(a) A candidate seeking initial certification as a classroom teacher must have a clinical teaching assignment for each subject area in which the candidate is seeking certification.(b) The required duration of a clinical teaching assignment shall be a minimum of 490 hours. For the purposes of satisfying this requirement, the following provisions apply.(1) At least 280 clinical teaching hours must be completed in the subject area and grade level of the certification sought, under the supervision of a cooperating teacher as specified in §228.91 of this title (relating to Mentors, Cooperating Teachers, Host Teachers, and Site Supervisors), including planning periods.(2) The remaining clinical teaching hours may be accrued through additional instructional hours during the school day, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills-based extracurricular activities that directly relate to the grade-level and subject area of the certification sought, and professional development hours that occur within the assignment start and end date. The candidate must be under the supervision of a certified educator for the remaining required hours of clinical teaching.(3) The minimum required clinical teaching hours may be reduced to no less than 455 hours if the candidate is absent from the clinical teaching assignment due to a documented instance of parental leave, military leave, medical, or bereavement.(c) For certification in more than one subject area that cannot be taught concurrently during the same period of the school day as the primary teaching assignment, at least 70 hours of the clinical teaching requirement in subsection (b)(2) of this section must be completed in each additional subject area if and only if:(1) the educator preparation program (EPP) is approved to offer preparation in the certification category required for the additional assignment;(2) the EPP provides ongoing support for each assignment as prescribed in Subchapter F of this chapter (relating to Support for Candidates During Required Clinical Experiences);(3) the EPP provides coursework and training for each assignment to adequately prepare the candidate to be effective in the classroom; and(4) the campus administrator agrees to assign a qualified cooperating teacher appropriate to each assignment.(d) The EPP must structure the clinical teaching assignment so that the candidate is provided opportunities for co-teaching and increased instructional responsibility over the course of the clinical teaching assignment and as the candidate demonstrates mastery of educator standards. (e) Clinical teaching is successful when the candidate demonstrates proficiency in each of the educator standards for the assignment and the field supervisor and cooperating teacher recommend to the EPP that the candidate should be recommended for a standard certificate. If either the field supervisor or cooperating teacher do not recommend that the candidate should be recommended for a standard certificate, the person who does not recommend the candidate must provide documentation (e.g., evidence of failure to demonstrate proficiency in educator standards, evidence of failure to meet program requirements, evidence of failure to adhere to campus policies) supporting the lack of recommendation to the candidate and either the field supervisor or cooperating teacher. (f) The EPP may require additional hours of clinical teaching if the first experience was not successful. (g) An EPP must provide ongoing support to a candidate as described in Subchapter F of this chapter for the full term of the initial and any additional clinical teaching, unless, prior to the expiration of that term: (1) a standard certificate is issued to the candidate; (2) the candidate is discharged or is released from the EPP; or (3) the candidate withdraws from the EPP.