

For semester credit courses at UHCL, a transcript serves as written documentation of CPE credit completion. For professional development workshops and conferences at UHCL, a CPE credit form displaying the above information will be given to participants by the CEP at the conclusion of the program.

Questions

For questions about certificate renewal, contact TEA by calling, 512-936-8400, or email TEA through their website.

For questions about UHCL’s professional development CPE, contact the UHCL Center for Educational Programs (CEP) by calling 281-283-3527.

For questions about earning CPE in UHCL’s certification and degree programs, contact the School of Education Office of Academic Advising by calling 281-283-3600 or email education@uhcl.edu