Back to School Updates

Welcome back to a brand new school year! We hope your summer provided time for rest, renewal, and reflection. As you step into the year ahead, know that your work truly makes a difference in the lives of students, families, and school communities.

This year brings fresh opportunities to empower students, foster resilience, and cultivate a positive, supportive environment where all can thrive. Remember, you are not alone on this journey — as counselor leaders, we are here to support, encourage, and advocate for you every step of the way.

Your dedication, compassion, and expertise are what make our schools stronger and our students more hopeful. Thank you for all you do to champion mental health, equity, and student success.

Let’s make this year one of growth, connection, and impact — for ourselves and those we serve.

We believe in you and are proud to stand beside you.

Here’s to an amazing year!

With gratitude and support,
Jessica & Lacy

We’re excited to announce our new Counselor Connections!

This will take the place of our monthly PLCs. We are bringing the training to you!

These meetings are not just about information but about building a community. They are designed to bring counselors from across the region together to network, collaborate, and share best practices. Meetings will be held three different times during the year (BOY, MOY, & EOY) at four different locations. All information provided will be the same so you choose the date and location that work best for you. You can find more information, including dates and locations for these meetings below:

Texas's SB 12 from the 89th legislative session significantly impacts school counseling programs by strengthening parental rights and introducing new requirements for schools. The bill reinforces the fundamental right of parents to direct their child's moral, religious, and educational upbringing, which includes a requirement for parental consent for health-related services and certain curriculum. For school counselors, this means navigating a new landscape of mandatory parental notification and consent before providing a range of services, including mental or emotional health support. Furthermore, the bill's provisions may directly affect the topics counselors can address with students. Ultimately, the legislation shifts the balance of authority, requiring school counselors to be highly transparent with parents and to operate within newly defined boundaries regarding student support. We are awaiting additional guidance from TEA and state-level agencies in coming days. TEA has recommended consulting your district legal team for more information.

Attached is the Wichita County FCH August newsletter with updates on upcoming programs and events happening around the county. We’re excited about what’s ahead and what is happening in our community this month through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

We appreciate your continued support and partnership in helping serve Wichita County. As always, feel free to reach out if you'd like to collaborate or learn more about how Extension can support your organization.

Meredith Utley
AgriLife Extension Family & Community Health | Wichita County
600 Scott Street Suite 200 | Wichita Falls, TX 76301
ph: 940.716.8610 | mobile: 940.733.7147 | meredith.utley@ag.tamu.edu

If your school district is not in Wichita County, please contact your County Extension Office. They will have the same or similar resources to provide your school district.

Exciting Wichita County 4-H News:

Our very own Wichita County 4-H chapter is actively participating in the Wetter’ N Hell fundraiser, hosted by the Rotary Club of Southwest Wichita Falls. This event supports a wide array of nonprofits in our community. You can visit their website (wetterthanhell.com) to see the list of local organizations and choose which one you’d like to support.

We would be grateful if you would consider selecting Wichita County 4-H as your beneficiary—each purchase helps our 4-Hers directly and allows them to continue learning, leading, and serving.

What is 4-H?
4-H is a premier youth development program run through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. It serves students in grades 3–12 (ages 8–18) across Texas, as well as the opportunity for ages 5-7 to participate in Clover Kids. 4H offers hands-on learning in five core areas: Agriculture & Livestock, Family & Community Health, Leadership & Citizenship, Natural Resources, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Have you ever done a monthly theme for your SEL or counseling lessons?

I think they are so helpful, but it can be hard to know what to teach when.

Here's the schedule that I have found helpful!

💜August - Coping Skills

💜September - Self Control

💜October - Bullying Prevention

💜November - Mindfulness

💜December - Kindness

💜January - Growth Mindset

💜February - Diversity & Inclusion

💜March - Self Esteem

💜April - Friendship

💜May - Conflict Resolution

For more information about why I love these themes, check out this post: https://www.counselorchelsey.com/blog/selmonthlycalendar

We’re thrilled to announce a brand-new monthly resource launching this August for parents and caregivers!

Introducing Parenting Pit Stops, a dynamic monthly Zoom series to support parents in a fast, fun, and impactful way.

Think of it like this: just as race cars need quick pit stops to refuel and fine-tune, parents can “pull in” for these short, powerful sessions to recharge and reset. Each month, we’ll explore a fresh topic packed with practical tips rooted in mental health best practices—all designed to help parents support their children emotionally, socially, and developmentally.

These sessions are quick, informative, and geared toward busy parents who want to stay in the driver’s seat—confident, equipped, and ready to go!

