Lone Star College System will enroll 100 students in fall 2026 in a new bachelor's degree program to train certified teachers for Houston-area classrooms.

The Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education and Teaching (BAS ECET) will prepare graduates to teach pre-K through sixth grade. Classes begin at two locations: LSC-Atascocita Center and LSC-Creekside Center, with 50 students at each site.

The shortage is real. About 12% of Texas teachers were uncertified in the 2024-25 school year, up from 3.8% in 2019-20, according to Lone Star College.

A $200,000 grant from Houston Endowment, awarded in August 2025, funded consulting services and curriculum development to get the program off the ground. August Hamilton, Houston Endowment's education program director, called the degree "a smart, timely response to our region's certified teacher shortage" when the grant was announced in August 2025.

Both the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) have since approved the program, according to the college's February announcement.

"We want our local schools to be staffed by highly qualified, compassionate teachers who are prepared to meet their students' unique learning needs," Rebecca Saiz, LSC executive director of the Educator Preparation Program, said in February 2026. "By strengthening the pipeline of qualified teachers, Lone Star College System is strengthening the future of the communities we serve."

The two-year program accepts students who already hold an Associate of Arts in Teaching, an Associate of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education, or another associate degree with directed electives. It becomes Lone Star College's fifth bachelor's degree, joining programs in cybersecurity, emergency management, energy and manufacturing trades management, and nursing.

Spring ISD and Klein ISD families send students to multiple LSC campuses, though no direct district partnership with the new program has been announced.

A National Bureau of Economic Research study published in July 2026 found no statistically significant difference in employer callback rates for early childhood education candidates, whether they held a community college bachelor's, a four-year university bachelor's, or an associate degree, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Prospective students can contact the LSC Ready2Teach Program at 281-312-1716 or [email protected] for enrollment information.