McKinney ISD officials are requesting to delay the implementation of a new state law regarding teacher certification requirements.
The McKinney ISD board of trustees approved a waiver application to ask the Texas Education Agency to delay the requirement that all district teachers must be certified at a Feb. 16 meeting.
House Bill 2, which Texas lawmakers passed during the 2025 legislative session, prohibits districts from hiring uncertified educators to teach core subjects, such as math, English, social studies and science.
The details
House Bill 2 prohibits uncertified teachers in reading and math classrooms for kindergarten through fifth grade for the 2026-2027 school year, said Shelly Spaulding, MISD’s assistant superintendent of public relations, communications and support services.
The law will apply to all core subjects, including science, social studies and English/language arts, in the 2027-28 school year.
“McKinney ISD has decreased the number of uncertified teachers significantly, but the number of certified applicants is becoming significantly smaller every year,” Spaulding said in an email. “We see the most uncertified teachers being hired late in the summer or during the school year. Since this is something we cannot predict, eliminating uncertified teachers completely will be a challenge.”
Diving in deeper
To comply with this legislation in future school years, MISD is partnering with Indiana Wesleyan University and teaching certification program Teachworthy to help teachers work toward certification, Spaulding said.
The district has two cohorts of teachers who will complete the program and earn their certification within the next two school years, Spaulding said.
Additionally, through MISD’s alternative certification partnerships with Teachers of Tomorrow, iTeach and Teachworthy, staff have access to resources and support for their certification exams. Other district initiatives to support staffing includes a paid Teacher Residency Program, and additional support for uncertified teachers employed by the district from campus principals and human resources.
Looking ahead
The waiver application period will close March 2, and all notifications of approval are expected to be shared with the district by March 31, according to the TEA’s website.