📣 To register for the sessions, please go to the bit.ly/3Sbjfr5 and choose which dates you would like to attend.
🎉 It’s completely free and open to everyone! We can't wait to see you all each month via Zoom!

💥Please share this information with your staff, parents, and PTO.💥

Invest in school safety from the comfort of your desk! 💻

📆Our monthly "Lunch & Learn" Zoom series offers a unique opportunity for all educators (administrators, counselors, SROs, teachers, anyone!) to gain valuable insights from Crime Stoppers of Houston's Safe School Institute. Join us from 12-1 PM to discuss vital school safety topics with various experts. Equip yourself with the knowledge to create a safer learning environment!

🔗Each session has a unique Zoom link, so register for the sessions you want to attend, and you will be provided with a Zoom link. Sessions begin on September 4, 2025.

https://www.escweb.net/tx_r9/search.aspx?SearchCriteria=school%20safety%20series

Please be advised that Senate Bill 571, enacted by the 89th Texas Legislature and now in effect, amends Section 261.101 of the Texas Family Code to shorten the time frame for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.

Effective immediately, a professional who has reasonable cause to believe that a child has been abused or neglected must report that suspicion no later than 24 hours after the suspicion arises.

This is a change from the previous 48-hour deadline.

2026 Accountability Manual

The Accountability Rating System Manual for 2026 is available on the 2026 Accountability Manual webpage.

2025 CCMR Student Listing Released

The 2025 Final CCMR Student Listing includes data for all students was released on August 1, 2025 and is now available in the TEA Login (TEAL) Accountability application.

Apply Texas

ApplyTexas wants to hear from you! The ApplyTexas team wants to hear about your experiences using the ApplyTexas Counselor Suite. Your feedback will help identify valued features, usability gaps, and opportunities to enhance the ApplyTexas Counselor Suite based on what matters most to users.

Simplifying the College Application Process with ApplyTexas and My Texas Future kicks off the year long monthly learning series. Participants will learn how students can now access both platforms using a single sign-on, making it easier to navigate the college application process. The extended session will cover key features of the applicant portal, application screener, and Counselor Suite, and provide insights into how ApplyTX aims to reduce redundancy and offer stronger support for students and families. This will be a great opportunity for you to become more familiar with ApplyTX and the Counselor Suite. This session is scheduled for Tuesday, August 12, 2025.

House Bill 3 from the 86th Legislature permits the state to provide a one-time reimbursement to school systems for the cost of administering one college preparation assessment (SAT, ACT or TSIA) per eligible student. Estimated funding for this college preparation assessment reimbursement is advanced to districts annually in the fall Foundation School Program (FSP) funding. Each year, TEA later reconciles these funds for April settle-up. For the 2024-2025 school year, the eligible students are as follows:

• Seniors who take either the SAT, ACT or TSIA from September 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025.
• Juniors who take either the SAT, ACT or TSIA from January 1, 2025 – July 31, 2025.
• Note: August 2024 test administrations will be submitted and considered in the 2024-2025 process.

SAT and ACT school-day participants are automatically considered for reimbursement. TEA has a separate request process for districts who would like to request reimbursement for the SAT and ACT national day testing. If multiple records of a student are reported, TEA will reimburse the highest cost exam per eligible student. If multiple records of a student are reported from several districts, the first district will be considered.

If the TSIA is the highest-cost exam for a student for which the district paid and would like reimbursement, then the district must request reimbursement from the agency using the process outlined in this document.

A request for reimbursement does not guarantee reimbursement will be administered. After receiving all requests for TSIA and SAT/ACT, TEA will validate requests and reconcile funding accordingly. TEA recommends that school systems retain all backup documentation on district policies, decisions and payments in the event of an audit.

Only one file per district will be accepted. TEA will not accept individual campus requests.

The survey can be complete by utilizing the Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) Reimbursement Qualtrics survey.

Note: The above information applies to reimbursements for the 2024-25 school year. HB 2 (89th Legislature) has changed this reimbursement funding structure moving forward. Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, school districts will be reimbursed for the SAT/ACT and also reimbursed for the TSIA, if a student takes both.

Additionally, a nationally-recognized career readiness assessment instrument will be added to the list of assessments that a 12th grade student may choose from and for which school districts may obtain reimbursement.

SAT Fee Waiver Codes To Be Available Soon

Starting August 14, new fee waiver codes will be available to schools through the College Board K–12 score reporting portal for the weekend SAT administrations.

•Fee waiver codes can be used starting with the September 13, 2025, SAT administration.

•Note: Unused fee waiver codes from previous years will expire on August 13 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Please ensure you’re distributing new codes to students. New codes are preceded by “FY25.”

