Bilingual Education Exceptions and ESL Waivers

The 2023-2024 Bilingual Education Exception/English as a Second Language (ESL) Waiver application, instructions, and additional resources, are now available on the TEA Bilingual Exception and ESL Waiver Resources webpage. 

All local educational agencies (LEAs), including all districts, charter schools, and districts of innovation, are required to identify and serve emergent bilingual (EB) students through bilingual education or ESL programs, per 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §89.1205. 

Pursuant to 19 TAC §89.1207(a)(1) and (b)(1), an LEA that does not have the appropriately certified teachers for their required bilingual education and/or ESL program(s) must apply to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for a bilingual education exception and/or ESL waiver. The approval of an exception and/or a waiver shall be valid only during the school year for which it is granted.

The application’s narrative responses require LEAs to explain how the students under the bilingual education exception and/or ESL waiver will temporarily be served with alternative methods to meet the students’ affective, linguistic, and cognitive needs and align as closely as possible to the required bilingual or ESL program. 

LEAs that apply for a bilingual education exception and/or ESL waiver will complete the consolidated application form for the 2023-2024 school year. The consolidated application will require LEAs to complete both sections, Part 1 and Part 2 linked in this fillable PDF form.