Career and Technical Education Program

Begin your rewarding career as a CTE teacher! We are now accepting applications for the 25-26 school through August 5, 2025.

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Become A Certified Teacher

CTE educators are vital to preparing students for college and career. In the CTE educator certification cohort, we aim to help educators integrate their expertise into the secondary classroom using evidence-based teaching practices. Teachers within our program will receive a blended model of online and teacher-directed classes as well as continuous support in and out of the classroom.

Our Career and Technical Education Program (CTE) is an accelerated program designed to provide a pathway to teacher certification for professionals who already have education, work experience, and/or industry licensure/certification in a content area. 

CTE Cohorts

Austin Cohort

  • For candidates employed by schools within the Region 13 service area.
  • Candidates in this cohort will attend live classes held at the Region 13 Education Service Center, in addition to classes held via Zoom and online, self-paced coursework.

Statewide Cohort

  • For candidates employed outside the Region 13 service area.
  • Candidates in this cohort have the option to attend live classes at one of the locations below or attend all live classes via Zoom, in addition to online, self-paced coursework.
        • El Paso, Region 19 Education Service Center
        • San Antonio, Region 20 Education Service Center

CTE Certification Areas and Requirements

Trade & Industrial Education

This certification area is for future teachers who have previous industry work experience and certification/licensure that aligns with their work experience. There are numerous work approval areas that would qualify a participant based on their industry experience.

Health Science

This certification area is for future teachers who have an associate degree and previous industry work experience as a healthcare practitioner that utilizes a current medical certification/licensure. 

Marketing

This certification area is for future teachers who have a bachelor’s degree and previous industry work experience in the marketing field overseeing or developing a marketing campaign throughout the entire lifespan of a product, service, or idea.

All Other CTE Certification Areas

These certification areas require a bachelor’s degree with a required number of hours on transcript in the certification area and a minimum GPA of 2.5 OR passing a PACT exam. These areas include Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, Family Consumer Sciences, Business & Finance, Technology Applications, Technology Education, and Math/Physical Science/Engineering.

 

CTE Options

View full list of CTE certification areas and their requirements

CTE Certification by Exam

Information about adding CTE certification by exam for already certified teachers.

Curriculum

Our certification program curriculum is aligned with Texas Education Agency standards and educational best practices.  All curriculum is taught by certified staff and content area experts.

Training

About 1/3 of our classes are face-to-face and 2/3 of our classes are online, see the CTE Program Schedule for dates. Participants employed by schools within the Region 13 service area attend classes at the Education Service Center Region 13 in Austin. Participants employed by schools outside the Region 13 service area will be given the option to attend classes at a designated live site (listed above) or via video teleconference.

Participants will be required to attend training that will continue to build on instruction learned during pre-service training. 

In addition to the pre-service training, CTE participants will receive training specific to their certification program which includes:
  • delivering engaging instruction
  • developing and using student assessments
  • understanding student diversity and instructional differentiation
  • preparing for formal classroom observations
  • preparing for TExES PPR exam
  • integrating the core principles from The Fundamental Five
  • establishing/revitalizing CTE student organizations
  • increasing awareness and knowledge of CTE issues and initiatives
  • integrating CTE into campus/district
  • marketing CTE courses/programs
  • developing partnerships and collaboration in CTE programs
  • exploring strategies to implement and manage work-based learning

Technology

In the CTE certification program, technology is an integral part of curriculum and instruction. Our program emphasizes:
  • incorporating the effective use of current technology in instruction
  • evaluating students’ technologically produced products and projects
  • utilizing technology applications in problem-solving situations and project-based learning activities
  • managing technology platforms to increase communication with student families on academic and behavior progress

What’s Next?

Info Sessions

Find out more about our programs by attending one of our info sessions.

Apply

Complete our online application and take the first step in becoming a fully certified teacher.