Eligible students have two ways of securing SAT fee waiver benefits:

1. Educators can access fee waiver codes through the K–12 score reporting portal: For schools that receive fee waiver codes from College Board, visit the K–12 score reporting custom reports page under the Downloads section. Educators with detail or summary level access can access an Excel file of fee waiver codes.

• If you’re unsure if your student has fee waiver benefits, the Roster Report in the K–12 reporting portal indicates whether they’ve used a fee waiver to register for the SAT. Visit Getting SAT Fee Waivers and Distributing to Students to learn more.

2. Students can request fee waiver benefits directly from College Board: We encourage eligible students to receive SAT fee waiver benefits by logging in to their College Board account and submitting a request. Learn more.

The approved College Preparory Course provider list for English Language Arts and Mathematics is posted on College Preparatory Courses for CCMR Accountability | Texas Education Agency.

Postponement of the Approved List of College Preparatory Courses to 2028: Accountability

In response to public comment on the proposed 2026 A–F Accountability Rating System Manual, the agency is deferring the proposed change to award CCMR credit only for courses on the approved college preparatory course list until the 2028 accountability year (for 2026–2027 graduates). This update is reflected in the final version of the 2026 manual.

2025-2026 Unique Course Codes for College Preparatory Courses

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has issued a set of unique course codes for College Preparatory Courses (CPC), derived from submissions received through the College Preparatory Courses for College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) application process. School districts are expected to implement these course codes, TWEDS - Course Codes, beginning with the 2025–2026 academic year.

Please visit https://tea.texas.gov/academics/college-career-and-military-prep/college-preparatory-courses-for-ccmr-accountability for more information.

The Department of Education has announced that the 2026-27 FAFSA form will be publicly released by October 1st. The Federal Student Aid Office has also released 2026-27 Student Aid Index (SAI) and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide.

Check out the slides below to learn about the new post secondary legislation!

2025-2030 Preliminary IBC List

The Preliminary 2025-2030 IBC List is now available. The new list of IBCs takes effect in the 2025-26 school year and will apply to accountability ratings issued in August 2027. There are 474 IBCs on the preliminary 2025-30 list, up from 309 from the 2022-25 list.

Subject to the rulemaking process for the 2027 accountability manual, IBCs that were on the 2022-25 list but will not be on the 2025-30 list are subject to a one-year sunsetting period. During this one-year period, school systems may continue to report IBCs from the 2022-25 list for both accountability and reimbursement purposes for the class of 2026. Of note, at present there are only 23 IBCs from the old list being removed from the new list.

The following resources are intended to help school system staff understand updates in order to make future programmatic decisions:

• Preliminary 2025-2030 IBC List for Public School Accountability
• Preliminary IBCs to Program of Study Crosswalk 2025-2030
• Comprehensive 2025 IBC Evaluation Results

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Overview of key updates to the list

• TAA (Industry-Based Certifications) July 24th, 2025

Certifying entities with an IBC that was submitted through the application process, reviewed, and not approved for inclusion on the 2025-2030 list may request a re-evaluation. Certifying entities with an IBC eligible for re-evaluation will receive an email with the requirements for resubmission. The Texas Education Agency must receive all documentation for re-evaluation via the unique link provided in the email not later than Friday, August 22, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. CDT. Applications for re-evaluation with incomplete documentation or that are submitted late will not be re-evaluated.

At the conclusion of the re-evaluation process, the preliminary list will be updated with any additional certifications and the final 2025-2030 list of IBCs to be used for public school accountability will be published.

The 2025-2026 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook provides student attendance accounting rules for school districts and charter schools. The proposed effective date is October 12, 2025.

TASFA Residency Affidavit Update

On June 4, 2025, a federal court ruling affected Texas law on in-state tuition for students who are not U.S. citizens and may be undocumented. As a result, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is updating its rules to comply with this decision.

For students entering college in Fall 2025, institutions may use a revised affidavit to help determine if non-citizen students qualify for in-state tuition. While this change may impact some of the students and families you support, the revised form ensures compliance with state and federal guidelines.

Middle School Advanced mathematics

The adopted new sections add TEKS to support middle school advanced mathematics programs designed to enable students to enroll in Algebra I in Grade 8. The new sections were adopted with changes since published as proposed.

New CTE TEKS

CTE Employability TEKS:

At the June 2025 State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting, the board approved two sets of universal employability skills Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for all CTE courses in a program of study; one set for Level 1 and 2 courses and one set for Level 3 and 4 courses. Cross references to the new employability skills TEKS will be added to the TEKS for each CTE course, as applicable. Employability skills standards are required to be taught as a part of each course in a CTE program of study.

You can find the new §127.15, Career and Technical Education Employability Skills here: 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, Subchapter B, High School.

