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Region 6 Education Service Center

Dedicated to Serve

Civics Training Program

Logo for FACTS featuring the outline of Texas filled with the Texas state flag design.

 

 

Established under Senate Bill 3 (SB 3), Texas Civics Academies is a mandatory state initiative established under Texas Senate Bill 3 (TEC § 21.4555) to train K–12 educators and administrators in social studies, founding documents, and media literacy.

  • Audience: Elementary (K-5) classroom teachers and principals; one teacher and one principal from every campus within the K-5 grade level began summer 2026. Secondary training is scheduled to begin in summer 2027, pending State Board of Education approval.
  • Core Focus: The Civics Training Program builds administrator and teacher expertise by strengthening the skills and knowledge Texas educators need to cultivate informed American patriotism in students and lead close study of the founding documents of the United States and Texas, social studies civic knowledge, guided current events discussions, governmental simulations, media literacy, and cross-curricular integration.

  • Region 6 offers a comprehensive, in-person two-day Civics Academy facilitated by TEA Trained and Certified Leaders. Region 6 coordinates professional learning sessions throughout Region 6. Sessions will be held at ESC locations in Huntsville and Bryan as well as Region 6 host districts.

    Current and Upcoming Academies 

    • Summer 2026 and current: Elementary (K-5) Civics Rollout
    • Spring and Summer 2027: Elementary Maintenance Academies 
    • Summer 2027: Secondary Civics Initial Rollout, pending SBOE approval

    •  Attend a two-day, in-person training totaling 12 content hours, supplemented by a Learning Management System (LMS) and an embedded primary source library.
    • Complete required coursework, participate in simulation activities, Achieve a minimum score of 90% on Module Assessments (taken throughout the training).

     

  • As required by TEC, §21.4555, each campus must ensure that at least one teacher and the campus principal attend civics training.

  • Senate Bill 3 (SB 3) establishes compensation requirements for eligible teachers who complete Texas Civics Academies training outside their regular contract hours.

    • Required Stipend: Pursuant to TEC, §21.4555(f), classroom teachers who complete a Civics Training Program may receive a $600 stipend. To be eligible for the stipend, a teacher must complete training outside the days or hours of service included in the term of the teacher’s contract. Campus principals do not receive a stipend.
    • Training During Contract Hours: Stipends are not available for training completed during regular contract hours.
    • District Responsibilities: Districts are responsible for issuing stipend payments to Civics Academy Graduates once received from TEA.
    • Funding: The funding for the $600 teacher stipend for the Texas Civics Training Program comes directly from state funds allocated by the Texas Legislature.

    Important: Civics stipends are paid to districts from TEA and distributed by their employing districts, not by Region 6 ESC.

Learn More: Visit the TEA Texas Civics Academies webpage for more info as it is updated.

 

For Texas Civics Academies Information contact: Melissa Saphos, msaphos@esc6.net, 936.435.8232.