2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · House bill

HB1178

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Official caption: Relating to the creation of a temporary educator certificate for educators certified by other states.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists House author(s): Cunningham, Bumgarner, Garcia Hernandez, Cassandra. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.

Bill highlights

Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.

HB1178 requires the State Board for Educator Certification to create a temporary certificate for educators certified by other states and immediately issue it to a person applying through Education Code Section 21.052's out-of-state certification process.
Ordinarily, the temporary certificate expires at the earlier of one year after issuance or issuance of a certificate under Section 21.052.
The act took effect June 20, 2025, and directs the board to adopt implementation rules as soon as practicable.

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What does it do?

HB1178 requires the State Board for Educator Certification to create a temporary certificate for educators certified by other states and immediately issue it to a person applying through Education Code Section 21.052’s out-of-state certification process. To qualify, the person must hold a valid non-temporary educator credential from another state and a bachelor’s degree from an institution that is accredited and was accredited when the degree was awarded. The board may rescind the temporary certificate if its credential review shows the person is ineligible. Final law

Ordinarily, the temporary certificate expires at the earlier of one year after issuance or issuance of a certificate under Section 21.052. For the qualifying spouse of an active-duty armed-forces member, the separate rule provides expiration three years after issuance, or later if board rules specify. The certificate cannot be reissued or renewed. Referenced military definitions

The act took effect June 20, 2025, and directs the board to adopt implementation rules as soon as practicable. It creates a temporary route, not automatic permanent certification, guaranteed employment or recognition of every foreign-country credential. It does not itself repeal all other educator-certification requirements. History

What changed along the way?

The introduced, House committee and engrossed bills required a “valid, unexpired, non-temporary” out-of-state credential. The Senate committee substitute removed the separate word “unexpired”, leaving “valid non-temporary.” That wording survives in the enrolled law. This is not a promise that every expired credential qualifies. The official amendment index lists no floor amendments; the Senate change was a committee-substitute change, followed by House concurrence on May 29, 2025.

The act also repeals the older temporary-certificate provisions in Section 21.052(c), (d), (d-1) and (e). Those allowed a discretionary temporary certificate for applicants who had not met examination requirements, provided special minimum terms for certain military-related circumstances, and set an examination deadline tied to completion of credential review and notice. The new section instead uses issuance-based expiration dates and mandatory immediate issuance subject to eligibility and rescission. It does not simply leave the old temporary-certificate timetable intact. Official pre-repeal text, June 19, 2025

Text-version index · Introduced · House committee · Engrossed · Senate substitute · Amendment index

For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.

Official bill versions

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?

Eligible educators moving from other states can receive temporary certification sooner while their credentials are reviewed. Qualifying military spouses receive the longer term. Schools may gain access to these applicants, but the bill does not guarantee a job, fill a specified number of vacancies or eliminate the need to complete the applicable longer-term certification process. Applicants remain responsible for eligibility, and an ineligible certificate may be rescinded.

All five indexed Legislative Budget Board notes anticipate no significant state fiscal impact and no local-government fiscal impact, assuming state costs can be absorbed using existing resources. No quantified two-year/five-year cost, educator wage gain or school staffing improvement is supplied. Introduced fiscal note · Engrossed note · Senate-substitute note · Passed-second-house note · Final indexed note

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.