Innovative Courses: The adopted new sections add TEKS for 18 state-approved innovative courses in the following career and technical education career clusters: agriculture, food, and natural resources; business, marketing, and finance; health science; hospitality and tourism; information technology; and law and public service. The new sections were adopted with changes since published as proposed.

Engineering: The SBOE approved new TEKS for 20 CTE engineering courses that are available for implementation beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. The new CTE engineering TEKS will be effective in 19 TAC, Chapter 127, on August 1, 2025. In the interim, the new TEKS can be accessed on the CTE Engineering TEKS Review web page.

The following innovative courses in engineering are expired beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. School systems that have previously offered the expiring innovative courses in engineering may wish to consider the following new TEKS-based options for award of credit.

Public Comment Period for Proposed Amendments to CTE TEKS in AFNR

At the June 2025 meeting, the State Board of Education (SBOE) approved for first reading and filing authorization proposed amendments to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for three CTE courses in the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources career cluster. The proposed amendments would make a technical adjustment to prerequisites for §127.49, Livestock and Poultry Production, to align with the CTE programs of study and update cross references to course titles that have changed.

The official public comment period for the proposed amendments is now open. To view the proposed revisions and submit public comments, visit the Proposed SBOE Rules web page.

Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, Subchapter C, Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, §§127.49, 127.51, and 127.52

Public Comment Period: August 1, 2025-5:00 p.m. on September 2, 2025. The SBOE will take registered oral and written comments on the proposal at the appropriate committee meeting in September 2025 in accordance with the SBOE board operating policies and procedures.

19 TAC Chapter 127 to completely move to 19 TAC Chapter 130

Beginning in 2022, the SBOE began to incrementally move sets of CTE courses from 19 TAC, Chapter 130, to a new location in Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education. At the June 2025 meeting, the SBOE approved the relocation of remaining CTE TEKS from 19 TAC Chapter 130 to the new location in 19 TAC Chapter 127. The move ensures that all CTE TEKS are in the same chapter in administrative rule and will be effective in 19 TAC, Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, on August 1, 2025.

Simplifying the College Application Process with ApplyTexas and My Texas Future

Students can now sign in to both ApplyTexas and My Texas Future with a single login – making it easier to navigate the college application process. This extended session offers key features of the applicant portal, application screener, and Counselor Suite. Find out how ApplyTexas aims to simplify the application process, reduce redundancy, and provide better support for families navigating college admissions.

Tuesday, August 12, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (CDT)

89th TX Legislative Session: Updates Affecting Texas Students:

Learn how the 89th Texas Legislative Session decisions will impact Texas students and families. New updates include enhanced student financial aid initiatives, incorporation of a Free College Application Week for all Texas public colleges and universities, high school implementation of My Texas Future and Direct Admissions, and improvements to career and technical education across the state.

Thursday, August 28, 2025, at 10 a.m. (CDT)

SAVE THE DATES!! More information coming soon!

TACRAO College Fair | ESC 9 | September 22, 2025

8th Grade Jobs Y'all Career Expo | MPEC | September 24, 2025

Senior Blast Off | Region 9 Perkins V SSA Districts Only | ESC 9 | November 18, 2025

SparkEd Future Educator Conference | ESC 9 | January 21, 2026

United Regional Health Science Fair | ESC 9 | March 4, 2026

They work closely with schools in our twelve-county service area. The counties are Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Haskell, Jack, Knox, Montague, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, and Young. Contact Jim McMahan at 940-766-2322 or jimmcmahan@wfafb.org if your school is interested in participating.

Save the date!!!

The McKinney-Vento Student Leadership Event is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, 2025! More information coming soon!

The purpose of these meetings are to give school counselor district-level leaders a chance to discuss school counselor topics and receive TEA updates.

Wednesday, September 3

2:00 - 4:00

Zoom Link

SC Leader Email List Signup

Topic: 89th Legislative Updates for School Counselors

Tuesday, September 9

1:00 - 3:00

Presenter: Stephanie Lerner

Zoom Link: https://esc9.zoom.us/j/99203120244

The Annual Professional School Counselor Conference is designed specifically for professional counselors providing services in educational settings for elementary and secondary students. Programs focus on ethics, child & adolescent counseling, student development, group work, at-risk youth, LGBT issues, administration & leadership, crisis response, wellness, technology & innovation, multicultural & social justice issues, and many more. This conference is co-hosted by the Texas School Counselor Association (TSCA) and the Texas Counseling Association (TCA).

This conference features...

• Learning Institutes
• Peer reviewed professional development programs (CE)
• Two general session presentations
• Exhibit hall with professional and commercial vendors