State Waivers Unit

The State Waivers Unit of the Texas Education Agency is responsible for the coordination of expedited and general state waivers and class size exceptions. See Texas Education Code (TEC) §7.056, Waivers & Exemptions, for rules.

A district may submit a waiver request using the Waivers application located in the Texas Education Agency Login (TEAL) system. If you do not have access to TEAL or the Waivers application, see the State Waivers Guidebook (linked below) for instructions.

A State Waivers Division mailing list has been established to provide e-mail notifications of important deadlines and website updates. To subscribe, go to the TEA email updates page, enter your contact information, and select State Waivers from the Publications list.

2024-2025 Applications TEAL Availability Dates

Note: Once a new waiver year opens, the prior school year waiver application will no longer be available.

General & Expedited

July 8, 2024

Attendance (Missed School Day, Low Attendance, ADSY)

August 1, 2024

Accelerated Instruction

August 19, 2024

Deadline: October 22, 2024

Class Size

Due to the delayed 2024 accountability ratings release, the 2024-2025 class size exception opened on October 4, 2024. The deadline to submit the initial exception has been extended by waiver to November 1, 2024.

State Waivers Guidebook

The 24-25 Waivers Guidebook is a guide for districts and charter schools that includes information related to available waivers, associated requirements, agency policies, and pertinent resources.

Waiver FAQs

The Waiver FAQ's may be of assistance while navigating through the State Waivers and the TEAL application process.

Waiver Categories

Most waiver types are placed into one of four categories:

Expedited Waivers are waivers that require basic information from the district.
General Waivers are waivers that require detailed information surrounding the district's waiver request.
Attendance Waivers include Missed School Days, Low Attendance Days, and Additional Days School Year (ADSY) waivers. The district or campus can request a waiver for excused absences if instructional days are missed or if attendance is low due to weather, health, or safety issues.
Maximum Class Size Exception is required under the provision of TEC §25.112 if any class for grades PK-4 exceeds the allowable class size limit of 22 students per class (22:1). An exception expires at the end of the school year for which it is granted.
Other Waivers are specific requests that do not fall under any of the above categories.

Waiver Types

The following list shows the different waiver types and links to their description:

Expedited

General

Attendance