September 2017 Committee on School Initiatives Item 5
Review of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 232, General Certification Provisions, Subchapter A, Certificate Renewal and Continuing Professional Education Requirements, §232.9, Inactive Status and Late Renewal
September 15, 2017
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the State Board of Education (SBOE) an opportunity to review a State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rule action that would amend 19 TAC Chapter 232, General Certification Provisions, Subchapter A, Certificate Renewal and Continuing Professional Education Requirements, §232.9, Inactive Status and Late Renewal, which would clarify procedures used by the automated system to process late applications submitted for standard certificate renewal.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 232, Subchapter A, is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §§21.003(a), 21.0031(f), 21.031, 21.041(b)(1)-(4) and (9), and 21.054.
TEC, §21.003(a), states that a person may not be employed as a teacher, teacher intern or teacher trainee, librarian, educational aide, administrator, educational diagnostician, or school counselor by a school district unless the person holds an appropriate certificate or permit issued as provided by the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B.
TEC, §21.0031(f), clarifies and places certain limits on provisions authorizing termination of an educator's contract for failure to maintain a valid certificate.
TEC, §21.031, authorizes the SBEC to regulate and oversee all aspects of the certification, continuing education, and standards of conduct of public school educators.
TEC, §21.041(b)(1), requires the SBEC to propose rules that provide for the regulation of educators and the general administration of the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B, in a manner consistent with the TEC, Chapter 21, Subchapter B.
TEC, §21.041(b)(2), requires the SBEC to propose rules that specify the classes of educator certificates to be issued, including emergency certificates.
TEC, §21.041(b)(3), requires the SBEC to propose rules that specify the period for which each class of educator certificate is valid.
TEC, §21.041(b)(4), requires the SBEC to propose rules that specify the requirements for the issuance and renewal of an educator certificate.
TEC, §21.041(b)(9), requires the SBEC to propose rules that provide for continuing education requirements.
TEC, §21.054, requires the SBEC to propose rules establishing a process for identifying continuing education courses and programs that fulfill educators' continuing education requirements.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed amendment to 19 TAC §232.9 would be October 19, 2017.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: None.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Current 19 TAC Chapter 232, General Certification Provisions, establishes the renewal requirements relating to types and classes of certificates issued, continuing professional education (CPE) hours to be completed, and the national criminal history record information review.
The proposed amendment to 19 TAC §232.9, shown in Attachment II, would clarify procedures the automated system currently uses to renew an educator's certificate(s) when the educator files a late renewal application.
Texas standard certificates have effective (start) dates and expiration (end) dates. The timeframe between the start and end dates of a standard certificate is considered the validity period for that certificate cycle. During that time, individuals should be accruing the required CPE hours for certificate renewal (i.e., 150 hours total for classroom teacher certificates and 200 hours total for certificates other than classroom teacher). Individuals are allowed to submit on-time applications for certificate renewal as early as six months prior and up to the certificate expiration date. Standard certificates not renewed by their expiration date immediately move from "valid" to "inactive" status. Standard certificates remain inactive until they are renewed. Once the renewal has been processed, based on submission of the online application and required fees, confirmation of CPE hours, and a clear background check, the next validity period is posted to the educator's online record of certification.
The renewal of Texas standard certificates is an online, automated application process that requires each educator to respond to a series of affidavit questions, pay the required application fee, complete the fingerprinting process, and provide TEA with the date that all CPE hours for renewal were completed. A renewal application for either certificate class is considered to be on-time if it is submitted before or by the expiration date of the certificate. An online application for certificate renewal is considered complete when all questions have been answered, including the date that the required CPE hours were completed, when the required renewal fee has been paid, and when the fingerprint status for an educator shows as "Complete." Once an educator has completed the fingerprinting process for certificate issuance purposes, he or she is not required to repeat that process for future certificate applications.
An individual who submits an online renewal application within the first six months after the certificate expiration date is required to pay a late fee in addition to the renewal fee. The proposed amendment is intended to make it clearer to the public that if all CPE hours were completed before or by the certificate expiration date, once the late renewal application has been processed, the face of the certificate does not show a break in certification validity periods for the certificates being renewed (i.e., the beginning of the next certificate renewal period is dated to begin immediately after the last certificate expiration date).
An individual who submits a renewal application more than six months after the certificate expiration date is required to pay the late fee, a reactivation fee, and the renewal fee. The proposed amendment is intended to clarify that if all CPE hours have been completed, once the late renewal application has been processed, the certification will have a new effective date and will show a break in validity from the prior expiration date to the new effective date. The next certificate renewal period will be the date the educator enters as the completion of CPE requirements, provided it is not more than 60 days prior to the date of the application.
Between September 1, 2012, through December 31, 2016, approximately 80% of the total applications submitted (181,401) were processed as on-time certificate renewals; approximately 15% of the total applications submitted (28,160) were processed as late renewals within the first six months after the expiration of the certificate validity period; and approximately 5% of the total applications submitted (12,893) were processed as late renewals more than six months after the expiration of the certificate validity period.
§232.9. Inactive Status and Late Renewal
Language in 19 TAC §232.9(b) would be amended to clarify that the automated processing of late renewal applications submitted within six months of the certificate expiration date makes an educator's next certificate renewal begin date the same as the expiration date of the last certificate, as long as the educator has submitted a complete online application, paid renewal fee(s), completed the fingerprinting process, and confirmed that he or she has completed the required CPE hours for certificate renewal prior to the expiration date. Language would also be added to clarify the automated processing of late renewal applications and the effective date for the next certificate renewal period for educators submitting online renewal applications more than six months after the certificate expiration date. The new language would confirm that upon receipt of a complete online application, renewal fee(s), fingerprinting, and confirmation that an educator has completed the required CPE hours for certificate renewal, the automated processing will issue an effective date for the next renewal period.
SBOE Review of Proposed SBEC Rules
Under the TEC, §21.042, the SBEC must submit a written copy of each rule it proposes to adopt to the SBOE for review. The SBOE may reject the proposed rule by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the SBOE present and voting, but may not modify a rule.
FISCAL IMPACT: The TEA staff has determined that there is no additional fiscal impact on state and local governments and there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed rule action. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses and microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required. There is no effect on local economy; therefore, no local employment impact statement is required under Texas Government Code, §2001.022.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The public and student benefit would be clarified certificate renewal requirements relating to the types and classes of certificates issued and a safer school environment through national criminal history record information review of active certificate holders.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed amendment would have no additional procedural and reporting implications.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed amendment would have no additional locally maintained paperwork requirements.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: In accordance with the SBEC rulemaking process, a summary of comments received by the SBEC on its proposed rules is shared with the SBOE under separate cover prior to this SBOE meeting.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:
Take no action on the proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 232, General Certification Provisions, Subchapter A, Certificate Renewal and Continuing Professional Education Requirements, §232.9, Inactive Status and Late Renewal.
Staff Members Responsible:
Ryan Franklin, Associate Commissioner
Educator Leadership and Quality
Marilyn Cook, Director
Educator Certification and Testing
Tim Miller, Director
Educator Preparation
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF, 24KB)
II. Text of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 232, General Certification Provisions, Subchapter A, Certificate Renewal and Continuing Professional Education Requirements, §232.9, Inactive Status and Late Renewal (PDF, 44KB)