May Finisher 23-24 School Year 


The following is in relation to the intern certificates that are issued for the 23-24 school year. 


Updates as of 06.14.2024

In alignment with TEA’s recent update via the newsletter, we are no longer recommending Standard Certificates two weeks early and can only recommend Standard Certificates on

  • Their last day in the classroom in May/June (this applies specifically to August-August certificates)
  • The last day of their certification (this applies to certificates outside of the August-May window)
    1. e.g. if an intern’s certificate expires on September 25, 2024, we can only recommend certificates on or after September 25th.

Additionally, we cannot recommend the Standard Certificates at the end of the 23/24 school year for the interns with a September 5th, 2023, certificate start date. In previous years, we have recommended interns for their Standard Certificate at the end of the school year if their Intern Certificate had an early September start date. The following was included in the TEA Newsletter.

“An EPP may recommend the Standard certificate on or after the date the last requirement has been met. The date the last requirement was met is entered into the recommendation screen and becomes the effective date on the Standard certificate. "Requirements met" include:  

  • EPP coursework and training are complete, including the recommendation of a successful clinical experience provided by both the field supervisor and applicable campus personnel, and the candidate is identified as a "finisher". Please note that the internship is not complete until the candidate has completed the full school year.”

We have updated our practices to reflect this new guidance.

This is a deadline we have created based on TEA code to determine time taught.  

Chapter 228. Requirements for Educator Preparation Programs 

§228.2. Definitions. 

(24) Internship--A paid supervised classroom teacher assignment for one full school year at a public  

school accredited by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) or other school approved by the TEA for  

this purpose that may lead to completion of a standard certificate.  

(32) School year--If not referring to the school year of a particular public or private school, a school year shall provide at least 180 days (75,600 minutes) of instruction for students. 

§228. Requirements for Educator Preparation Programs  

(B) Internship. An internship must be for a minimum of one full school year for the  

classroom teacher assignment or assignments that match the certification category or  

categories for which the candidate is prepared by the EPP.  

(ii) The beginning date for an internship for the purpose of field supervision is the  

first day of instruction with students in the school or district in which the  

internship takes place.  

(iii) An internship assignment shall not be less than an average of four hours each  

day in the subject area and grade level of certification sought.