Texas' new teacher certification rules: who must be certified, and when

For years, many Texas school districts filled hard-to-staff classrooms with teachers who did not hold a state certificate, using local flexibility plans to do it. House Bill 2, passed by the 89th Legislature, is closing that door for the core academic subjects, and the change is already in effect in elementary schools.

The Texas Education Agency has collected the rules on a single HB 2 certification page. Here is what it says, in plain terms.

What changed

The law, codified as Texas Education Code Section 21.0032, requires certification for teachers of the “foundation” subjects: reading and English language arts, math, science and social studies. TEA lists two phases:

• 2026-27 school year: teachers of reading and math in kindergarten through fifth grade must be appropriately certified.
• 2027-28 school year: all foundation subject teachers, in all grade levels, must be appropriately certified.

The key mechanical change is that districts can no longer list foundation subject teachers in the local plans they use to exempt themselves from the state’s general certification requirement. Those plans, including District of Innovation (DOI) plans, had been the main route for hiring uncertified core teachers.

The delay option, and who took it

HB 2 allowed districts to apply for more time. TEA says districts with an approved Delay of Certification plan can keep using their existing flexibility until the start of the 2029-30 school year, giving them extra years to get every foundation subject teacher certified.

The agency’s page lists 572 approved districts, with links to each district’s locally approved plan. The list spans small rural systems and some of the state’s largest, including Austin, Dallas and Plano ISDs. Parents who want to know whether their district is using the delay can find it on that list.

Money tied to the change

HB 2 paired the mandate with several incentives, according to TEA:

• A $1,000 payment per teacher. For fiscal years 2026 and 2027 only, districts can receive a one-time $1,000 for each eligible teacher who was hired uncertified as a first-year teacher in 2022-23 or 2023-24, was still uncertified on Jan. 1, 2025, stayed continuously employed by the district and earns standard certification by the end of 2026-27. Districts decide how to use the money.
• CTE certification reimbursements. Starting in fiscal 2026, districts can annually request reimbursement for exam fees, application fees and fingerprinting costs they cover for teachers earning standard certificates in approved career and technical education areas, such as health science, business and finance, and trade and industrial education.
• Fee waivers for test registration and certification applications for eligible special education and bilingual education certificates.

TEA also points districts to the new Preparing and Retaining Educators (PREP) Allotment, a separate funding stream for teacher preparation and retention.

What this means for teachers

An uncertified teacher now working in a K-5 reading or math assignment in a district without a delay plan is the most directly affected. Those in other core assignments have until 2027-28, or longer if their district has an approved delay.

Teachers in districts that qualify for the $1,000 incentive may want to ask what support their district offers for exam prep and fees. The payment goes to the district, not the teacher, so any pass-through is a local decision.

What families should know

The new rule does not mean every teacher in a building is certified. Electives and some specialized assignments sit outside the foundation subject requirement, and the 572 delay districts have more runway. Families with questions about a specific classroom can ask the school which certificate the teacher holds.

TEA says its HB 2 page will be updated as more guidance becomes available.