The 74^th Texas Legislature created the State Board for Educator Certification in 1995 to govern the standards of the education profession in Texas. SBEC's 15-member board oversees all aspects of the state's standards-based licensure system to ensure that all Texas students have appropriately certified teachers. One of the board's guiding principles is the belief that educators themselves are equipped to create and uphold high standards for teaching preparation, practice, and conduct. SBEC is committed to building respect for the teaching profession in Texas. The board welcomes input from teachers, school staff, and community members on ways to improve teacher training, certification, support, and professional development. Formerly under the auspices of the Texas Education Agency, the primary responsibilities of SBEC include:

• Educator preparation. The board works with educator preparation entities in Texas, guiding them in program development, approval, and implementation.
• Teacher assessment /accountability. The board manages the on-going development, review, and administration of examinations required for certification. SBEC also monitors educator preparation entities with the Accountability System for Educator Preparation (ASEP). Assessment data of prospective teachers and performance of beginning teachers are used to determine the quality of preparation entities and for annual accreditation reports.
• Certification. SBEC is responsible for issuing all educator credentials to applicants meeting the requirements for teacher certification in Texas.
• Investigations and enforcement. The board enforces the standards of conduct for Texas educators, reviewing complaints of misconduct and holding formal public hearings, when necessary.

In response to the legislative mandate to rethink how educators are prepared and certified, the Board drafted the Framework for Educator Certification and Preparation in May 1997 to serve as the basis for future policies and plans. Some of the assumptions underlying the work of the Board which are most relevant to the theatre educators include the following:

• The education profession must adopt high standards for all facets of the preparation, certification, and conduct of educators and must remove individuals who do not meet those standards.
• The types, grade-level groupings, and fields of teaching certificates must be designed broadly enough to assure that the state’s required curriculum is taught by appropriately certified teachers.
• The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills must be the cornerstone for subject area certificates.
• A continuum of certificates should parallel the professional growth of educators. This continuum begins with a conditional certificate for the induction period and includes a standard certificate and an advanced certificate.
• Beginning educators must receive ongoing, formal, and collaborative support from a team consisting of both public or accredited private school personnel and preparation program faculty.

In addition to the Framework for Educator Certification and Preparation, SBEC published Who's Teaching in Texas Public Schools?, a comprehensive resource of information on Texas teacher qualifications. Among the text's relevant data are statistics stating that 26.3% of high school theatre teachers in Texas are not appropriately certified.