Becoming a Teacher of Students who are Deafblind

A student who is deafblind responds to a student who comments,
A teacher of a student who is deafblind points out that this is where the dirty dishes are stored by signing, “dirty”. The student responds by signing the same sign.

In Texas,  The Deafblind EC-12 Certification will be available sometime after September 1, 2025, when there is at least one Education Preparation Program (EPP) approved to offer this certification program.  At this time, no EPPs have applied. Deafblind EC-12 standards can be found on the TEA website. The Deafblind EC-12 Preparation Manual is now available. 

Currently in place, there is  coursework available at Texas Tech University that leads to either a graduate certificate in Deafblind Education or a master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Deafblind Education.

TDB Menu

Teachers of Students Who Are Deafblind

Becoming a TDB

 

Current Code Related to Certification:

§231.710. Teacher of Students who are Deafblind.
(a) An assignment for Teacher of Students who are Deafblind is allowed with the Deafblind Supplemental:
Early Childhood-Grade 12 certificate.
(b) A teacher in an assignment for Teacher of Students who are Deafblind must also hold one or more of the
following certificates.
(1) Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12.
(2) Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Early Childhood-Grade 12.
(3) Teacher of Students who are Visually Impaired.
(4) Deficient Vision.
(5) Visually Handicapped.
(6) Deaf and Severely Hard of Hearing.
(7) Hearing Impaired.

 §230.105 adds the Deafblind Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12 certificate to the list of certificates that are not eligible for certification by examination.

A teacher who holds a valid provisional, professional, standard, or enhanced standard classroom teaching certificate or a valid temporary classroom teaching certificate issued under the provisions of Subchapter H of this chapter (relating to Texas Educator Certificates Based on Certification and College Credentials from Other States or Territories of the United States), or Chapter 245 of this title (relating to Certification of Educators from Other Countries), and a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution of higher education may qualify for an additional teaching field or certification to teach at another level by passing the appropriate certification examination(s) for that subject. The teacher must submit the application to add certification based on an examination during the time the certificate is allowed to be issued by the State Board for Educator Certification. The application for the additional certification must be submitted during the validity period of the appropriate Texas classroom teaching certificate. If a teacher holds multiple teaching certificates, all teaching certificates must be active before adding certification by examination. The rule shall not be used to qualify a classroom teacher for:

(1) initial certification;

(2) the Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12 certificate;

(3) the Early Childhood: Prekindergarten-Grade 3 certificate;

(4) the Deafblind Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12 certificate;

(5) another class of certificate, as listed in Subchapter D of this chapter (relating to Types and Classes of Certificates Issued); or

(6) certification for which no certification examination has been developed.

Section 228.115 – Support and Formal Observations for Candidates Seeking Deafblind Supplemental

(a) For a candidate seeking a Deafblind Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12 certificate, an educator preparation program (EPP) must provide guidance, assistance, and support by assigning a cooperating teacher and/or providing individual or group consultation. The EPP is responsible for providing training to cooperating teachers and/or consultation providers.
(b) An EPP shall collaborate with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to assign a mentor for the candidate. The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired is responsible for providing training for all mentors.
(c) Supervision of each candidate shall be conducted with the structured guidance and regular ongoing support of an experienced educator who is qualified and has been trained as a field supervisor in accordance with §228.101 of this title (relating to Field Supervisor Qualifications and Responsibilities).
(1) Formal observations of candidates must be at least 135 minutes in duration in total throughout the clinical experience and must be conducted by the field supervisor.
(2) An EPP must provide a minimum of one formal observation within the first third of the clinical experience, one formal observation within the second third of the clinical experience, and one formal observation within the final third of the clinical experience.
(3) The field supervisor shall:
(A) conduct an individualized pre-observation conference with the candidate before each observation;
(B) document educational practices observed during each observation; and
(C) provide written feedback through an individualized, synchronous, and interactive post-observation conference with the candidate following each observation.
(4) The field supervisor may provide formal observations, pre-observation conferences, and post-observation conferences either in a face-to-face setting or by the use of electronic transmission or other video or technology-based methods.

228.51. Coursework and Training Requirements for a Deafblind Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12.

An EPP must provide a minimum of 300 clock hours of coursework and/or training related to the educator standards for the Deafblind Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12 certificate adopted by the SBEC. §228.53. [§228.51.] 

228.77. Clinical Experience for Candidate Seeking Certification as Deafblind (DB) Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12.

(a) For a candidate seeking certification as a in the Deafblind Supplemental: Early Childhood-Grade 12, an EPP shall provide a clinical experience of at least 350 clock-hours in a supervised educator assignment in a public school accredited by the TEA or other school approved by the TEA for a candidate seeking certification  in the deafblind supplemental.   

  (b) A clinical experience is successful when the field supervisor recommends to the EPP that the Deafblind certification candidate should be recommended for a Deafblind supplemental certification.

§228.35. Substitution of Applicable Experience and Training

Each educator preparation program (EPP) must develop and implement specific criteria and procedures that
allow:

(3) candidates who previously completed a graduate program from a program approved to offer the
Deafblind Early Childhood-Grade 12 certificate to receive test approval from the EPP. The EPP may require additional coursework.

The grant program currently available:

The Deafblind Graduate Certificate Initiative provides funding assistance to qualified candidates through a grant from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to cover tuition and fees for online courses needed for the DeafBlind Graduate Certificate. The grant is administered by the Special Education Specialized Supports (SESS) grant. Applications are accepted throughout the year, but there are deadlines for consideration: June 1 for the fall semester, November 1 for the spring semester, and April 1 for the summer semester. At this time, anyone may apply, and preference is given to candidates who already hold Texas state certification as a Teacher of Students who are Visually Impaired (TSVI) or Teacher of Students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (TDHH). You may view the application here. 

If you hold deafblind certification in another state:

If you are certified in Utah, the other state with certification in place, and want to practice as a TDB in Texas, you can apply for a review of credentials with TEA and may be able to apply for Texas certification.